Role of smell

Ethologists have already shown that many animals use the secrets of some glands to communicate with representatives of their species, marking the boundaries of their territory or attracting a partner for mating. These secrets are therefore called "social hormones" or pheromones.
Very little is known about the role of smell in human life; However, expressions such as, for example, “the nose is clogged” (paradoxically, meaning that a person does not feel anything with his nose) suggest that this sense organ is certainly more important than we usually think.
It is known that in women the sense of smell is especially acute in the period between the onset of puberty and menopause, and before and after this period it is the same as in men. Apparently, the sharpness of smell in women also varies throughout the menstrual cycle, reaching a maximum at the time of ovulation. Their sensitivity to odors changes even within a day; in the morning it is higher than in the evening.
What role can sense of smell play in a person's life?
First of all, each of us, apparently, has its own individual smell, which allows other people more or less unconsciously to identify us with a “nose”. This smell can be different depending on the skin color or hair color, as well as on the floor: men and women emit a different smell due to the fact that they produce different secrets. Three groups of substances play an especially important role in the development of attraction between people: secrets produced by the female genital organs, substances contained in the urine of men, and components of sweat.
[In the novel “The Roots” by A. Haley, the African leader teaches his son to recognize white by the smell of “wet chicken” they publish.]
English scientists have discovered the odorous secrets of the vagina in the female rhesus monkeys after the introduction of estrogen, causing strong sexual arousal of the males. It turned out that these substances, which the authors called "copulins", are fatty acids and are also present in the vaginal secrets of women.
The urine of adult males contains a high concentration of musky substance called exaltolide, the sensitivity to which is much higher in women than in men or children.
Sweat is secreted mainly in the armpits, where it is retained by the armpit hair. Fresh sweat has a light odor, which, unfortunately, deteriorates rather quickly as a result of fermentation, which is favored by wearing clothes.
According to the ethnologist Eibl-Eibesfeldt, representatives of some tribes of New Guinea express their friendly disposition towards the outgoing person, holding his hand under his arm, sniffing his hand and then rubbing his scent into his skin. In the Philippines, lovers, who have a long separation, traditionally exchange their used clothes to smell their loved one for as long as possible.