The most unique-smelling places on Earth

Scientists determine the smells of objects in outer space

Using spectrographic techniques, scientists determine the chemical composition of planetary atmospheres, comets, and other objects in space. Combining these chemicals in labs on Earth has revealed locations in space that smell like nail polish remover, rotten fish, and urine.

Scientists are reconstructing ancient smells—including a 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy

Researchers explain how they have recreated the scent of ancient Egyptian mummies and enabled museum-goers to experience that scent on specialized cards. The exhibit will be at the Royal BC Museum in Canada in June 2026.

Explore some of the trademarked scents in the US

Scents, when they are truly unique and identifiable to a particular brand, can be trademarked. Any trademark on a scent must pass two tests: distinctiveness and non-functionality. In order to be trademarked, the scent of a product can't be the primary purpose of that product (like a candle or a perfume), and the scent has to be distinct. Some of the trademarked scents include Play-Doh and the pain-relief patch Salonpas.

A 2025 study explored the common words to describe body odor across 17 countries

The work identified the 25 most frequent words used to describe body odors across languages, ranked by frequency, and found that "sweaty" topped the list, followed by "sour" and "stinky."

'Fragrantica' is a perfume encyclopedia with innovative features

Search perfumes by notes (citrus, magnolia, etc.), designers, location, popularity, and more, and stay up to date with the latest perfume news with this international passion project. Each perfume is broken down into its "accords" or blends of ingredients so you can learn the many scents that go into each fragrance. A must-have stop for anyone curious or passionate about fragrances.

Humans may be able to distinguish more than one trillion scents

That's according to one estimate published in 2014. This figure far exceeds earlier estimates of a human smelling ceiling around 10,000 odors. The newer figure is derived from experiments in which volunteers agreed to sniff varying scents. Researchers mixed odor components and had volunteers sniff the brews to detect subtle scent differences. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Ranking the 10 hottest places on Earth

Death Valley in California often gets the press for the hottest recorded air temperature in the world. What about the runners-up? This list compiles the rest of the Earth's hottest spots, from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kebili in Tunisia.

Why your wine smells unpleasant

Ever had the experience of receiving a bottle of wine with a janky, less-than-favorable odor? This Esquire article ventures to answer this question and offers the explanation that the culprit is likely corked wine. Read to understand why corks can create a moldy or musty scent, and feel emboldened to send a corked bottle back for something with improved quality.

The world's weirdest flowers

We mostly marvel at the beauty of flowers, but some kinds of flowers are incredibly weird. This video highlights 15 of the world's strangest flowers, from the massive Titan Arum to the rare Lady Slipper Orchid.

The world's most unique cheeses

Some are set apart by their unusual ingredients, like moose milk or live mites. Others are defined by texture, like the Georgian specialty tenili, a very rare hand-pulled cheese that resembles yarn or pasta strands. There’s even a canned cheese that has been using the same strain of bacteria for more than 70 years.

How five of the world's most expensive salt and spices are made

Part of the charm of certain spices and salts is their exotic origin, hailing from difficult-to-access locales or hewn via special processes. That also explains why they can be so expensive. Dive into the businesses of producing and marketing five of the world's most expensive food additives with this engaging video.

Odor blockers use nonpolar oils to trap smelly polar molecules

In the case of feces, gut bacteria produce compounds such as skatole and hydrogen sulfide, which the brain registers as unpleasant. Because oils do not dissolve in water, they can be used to create a layer on the surface that prevents smelly compounds underwater from escaping into the air.

Explore three of the world's most iconic deserts

Investigate the Gobi Desert in Central Asia, the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, and the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa as you learn about the wildlife and people that call these places home. Click through images of the Gobi Desert, which—located in...

The best restaurant tasting experiences in every state

Looking for the best tasting experiences that are a must-try in your home state or anywhere you may be traveling? Here are your options.

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.

Typhoid smells like freshly baked brown bread

Certain ailments are associated with documented scents, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and typhoid. The skin of people with yellow fever, for example, can smell like a "butcher shop."

Hereditary hyperosmia is the official term for being a super-smeller

Some sniffers with this rare trait may be more sensitive to pleasant smells, while others may be more attuned to unpleasant scents. Some research suggests that certain genetic mutations are associated with a heightened sense of smell.

America's most underrated places to visit

The United States is vast, with beautiful and fascinating cultural hubs, landmarks, and natural wonders to fill a lifetime of travel. These landmarks can be well-known and top everyone's bucket list, or they can fly under-the-radar. Here's a list of...

Benjamin Franklin once wrote a satirical essay about passing gas

The Founding Father was asked to judge a contest for the Royal Academy of Brussels, but was incensed by one of the contest's questions, which he believed was highly impractical. In response, he wrote a piece suggesting that the most essential problem for scientists to solve was the "fetid Smell" that came with passing gas.

Read a technical review of extremophile categories, including the habitats of each

Acidophiles can survive in environments with acidity greater than that of the human stomach, and some radiophiles can live in places with radiation exposure hundreds of times higher than what is lethal to humans. Piezophiles—formerly known as barophiles—have been found in the Mariana Trench, where pressures are over 1,000 times larger than those on Earth's surface.

Null Island: the most real fictional island you can almost visit

This article explores Null Island, which can be found on most maps at exactly 0° latitude and 0° longitude. If someone were to paddle out to those coordinates, they'd find themselves in front of a buoy named Soul off the west coast of Africa. User...

An interactive sound map of 8,000 locations around the world

Cities and Memory's global sound map covers 140 countries, featuring paired recordings: original field captures of a moment in time and an artist's recomposition built from the same source. The structure treats every location as both document and raw material, giving 2,500 contributors the same prompt with unpredictable results.

The massive sinkholes of China

Parts of China's limestone-rich terrain is fertile ground for massive caves, where some of the world's largest sinkholes are located. Hidden away in dense, lush forests, geologists are frequently discovering new sinkholes to explore. This piece...

A collection of fascinating facts about the planet and its creatures

You may have already heard that cheetahs are the fastest animals on land, but did you know that Savannah elephants are the strongest? This page on the World Wildlife Fund's UK website features a diverse range of articles on mammals, underwater creatures, birds, reptiles, insects, and landscapes. Discover captivating information about Earth and the creatures you share it with.

Touring the northernmost brewery in the world

Svalbard Brewery is located in the Arctic village of Longyearbyen—in a region known for polar bears, reindeer, and miles of uninhabited frozen tundra—and caters to a diverse, international clientele who appreciate the beer's unique ingredient: 2,000-year-old glacier water.

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.

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.

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

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

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

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

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

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.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

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

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace