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Why Does Rain Smell So Good?
Live Science
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4 minutes ago
Do you love the good smell of rain? If so, you're not alone.
Category
🤖
Tech
Transcript
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00:01
Why does rain smell so good?
00:04
Do you love the smell of rain?
00:06
If so, you're not alone.
00:08
In fact, some scientists actually think
00:10
that people inherited their affection
00:12
for the scent of rain from our ancestors
00:14
who relied on rainy weather for survival.
00:16
But what makes rain smell so nice?
00:19
The answer lies in several scents
00:21
that permeate the air after a rainfall.
00:24
One of these pleasing scents is called petrichor.
00:27
This earthy scent is produced when rain falls on dry soil,
00:31
and it's actually a combination of two different smells.
00:34
The first comes from plants.
00:36
Certain plants secrete oils during dry spells,
00:39
and when it rains, these oils are released into the air.
00:42
And the second odor sprouts from the soil.
00:45
It comes from chemicals from soil-dwelling bacteria,
00:48
and it's also released when rain hits the ground.
00:51
But this petrichor scent isn't the only reason
00:54
that the smell of rain is pleasing.
00:56
There's also the scent of ozone.
00:58
That's right, ozone.
01:00
It's formed during thunderstorms
01:02
when lightning causes chemical reactions
01:04
to take place in the atmosphere.
01:06
The sharp smell of ozone is somewhat similar to chlorine.
01:10
And if you're one of those people who can smell rain coming,
01:13
ozone is why.
01:15
Wind can carry the molecules from an approaching storm
01:18
straight into your nostrils.
01:20
The scent of rain.
01:21
just another one of life's little mysteries.
01:23
Just another one of life's little mysteries.
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