Ten Fun Facts About Smell
From great white sharks to cockroaches, an organism's sense of smell can be indispensable.
1) Feet of snow through which a polar bear can smell seals: 3
2) Miles away a storm-petrel can smell a food source at sea: 5
3) Miles away the male common emperor moth can smell receptive females: 6
4) Miles away wild Bactrian camels are reputed to be able to find water, their well-tuned nostrils likely following the scent given off by water-dwelling bacteria: 50
5) Gallons of water in which a great white shark can smell just one drop of blood: 25
6) Times more sensitive the human sense of smell is than the sense of taste: 10,000
7) Odors mice and humans can identify: 10,000
8) Olfactory receptor cells in a single cockroach antenna: 195,000
9) Olfactory receptor cells in a human that are dedicated to picking up scent: 12,000,000
10) Olfactory receptor cells in a bloodhound: 4,000,000,000
This story originally ran in the May-June 2012 issue as “Numbers Game: Sniffing Out the Facts.”