We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
We're all being told "Don't touch your face" more times than we can even hope to register.
Have you noticed that you feel more agitated when you don't touch your face?
Why do we touch our faces all the time anyway?
Let me explain both of those things.
It's not really that you're touching your face, rather it's that you're smelling your hands. Why? Because our hands let us know if there's some foreign DNA in our system based on how they smell.
Think about it:
Further, one of the less well known symptoms of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) is a loss of the sense of smell. Likely that's a survival mechanism for the virus - if we don't smell the difference in our hands' emanations, we're less likely to take anti-viral precautions and are thus more likely to spread the contagion. A very clever virus. (Clever is probably not the right word, diabolical is more to the point!)
So - you're agitated because you can't check your health by smelling your hands.
(N.B.: That may be why people wearing gloves often have sweaty palms. That can be caused by subconscious worry about not being able to smell their hands, along with an attempt to be able to smell them in spite of the gloves. This is pure conjecture on my part, but clearly matches all the facts.)
At any rate, today's commemorations are perfectly timed to celebrate this amazing bit of design: today is DNA Day and it's also National Sense of Smell Day.
Remember to thank the Lord for your sense of smell.
Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
Here's a bonus celebration-in-place for you today. In addition to the commemorations noted above, this is also Bob Wills Day and World Malaria Day. I suggest we all listen to a bit of classic Western Swing while enjoying a fragrant gin and tonic (the tonic has quinine - protects from malaria).
Cheers!
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
We're all being told "Don't touch your face" more times than we can even hope to register.
Have you noticed that you feel more agitated when you don't touch your face?
Why do we touch our faces all the time anyway?
Let me explain both of those things.
It's not really that you're touching your face, rather it's that you're smelling your hands. Why? Because our hands let us know if there's some foreign DNA in our system based on how they smell.
Think about it:
- Mothers know the smell of their children, and when it changes, they know something is amiss.
- Babies know the smell of their parents - when they smell someone else, they get a bit agitated.
- Mary Katherine Gallagher from SNL knew the smell of her armpits and used that to calm herself down.
Further, one of the less well known symptoms of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) is a loss of the sense of smell. Likely that's a survival mechanism for the virus - if we don't smell the difference in our hands' emanations, we're less likely to take anti-viral precautions and are thus more likely to spread the contagion. A very clever virus. (Clever is probably not the right word, diabolical is more to the point!)
So - you're agitated because you can't check your health by smelling your hands.
(N.B.: That may be why people wearing gloves often have sweaty palms. That can be caused by subconscious worry about not being able to smell their hands, along with an attempt to be able to smell them in spite of the gloves. This is pure conjecture on my part, but clearly matches all the facts.)
At any rate, today's commemorations are perfectly timed to celebrate this amazing bit of design: today is DNA Day and it's also National Sense of Smell Day.
Remember to thank the Lord for your sense of smell.
Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
Here's a bonus celebration-in-place for you today. In addition to the commemorations noted above, this is also Bob Wills Day and World Malaria Day. I suggest we all listen to a bit of classic Western Swing while enjoying a fragrant gin and tonic (the tonic has quinine - protects from malaria).
Cheers!
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