Picture a lily. Mentally describe its color, shape and textures. Now try to describe its smell. What adjectives would you use? Is it sweet? Light? Cloying? Now imagine you are describing its scent to someone who has no smell (anosmic). What does "sweet" smell like? Imagine describing the color pink to a blind person, or the sound of a violin to a deaf person. You may quickly find yourself drowning in a whirlpool of meaningless adjectives.

Although we can measure sound in decibels, color in frequencies and touch in units of force and pressure, how do we measure smell? For thousands of years, men and women have sought to define, categorize and measure odors. We may have traveled to the moon and back, but our oldest sense, our sense of smell, still eludes us.

In order to learn more about smell, a look at how our bodies receive odors, and how our brains perceive them, is in order. Alas, this means that Jolique must don her biologist chapeau (much less attractive than other millinery delights!). First, let's take a look at the old schnoz. Here's a pretty little picture Jolique drew just for you: