Why do things that smell bad, smell bad? Was it something from our evolution?

Question

Its a theory i asked my friends, i said that things that smell bad, smell bad because when we evolved we made things smell bad so we didnt eat them, like a defense mechanism.

Answer 1

I would say straight out, yes.

There are clear survival advantages to a sense of smell, and an ability to recognize something toxic or harmful to eat without actually eating it ... or something bad to breathe and that therefore needs to be moved away from. (E.g., the fact that sulfuric gas smells like rotten eggs. )

Many organisms, (like skunks or stink beetles) take advantage of this in their own defense mechanisms.

Also, remember that our sense of smell is closely linked to our sense of taste ... so the same advantages that apply to recognizing bad things to eat or drink apply to both taste and smell.

And while we're at it, the fact that things smell *good* is also a survival advantage. It is a holdover from a time when smell was *much* more important to finding food, so the ability to smell proteins (the smell of cooking chicken, fish, or meat), or sugars (the smell of apple pie) at a distance is a holdover of evolution.

Answer 2

I had arranged an prolonged answer for you however the reveal screen wiped it off . in certainty all smells run by a scale of carbon compounds say a million-10 as alkaline acid . on the decrease end of the dimensions they're straight forward and don't scent so intersting as they attain the median they're starting to be to be extra compleax and extra interstinf as they attain the top of the dimensions they develop into gruesome. All perumes and so on have a physique be conscious , those are complexes of physique odors ,Semen , Urine .Excrement, sweat. n e can tell someones sexual predeliction by skill of the fragarance they like Farenhiet - sweatty ft. No fragarances do advance our lives ,meals, wine , perume ,yet whats up hardly elevate one into the non secular , settle for maybe , The e book Mon Rebours - against nature Its probable extra to do with pheromones , immunity survival yet get excitement from any way Incedntally Choclate has some notes that scent of excremnent and sweat

Answer 3

Close, but it's the other way around. We associate or learn that things that smell a certain way are bad, therefore they smell bad. Example: even before you've ever seen a skunk, you've probable recognized its smell as "bad." Likewise, rotting food and excrement. These are all natural things' we didn't "make" them.

Answer 4

No, some things just smell like that naturally...alot of people eat things that stink and some just cant because they are sensitive to that type of stench.....we didnt make anything its just the way things are....

Answer 5

That's a good edge, kid, but you need to back it up with proof. Smelly things are a defense mechanism, but we humans don't really care.

Answer 6

I agree with Secretsauce here... he's right on