It's called anosmia...and it's a real thing.
Most of us have all of our five senses, yet there are so many of us out there who don’t. While there are some disabilities that are easily detectable to others (blindness, deafness) not being able to smell is not one of them. The majority of people with anosmia (the lack of sense of smell) do not tell others openly, but since you are curious, there are ways you can find out. The following are 23 habits and behaviors expressed by only those who cannot smell.
More info: girlwhocantsmell.com
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1. You’ve never heard of or seen them visiting the perfume section at department stores.
An anosmic will never frequent this section of the store. We agree it looks pretty, but the products being sold there do nothing for us. I mean, unless you count providing us with an exhilarating adrenaline rush while we hurry past and avoid making eye contact with the sales reps.
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2. They’re always the last ones to react after someone passes gas next to both of you.
“Ohhh, yeah. So gross.” Anosmics don't even have a clue tbh. More than likely they will read your facial cues and "fake smell" and play along with you.
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3. They’ve asked you to smell their clothes for them. A lot.
Obviously, we still want to be likable people. We are aware there are things such as bad smells that can be totally embarrassing for us and off-putting to you. We will ask you to smell our clothes just so we can keep our anxiety for that hour in check.
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4. You don’t understand how they can be dating someone whose notorious for having smelly feet.
This is one of the biggest signs. If you notice this situation, feel free to approach us and ask if we have anosmia and can't smell.
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5. They’ve never complained about you burning the microwave popcorn during a movie night.
You may be thinking we are such prudent and reserved friends (which we are). We are not like the rest of your friends who will make you feel bad for making a mistake. We have one less way of judging you.
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6. You can always count on them having breath mints.
Anosmics always carry breath mints and gum because we are always paranoid of having bad breath and being embarrassed after finding out from you.
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7. They looked really upset after you gave them a candle set for Christmas.
Anosmics don't take this gesture too personal, because more than likely we haven't told you our little secret. Still, we don't like getting candles or anything scented. It's like a gift, but one that you're giving to yourself (since you'll be the one benefiting from it when I light it up at my place whenever you visit). LOL JK Ok. We like candles (rolls eyes).
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8. They’re unbothered by how bad you smell after hot yoga.
An anosmic would even hug you right after.
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9. You’ll never hear them complimenting your expensive, new shampoo (They’ll only mention how fabulous your hair looks).
It's true, an anosmic will never compliment you on how great you smell, but we will compliment the heck out of you whenever you look flawless.
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10. If someone points out something smells weird, they’ll automatically think it’s them.
Talk about paranoia! An anosmic's anxiety level goes up the roof if we ever hear someone say something smells bad around us.
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11. They never go to any of your Scentsy or Essential Oils parties.
In the rare case your anosmic friend does show up, they'll be next to the snack table munching around and avoiding the entire presentation.
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12. You asked them what their favorite smell is, and they subtly changed the subject.
Your anosmic friend has identified this specific question as the first question that will lead you both down the "Omg. You can't smell?" rabbit hole. They'd rather not spend their time convincing you they can't smell, if they were to stay around to answer it truthfully.
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13. They seriously giggled after seeing you smell an old book at the library.
Smelling a book looks funny. An anosmic doesn't understand why you would do this.
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14. You’ve had to warn them more than once their place smells like gas.
First of all, you are an awesome friend for pointing this out. An anosmic friend will remember this always (especially during your birthday and Christmas).
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15. If they receive flowers, they won’t ever sniff them first.
An anosmic will first point out "how beautiful" they look,(because they are) and that's all we know. LOL
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16. They heated up their salmon in the microwave at work once and you couldn’t understand why they did that in the first place.
Who knew fish stinks? It's so good for you!
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17. They may complain about eating food that was “off” and having stomach issues more compared to anyone else you know.
Let me tell you, anosmics can't tell if food has spoiled as easily as people who can smell. We have to depend on what it looks like and that's not always a reliable indicator. We would have to ask someone else if it smells bad (if another person would be around) or just risk it.
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18. They may get annoyed every time you start describing how good something smells.
Anosmics don't hate, they just can't understand and join you.
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19. You noticed they carry around a full size bottle of mouthwash and 3 sticks of deodorant inside their Mary Poppins sized handbag.
True story.
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20. They can pick up dog poop with no problem.
This is an anosmic's superpower. We are protected from bad smells.
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21. You may notice they may take a shower up to three times a day during summer.
Anosmics dread being told they smell bad. It's devastating. We need guarantees and showering helps our confidence.
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22. They’ll add lots of salt and spices to their meals.
Some anosmics may not be able to taste, but the majority can. Our sense of taste may be a bit muted compared to others, and this is why we may compensate by adding a lot of salt and spices to our food.
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23. You pranked them with a stink bomb on April Fool’s Day and there’s been no mention of it. Ever.
23. Yes, if this isn't the biggest sign, then I don't know what is. Remember though, I wouldn't recommend you trying this. Anosmics have a fair advantage over you. We wouldn't mind picking up a cute little thing called a skunk, and letting it spray your house around while we watched calmly and relaxed.
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