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Have you ever been fascinated by the exhaust fumes from cars or the smell of gasoline from gas stations? Although most people are reluctant to admit their special hobby, it has to be admitted that people who like the smell of gasoline are as common as those who like the smell of durian, coriander and other food.

To study why some people like to smell car exhaust and gasoline, we must first have a deep understanding of the source of the smell itself.

It is not clear whether he is crying or laughing for a moment. Gifer gasoline is a chemical mixture fractionated from oil or cracked and cracked. Many ingredients are harmful to our health, and the compounds that give gasoline a strong smell are hydrocarbons called benzene. When the car starts, the exhaust gas emitted from the combustion of gasoline contains unburned or incomplete carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, lead compounds and other harmful gases. These smells are so pungent that the human nose can catch them immediately.

Since there are so many harmful substances in these smells, why do some people smell so "up"? Although science has not yet reached a clear conclusion on this issue, scientists have put forward two theoretical directions for research.

Even if the benzene content in gasoline is 1.0% and the benzene content in the air is only 0.0001%, we can still smell it. Flickr's first theory is that these pungent smells will evoke good memories, such as the smell of ink printed in new school books will take you back to the day you reported in high school, and the smell of damp and moldy will remind you of the continuous rainy season in small southern towns. French writer Marcel Proust once described a strong childhood memory evoked by the smell of Madeleine biscuits dipped in tea in his novel Remembrance of time. Therefore, this strong linkage between smell and memory is called Proust phenomenon.

The thalamus in the brain is similar to the central hub, transmitting signals from our eyes, ears, tongue and touch to corresponding areas of the brain so that we can record and understand them. But the smell completely bypassed the "hub" and chose a more direct and convenient route. More importantly, the nerve bundles (olfactory bulbs) that detect odor molecules are closely connected to the amygdala and the hippocampus, which are involved in emotional response and memory formation, respectively. This is why smells cause our brains to form strong, emotional memories at the subconscious level.

So maybe we went on a road trip in a summer in our childhood, went out in a motorboat, or we may have established a pleasant memory link between the moment when we were repairing the car with Dad in the garage and the smell of gasoline / car exhaust.

The red area protruding above is called nucleus accumbens, which secretes dopamine when activated. Another wiki theory focuses more on the physical effects of substances (such as aromatic hydrocarbons) contained in car exhaust and gasoline odors on the neuroreceptors used by the body to detect odors. In the central nervous system, the midbrain limbic pathway is also known as the reward pathway. The ventral tegmental area of the midbrain passes through the temporal lobe-hippocampus and amygdala to reach the nucleus accumbens, which is responsible for releasing dopamine, and connects stimulation with positive emotion.

The mesencephalic limbic pathway is a key participant in the establishment of addictive habits. Any addictive habit, whether it's video games, drugs or car exhaust, activates the mesencephalic limbic pathway to make people feel good and creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop over time. Smelling gasoline and car exhaust becomes a habit.

Don't underestimate car exhaust and the smell of gasoline. As early as the 1960s, there were a large number of young people addicted to volatile organic solvents (gasoline, paint, etc.) in western countries.

The National Institutes of Health has introduced us to what happens when we are exposed to too much car exhaust or the smell of volatile gasoline. For example, short-term memory, attention, resilience and problem-solving abilities are impaired with persistent effects because toxic gas molecules enter the body and cause a reduction in the volume of white matter in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. and this area is the key to advanced cognitive tasks. And stimulate the lungs, causing permanent damage to the nervous system, which can lead to dizziness, decreased self-awareness, mild hallucinations or coma.

Not only does it taste like, but also the shape of the bottle imitates the shape of a gas station. References [1] but with the emergence of new energy vehicles, traditional cars are gradually declining, and many people who like to smell gasoline have lost a lot of happiness. According to a survey, 1/5 of drivers said that when switching to electric cars, what they miss most is the gasoline smell of traditional cars.

Ford Motor Company commissioned Olfiction, a well-known perfume company, to launch a gasoline-scented perfume called Mach-Eau, whose theme is to simulate the smell of almonds, chemicals emitted from engines and gasoline emissions, and tire rubber smell emitted from car interiors. the aim is to help those gasoline lovers better overcome the impact of electric vehicles and make up for the yearning of some new energy car owners for gasoline smell.

Perfume can be unpopular, but it must not be evil.

Reference:

[1] https://www.autoaubaine.com/dossier-ford-mach-eau-un-nouveau-parfum_9002708.html

[2] https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/why-some-people-love-the-smell-of-gasoline

[3] https://dictionary.apa.org/proust-phenomenon

This article is from the official Wechat account: bring Science Home (ID:steamforkids), author: everything.

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