
Bad Smells Make Memories Stronger - laurex
https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/bad-smells-make-memories-stronger-320945
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mwexler
In 1913, French author Marcel Proust highlighted the link between smell and
memory in a very eloquent-if-wordy way in his famous (and lengthy) work,
Remembrances of Things Past. Here's a good snippet:

[http://ww3.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/proust.html](http://ww3.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/proust.html)

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woliveirajr
I couldn't find explicitly if bad smells make only bad memories stronger. I
mean, from the first caption from the first image: what good it does too
remember a beautiful beach if it will evoke a bad feeling from the bad smell
from the trash bin?

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caymanjim
Anecdotally, it doesn't work that way. I've never thought about a visual
experience and had it evoke the memory of a smell. I'm not sure I've ever had
anything (other than a smell) evoke the memory of a smell. But every strong
smell evokes a cascade of experiential and visual memories. Whenever I smell
burning garbage, I think about various places I've traveled, particularly
India (this isn't a dig at Indian sanitation per se; it's just that there are
small piles of burning garbage all over the place in India, and the memory is
strongly attached).

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schnable
I believe it, I remember some subway trips from years ago very vividly.

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hansdieter1337
IIRC any intense emotions and strong feelings cause strong memories.

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benatkin
This recalls the Black Mirror episode Crocodile, where smell is used to jog
memories. That was one of the less realistic ones.

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jihadjihad
I can get behind this theory. Some of the most memorable code I've seen is
also the smelliest.

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oh_teh_meows
So...eat cheese the night of your study cram? (Bad idea if you're lactose
intolerant)

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threatofrain
You might need to bring the cheese with you to the test.

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gingabriska
I wonder what if eating fish increases memorising ability comes from fish
smell.

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magic_beans
You're assuming fish smells bad. Fresh fish smells delicious.

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amelius
Depends on the time. In the early morning, not so much.

