[HN Gopher] Soil gets its smell from bacteria trying to attract ...
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       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
        
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       (page generated 2020-04-08 23:00 UTC)