As part of a new study, scientists wanted to test whether the types of scents that people like or dislike are selected based on distinctly different cultural backgrounds. Although the main purpose of the research is whether the favorite scents vary according to ethnicity or cultures, the research also discovered the scent that everyone loves all over the world.
In this new study, researchers asked individuals from 10 different cultural groups, including a number of indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples and traditional farming communities, as well as modern city dwellers, to smell 10 different scents and rank them in order of pleasantness. According to the results, the type of fragrance that everyone in the world liked was found.
The scent that the whole world loves: Vanilla
In the research conducted with more than 280 participants representing many ethnicities, communities or races in the world, 10 randomly arranged pens similar scent device. Participants were asked to smell each one and rank the pens from the most pleasant to the worst.
The scent ranked as the most pleasant overall among the participants was vanillin, the main component of Vanilla extract. The next most popular fragrance was ethyl butyrate, which has a fruity scent and is often used as a flavor enhancer in fruit-flavored foods. Linalool, the extract of the flower scent, was chosen as the third most popular fragrance. The most disliked odors in the study were cheese, soy milk, and isovaleric acid, which has a pungent and unpleasant odor associated with sweat.
After participants ranked odors differently in terms of perceived odor beauty, the researchers determined that the participants’ culture accounted for only 6% of the variability, with 54% of the variability due to people’s personal preference and influencing about 40% of the molecular profile of the odor.
So, coming to the main purpose of the research, regardless of the favorite scent, in summary, people can rank different scents differently, and it’s because of their personal preferences, not their culture.
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