[HN Gopher] Soil gets its smell from bacteria trying to attract ... ___________________________________________________________________ Soil gets its smell from bacteria trying to attract invertebrates Author : caution Score : 40 points Date : 2020-04-07 09:28 UTC (1 days ago) (HTM) web link (www.newscientist.com) (TXT) w3m dump (www.newscientist.com) | radicaldreamer wrote: | Wonder why the smell is considered pleasant to humans (especially | freshly/lightly wet soil). | | Similarly, what're the secrets to the amazing fresh spring/summer | rain smell... | Jestar342 wrote: | Wet soil indicates there's a nearby source of (potentially | potable) water. | merpnderp wrote: | Perhaps it's a good clue on where to plant crops? | doctoboggan wrote: | Just speculating, but humans could be attracted to the smell | because it indicates fertile soil that would be more likely to | have fruits for foraging. | keenmaster wrote: | That is the most likely reason in my opinion. Usually, when | something in our natural environment is pleasant to our | senses, that's because it's a good thing from an evolutionary | standpoint. Vice-versa with unpleasant things. | konz wrote: | This is called Petrichor and the human nose is indeed hyper | sensitive to it (5 parts per trillion). | | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2020-04-08 23:00 UTC)