Explore some of the trademarked scents in the US

Trademarks protect the branding of a service or product, while patents protect the product or service itself

Trademark protections cover the branding of a service or product, like its logo, its smell, or even its shape. However, patent protections give inventors exclusive control over a new product—as long as those inventors disclose how the product works and how they made it.

Learn what different trademark symbols mean

In the US, brands can technically use a trademark without actually filing a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office—which is where the ™ symbol comes from. However, brands that have officially filed trademarks can use the ® symbol in their branding.

The most unique-smelling places on Earth

Have you ever picked a travel destination by smell? This Atlas Obscura piece cultivates a list of the most distinct-smelling spots in the world. Learn about these obscure scents to potentially book a trip to a spring that smells like rotten eggs, or a desert valley filled with frankincense trees.

Trade dress is a form of trademark that applies to the physical appearance of a product

Distinct visual characteristics of products, like the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle or the interior layout of an Apple store, can be protected. These characteristics are protected to help consumers quickly identify certain brands.

'Dilution' is any use of a trademark that weakens its distinctiveness

Unlike trademark infringement that hinges on the likelihood of confusing customers, trademark dilution is an illegal practice that threatens the distinctiveness of a trademark. In the US, famous brands like Nike and Google have a right to protection from dilution.

Frisbee, Jet Ski, and Dumpster—explore a list of words you might not realize are trademarked

Many products that have become household names started out as first-of-a-kind items. As those products grew in popularity, the brand name became the default name for the product.

Explore a list of trademarked phrases

Trademarks can extend to phrases and slogans when the words become brand identifiers. Some phrases that have been trademarked are famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer's "Let's get ready to rumble!" and reality television star Paris Hilton's "That's hot."

The median trademark of public companies in the US is worth $22.5M

There are multiple approaches to evaluating the value of a trademark. Some strategies include analyzing the value of royalty payments a trademark produces and the cost of recreating the trademark or brand.

Scent is a stronger memory trigger than sight

Smell is imbued with more emotion than visual memories, and research indicates that smell triggers a significantly greater effect on amygdala activation. Scientists believe these powerful responses occur partly because smell signals bypass the thalamus and go directly to the amygdala and hippocampus, brain areas involved in emotion and memory.

The research that led to sour

Scientists are trying to figure out if there are unique receptors that respond to the molecules that make up flavors we associate with calcium, blood, batteries, and other items that often escape dinner menus. Taste researcher Dr. Danielle Reed says the minimum evidence for a taste category typically involves identifying dedicated receptors and then removing them to show the taste vanishes.

The science (and scams) behind essential oils

Essential oils are a big business, with industry estimates pegging its market size at $10B last year—a number expected to double by 2030. These distilled plant compounds have a long history of both legitimate and exaggerated uses, and many marketed oils are, as the author of this long read claims, just selling wish fulfillment. Revisit some of the history and contemporary use of essential oils with this piece.

Find 36 hidden messages in these household name company logos

Brand logos are designed to represent a business's core values and products in a unique, differentiating way. We experience this branding mechanism regularly, and hundreds of businesses are recognizable to us via only this one symbol, even when...

Gen Z's love for perfume is boosting sales

Teen boys are the biggest driver in perfume sales as of the summer of 2025. They have increased their spending on fragrances 26% year-over-year as the trend blossoms on TikTok via #PerfumeTok. Additionally, users of weight loss drugs GLP-1 agonists are adding to sales, as they seek olfactory over culinary sensations.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Words used in cannabis business names

As selling recreational cannabis becomes legal in many states across the US, cannabis dispensaries are increasingly common. While one might expect each of these dispensaries to have vastly different names, one study found that the names have some consistent similarities. Businesses with "beach vibes" or "green" in the name seem particularly common. Explore the full data visual here.

Explore the brands owned by Estée Lauder Companies

While Estée Lauder remains the flagship brand and namesake of the cosmetic conglomerate, the company owns more than 20 premier brands. Some of the brands—like Clinique and Origin—were created in-house, but others—like Tom Ford and Jo Malone—are a result of the company's acquisition strategy, which often targets companies with high-end retail products.

Scientists still don't know why DEET is such an effective bug repellent

This chemical, used to keep ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and other nuisance bugs away, is used by an estimated one-third of the US population and has been available to consumers since 1957. Researchers theorize that multiple mechanisms may be at work to deter bugs, including perhaps masking or confusing bugs' olfactory receptors.

How Netflix's sound logo 'Tudum' was designed as a key sonic differentiator

The Netflix sound logo—called by the company "Tudum!"—debuted in 2015 and has become one of the world's most iconic sound symbols, designed to provoke anticipation. An immense amount of creative work went into designing this three-second sonic marker, which is heard daily worldwide by millions. Key players in its existence weigh in on its creation in this absorbing episode.

US federal law dictates that all ads must not be deceptive

It also dictates that all ads must be “not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.” However, enforcing these laws can be difficult given the massive number of ads that run all over America each day. This explainer on the subject from the FTC provides more information.

​​Andy Warhol made a Coca-Cola perfume called 'You're In'

The 100 spray-painted bottles were filled with a cheap citrusy perfume, practically begging audiences to ask if they were indeed filled with urine. The Coca-Cola Company sent a cease-and-desist letter shortly after learning of the project. IN 2017, a Japanese fashion brand remade the works without mentioning Coca-Cola.

The features that make our voices unique

Human voices are about as unique as fingerprints: similar instruments but with endless variations. We each produce sound in the same physiological way, but when we talk we’re dropping clues about who we are, what we do, and where we’re from.

View a sample of objects surprisingly derived from crude oil, including chewing gum and lipstick

Crude oil processing produces a variety of fuels and the building blocks for plastics, but it also distills out the hydrocarbons used to make aspirin, Teflon, vinyl, crayons, candles, Tupperware, roofing shingles, asphalt pavement, hair dye, anesthetics, food-grade lubricants, polyester, synthetic rubber, and resins for items like dentures.

‘Mint marks’ are tiny letters on US coins that correspond to which mint location created them

As more mint branches opened up after Philadelphia (the first mint location), these “mint marks” helped hold each branch responsible for the quality of the coin. A coin minted in Philadelphia, for instance, would have the letter “P” on it. Some mint marks are extremely rare, making coins displaying them particularly valuable to collectors.

The US FDA defines peptides as being 40 amino acids or less

The US Food and Drug Administration regulates these short strings of amino acids as drugs and approves them for commercial use. These products may be produced naturally or synthesized via medicinal chemistry for therapeutic use.

Canine inspectors can help detect potential carriers of invasive insects

At ports of entry in the US, Customs and Border Protection agents use dogs to sniff for forbidden foods and other items that are known to harbor invasive pests. Agents also physically inspect items such as flowers to prevent entry by species that may harm US agriculture.

There are stigmas attached to tattoos

Although tattoos are fairly common in the US, some taboos remain. A 2017 study in the Journal of Social Psychology found discrimination against tattoos is alive and well, and that even individuals with tattoos associate them with negative stereotypes.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.