SNIFF THIS

Ok, let me set the scene... The sense of smell is closely tied to memory and emotion - Its a powerful way to reinforce ideas.  So its not such a crazy idea then that at the Headspace symposium; architects, scientists and artists fervently discuss the real impact of scent.

But its maps that we're interested in here, and fortunately for us there are a few sites around the world that are already spatially collating olfactory observations. For example, the Great British smell map or Olfactory Factory use Google Maps to pinpoint the locations of many wacky smells such as vomit, feet, clean air or goat.

All this may seem interesting but 'are they really smell maps?' I hear you ask.

'Dont they still just operate in a visual way?'

Enough of the questions already because Digiscents have invented iSmell, a prototype USB device that plugs into your computer and emits certain smells depending on what you're looking at. So now, our simple geotagged scents literally begin to stink.

In 1999 Wired Magazine's review of the device stated that "if this technology takes off, it's gonna launch the next Web revolution"  Sadly though, it didn't, and in 2001 DigiScents went bankrupt.

However, their dream endures, in me, and now... in you!

In the meantime though perhaps you can imagine enjoying the sensory overload of this bee's wax map

Smell ya later!