“Smell Dating” is Matchmaking Based on Scent. Hot or Not?

Would You Date Solely On Stank? 

It's no secret that pheromones play a big role in which D's, B's and V's get together, and entrepreneurs Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne are putting the science to the test with with their new matchmaking company, Smell Dating. While Brain and Lavigne (no relation to Adam, I pray to God), are packaging this as an artistic experiment, people are clamoring to get in on all the odiferous action.    

Smell Dating clients get their stink on by wearing a T-shirt for three days straight. The T-shirt is then sent to NYU - where Lavigne is a researcher - and cut into squares which are mailed to potential dates. Much like current dating apps, if two clients have a mutual nut busting reaction to each other's scent, they are matched together. She swiped right, because of my pit stank!

Of course the premise is based on years of scientific research that suggests chemical signals sent through scent have a role in who hooks up with who. As Smell Dating spells out on its website: Via Smell Dating

Smell is one of the most poignant and evocative experiences afforded by the human sensory apparatus. Also known as olfaction, it is our physical capacity for detecting and perceiving the molecules around us. It is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity, which can be considered analogous to sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates. In humans, olfaction occurs when odorant molecules bind to specific sites in the olfactory receptors inside the nose. These come together at the glomerulus, a structure which transmits signals to the olfactory bulb, a part of the brain directly above the nasal cavity and below the frontal lobe. From here, the signals are fed into the limbic system, where emotion and memory are processed, before finally passing into the language-processing frontal cortex. This particular neural pathway means that, unlike sight and sound, smell is interpreted first in terms of memory and emotion before being mapped to language. 

In addition to the novelty of choosing a mate based solely on pheromones, Smell Dating sends an unassumingly progressive message of post-gender somethingness by excluding race, age, gender, and sexual orientation from the equation. Assuming that the science of sexual attraction triggered through smell is accurate, hypothetically your match should be what you desire. But what if you're a guy, and it's a big ol' dick in your face? 

While the service is experimental and currently only available to NYC residents, with a long wait list and tons of publicity, you may one day be able to hook up with a rando based on the stew of smells they whip up on a T-shirt! 

Via Smell Dating and Fortune