Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Museum of Impossible Smells





(Above: Le medecin de la peste--a medieval plague doctor. The bizarre bird-like masks held a variety of fragrant herbs, which were believed to ward off the Black Death.)

Ever wondered what a meteor impact smells like? How about Cleopatra's hair? Or the surface of the sun? Well if you're going to be in England this summer, you can find out!

In what I believe may be the MOST AMAZING exhibit of all time, the Reg Vardy Gallery at the University of Sunderland has brought together fourteen of the rarest, most unusual odors for your sniffing pleasure. (Sorry, no Sharpies.) You can sample the fragrances of plants and flowers that have been extinct for hundreds of years--or you can fill your nostrils with the stench of a burnt Soviet space station or the first aid kit of a medieval plague doctor.

Please--I BEG YOU--bring this exhibit to New York!

Read more here and here.


25 comments:

bookworm said...

wow, that is soooo cool! i want to go see that1 i wonder if the WILL bring it 2 america! even if it was somewhere in NEBRASKA, id go. too amazing.......

Slovakia said...

That is way cool!!!!!! I wonder how they receate the smells of extinct flowers?

Ms. Bookworm said...

Hehe... Awesome!
Please, start one in sweden!

Btw, wonder if they have Kiki Strike smell there? Or just book smell? I love the smell of a new book! :)

Invisible Turtle said...

Awesome.

Just wondering, can any of you smell water? I can, but whenever I tell someone they say 'water has no smell.'

It smells wet.

Anonymous said...

I can smell water. It smells...like water. Wet, spring-y,and pool-y.

I wish they had more smells to smell! And they'd bring it to where I live!

leximel said...

I'd like them to put in the smell of Benjamin Franklin's body odor. I would laugh.

bookworm said...

haha okaaaaaaaaaaay. i cant smeel chlorine.

Invisible Turtle said...

Question for Ananka/Kirsten/Anyone: How do you set it so that your post will show up on a different day?

Kirsten Miller said...

Invisible Turtle: On Blogger, you go to "Post Options" on the edit screen. (Underneath the text block on the left.) Then, you just change the date to the one on which you want the post to go up. It's a new feature.

Girlskickbutt!!! said...

That is awesome. What part of England is it in?

Yes, I can smell water. I can taste different brands too.

Can anyone smell blood? I've always heard it has no odor. Does it?

Kiel *the broken hearted said...

sweet!!!! the things people think of...

please start one in Canada (either Vancouver or Saskatchewan)!

elizz said...

hmmm... this is sorta of disgusting, yet amazing.then again, lot's of things are amazing,but there are scary things,like chainsaws(i know its weird , but i had a bad experience with chainsaws.)so which is this one?

Thumb Biter said...

Whoa, how the heck do they find those smells/know they're real??

Anonymous said...

girlskickbutt: yes, I can smell blood. Im pretty sure most other people can too... its pretty stong.

And thats so cool!I dont think Id want to smell someone else's BO though lol I wonder if it would come to America?

Anonymous said...

i luvvvv how dinosaurs smell!

Kitty said...

OMG!!! I'M GOING TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER!! I'm not sure if I'm going to England tho... TT-TT

Kitty said...

Hmm... Just being curious:
Does anyone besides me smell the seasons? Every year I can tell when summer, fall, winter, or spring comes by smelling it. XD

Girlskickbutt!!! said...

Kitty:
seasons are easy to smell I'm pretty sure you are actually noticing the humidity and plants' smells.but maybe...

Anonymous:thx. what do u think blood smells like?

nellie (who isn't a shark) said...

GirlsKickButt!!!:I can smell blood. (But I'm not a shark!)
Kitty: Sometimes it's like, hey, it smells like winter; the air is crisp and fresh and cold.

Kirsten Miller said...

Girlskickbutt: Blood has a very distinct smell. It's metallic--like the smell of a penny. Sometimes it can have a bit of a peppery odor, too.

FN da World Dictator said...

Yay, some really cool smells...unlike the old ladie smell my mom's friends have and the cologne my brother uses!!!!!!

ss chick said...

0.0 oooooh... i hope they bring it to Ny and then Portland because my friend leaves near Ny and i visit Portland quite often and my stepmom would love to see that with me. cool!!!!

one question: how do they know what exticnt flowers smell like? did they read it in some dead guys journal or something?

Invisible turtle: i can smell it too. it does indeed smell wet.

another question, this one for invisible turtle: do you know what rain smell slike? i do!

oh, and girlskickbutt!!! yes, i cna smell blood. my cousin can taste different brands of rootbeer

Raph said...

-gasp- Possibly the most creative exhibition ever. They must come to Australia. ^^

6yearsoldandcute said...

how can people write that small?how can people reid that too?

Kitty said...

I have one question:
Does the water smell differently in different places?? I went to a friends house and their water smelled different than the one in my house and in my grandmother's old house, their water smelled differently than the other waters...