Page 73 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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ou encounter different smells at every moment of our
lives, such that it might even be said that we live in a
world of aromas, surrounded by smells from flowers,
trees, foodstuffs, animals, industrial products, bacterial
decay, and other human beings.
When we look at this world, made up of thousands of kinds of aro-
mas, a rather striking equilibrium and harmony emerges: We like the
smells of substances beneficial to us, and are repelled by those of harmful

substances.
The smells of foodstuffs useful to the body awaken a feeling of pleas-
ure in us, and lead us to feel hunger for them. The smell of food cooking
when we are hungry encourages us to eat, and along with taking pleasure
from eating, we nourish our bodies at the same time. When our bodies are
busy digesting, on the other hand, and we feel no need to eat any more,
then the smell of food will not seem so attractive.
Those smells we describe as unpleasant, on the other hand, are gen-
erally substances harmful to us. We can easily identify poisonous chemi-
cals by their smell. The unbearable stench given off by rotten fruit or
meat—unpleasant odors that arise as a result of bacterial activity—warn
us to stay away from them.
It’s beyond dispute that this reaction to scents is of vital importance
to human health. As a general rule, dangerous or harmful substances can
immediately be distinguished by their noxious smells. Parsley, for exam-
ple, bears a close physical resemblance to the poisonous plant hemlock,
yet their smells are completely different. Parsley has a pleasant smell of its
own, whereas hemlock’s is very repellent. Were it not for this system, we

might eat hemlock assuming it was parsley, or drink a harmful chemical
concoction thinking it was fruit juice. We would live our whole lives in the

Harun Yahya
(Adnan Oktar)