Prototype device lets users smell colors

[AndreaJames]

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/05/26/prototype-device-lets-users-sm.html

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[DreamboatSkanky]

The snozzberries smell like snozzberries!

[TheFonz]

Reminds me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon where Elmer wakes up after a Rip Van Winkle sleep and sees a newspaper headline that screams “Smell-o-vision replaces Television!”

[Boundegar]

I suppose red wavelengths smell just like red molecules?

[nimelennar]

I wonder if it works on wavelength or RGB/CMYK mixes.

By which I mean: would a flower that is yellow because it reflects only the a specific “yellow” wavelength smell any different than a computer screen that is emitting a mixture of mostly red and green wavelengths to approximate the same shade of yellow to a human eye?

[HMSGoose]

A bouquet of what? of all that things that are associated with that color? By proportional mass of the existence of those things in the world? So is yellow like 30% urine, 20% mustard, and 30% dandelions? Or proportional to the strength of thei smell, or how likely the average person is to encounter those objects? Adjusting for the psychological impression that that color/smell combination tends to have? So many questions…(and yeah, didn’t watch the video, in case they answered how they pick the colors…)

[Daaksyde]

With a bit of hallucinogens, you wouldn’t need a device to smell colors. Although there’s a fair chance that with a bit of hallucinogens you’d have some weird device in your hand anyway, and might even be sniffing it, but that would be unrelated.

[TimmoWarner]

Next up from the artist: People Smelling Paintings.