Scent is a powerful sense. Not only does it conjure up memories but it also prevents people from sticking their faces in piles of dog poo. Now it is also being militarized.
The army seeks to skip conscious reasoning by training soldiers to obey odors as opposed to words. The nasty habit of thinking can be sidestepped by appealing directly to the emotional brain.
During what could only be a remarkably unpleasant process, soldiers will be trained to react instantly and automatically to smells.
This should make for lots of laughs for the soldiers returning home from the frontlines. Their wife’s relaxing bathtime with scented candles could result in all sorts of unexpected hijinks. I can’t wait.
Link to Nose Lamp
2 comments
Rumple Stiltskin says:
January 18, 2006 at 1:02 am (UTC -5 )
The US Army had a “weapon” back during WWII code-named “Who, Me?” It was a malodorant made of skatol, butyric acid, and several other compounds, in a mineral oil base. It smelled just like fresh human poo. Squirted from a pocket-sized dispenser, it was designed to demoralize and humiliate the enemy. The recipe may still be available online. See: http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/14758
Ryan Oakley says:
January 18, 2006 at 4:22 am (UTC -5 )
Stink bombs have been around for a while but I like the name of that one. “Who Me?” “Whof Arterd” would have been good too. If you want something that smells like fresh human poo, I doubt that you have to go online for it.