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Sniffing Out The Link Between ADHD And Smell
50 Plays3 months ago
Join your hosts, Paul & Martin (the ex co-mayors of ADHDville), as they take a deep dive into the surprisingly fascinating (and sometimes bizarre) connection between ADHD and SMELL.
Why do some ADHDers crave the scent of petrol, old books, or cinnamon like it’s a dopamine buffet? Why do certain perfumes make us want to gag? And—wait—did Martin just drop the horrifying truth that we start smelling like old people in our 50s?!
In this episode, we’re sniffing out the science, swapping weird smell-related childhood stories (magnesium ribbon cigarettes, anyone?), and debating whether TikTok fame is worth an Adderall color lottery.
So whether you’re hypersensitive to smells or couldn’t detect a gas leak if your life depended on it, hop into our metaphorical tractor (don’t ask) and ride along through ADHDville—where detours are the scenic route, and distractions are part of the charm.
Stay pungent, friends.
Theme music was written by Freddie Philips and played by Martin West. All other music by Martin West. Please remember: This is an entertainment podcast about ADHD and does not substitute for individualized advice from qualified health professionals.
This is an entertainment podcast and does not substitute for individualized specialist advice.
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Transcript
Introduction to ADHD and Sense of Smell
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, here we are, back in the room. Back in the room, Mr. Paul. So to today, yes we are going to talk about ADHD and smell.
00:00:12
Speaker
Yes. um And it's a shame, I know, right? It's a shame that's actually ah that you can't smell podcasts, or maybe it's a good thing you can't smell podcasts. Maybe. be um But yeah, it is kind of quite interesting. So let's go to a place where the distractions are landmarks and the detours are the main roads. Welcome to ADHDville.
00:00:37
Speaker
When my head starts bobbing, it's about smells, sniffing, smelling, sniffing and smelling.
00:00:47
Speaker
Aromas, curfew, that kind of thing.
00:00:54
Speaker
week yes we are
00:01:00
Speaker
hello i'm clint eastwood and i like to look ponderously into the distance while chewing a cigar or alternatively i'm paul thompson and i was diagnosed with the combined ad h and a d crawling towards couple of years ago and i'm john wayne and i have a very questionable history um but some rather excellent movies.
00:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, very questioned questioned questionable. And I was diagnosed with the combined ADHD poo-poo platter in 1853.
00:01:35
Speaker
1853. So where do we start off this week, Martin? Well, we start off, um as we are, at the King's Agitated Dwarf. head pub in ADHDville where we, the ex-mayors of ADHDville, are going to take care of business.
00:01:51
Speaker
And we've got two things on on the ah agenda. Firstly, we'll talk about hats.
TikTok Trends and ADHD
00:01:57
Speaker
Yes. It says on my notes. And then we're going to talk about ADHD and smell.
00:02:02
Speaker
The main thing. Hats. The smells. Hats. Hats. Because you had a thing. You you posted something, Mr. West, on TikTok. On TikTok. So if you haven't found us yet on TikTok, go and find us on TikTok.
00:02:18
Speaker
um Yeah. It's mostly mostly Marty's. martinty Martin, like, kills it on on the on the TikTok. He's much more active on TikTok. He's holding our, you know, fighting our corner on the TikToks over there. So go and find us.
00:02:37
Speaker
Have you seen Mr. Paul Thompson? Yeah. our latest TikTok post has 6,634 views. What? Yeah. What the hell? Because we've been slaves the freaking TikTok algorithm.
00:02:51
Speaker
views yeah who so because we've been slaves to the freaking tiktok algorithm Oh, that's good news.
00:03:04
Speaker
And it has gave us 10 new people. How, what, why, when, who, if? Well, if you want to know, it's it's it's on TikTok.
00:03:15
Speaker
And it is the post about um Adderall Colour of the Month. Adderall Colour of the Month. Who'd have known it? that Because normally we're like, how come we've got that much... um traction this week oh because i i did something i broke down and did a cool tiktok rather than just doing like ah you know yeah Yeah, there was a trend. I don't normally jump on on trends, but i I jumped on it on it now. the trend is, right, so if you have ADHD meds and they're generic meds, yeah they have a particular color, right, all depending on the manufacturer of that particular meds.
00:04:09
Speaker
So every time you go and pick up your meds, you don't really know what colour your Adderall is going to be. So it's normally, i normally have dark blue pills, right?
00:04:23
Speaker
But because of supply chain issues, it's been like I can tell that my pharmacy has been getting Adderall wherever they can. So sometimes it's a different colour. So now it's a lottery.
00:04:34
Speaker
It's like buying crystal meths on the street. Yeah, you don't know what you're going to get. It changed its colour. Okay. So you open the bag and you do a reveal.
00:04:46
Speaker
Is it is it the dark blue pills I like or or is it a different color? Yeah. And that got us the ah views? Yes. That got us a bunch of views. um
ADHD Sensitivities: Hats and Smells
00:04:59
Speaker
Okay. All right. So I will just mention hats very briefly since we've already yeah burnt up a bunch of time on on tick TikTok.
00:05:09
Speaker
um So because we've kind of gone where i wear a where I wore a beanie hat for like six months,
00:05:23
Speaker
and then it got too hot and i and i wore my beanie hat all the time because it was cold um and i don't have any hair yeah and then uh it gets too hot and then you go right i've got to switch hats now i've got to i've got to go with the climate and then i've got to go for the baseball cap
00:05:45
Speaker
Okay. And ah there is a thing about ADHD and sensitivities and do you like hats or not? Yeah.
00:05:57
Speaker
I like, ah I like to feel my head's being squeezed. Okay. Like, like being like a rebirth. Yeah.
00:06:08
Speaker
Yeah. I like to.
00:06:11
Speaker
With the forceps. That. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. okay Okay. Okay. Okay. I like, like it from a style point of view. I find if I'm in a bad mood or, know, indifferent mood, I could put a hat on. I've got a collection of hats, Martin.
00:06:33
Speaker
I've got a collection of hats and I can swap out a mood. bit like Wurzel Gummidge. remember Wurzel Gummidge used to twist on and twist off heads depending on what mood he was in.
00:06:47
Speaker
yeah um i could do that with hats. could feel instantly a little bit perkier. Nice. Yeah, putting on a certain hat. head in. get ahead
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah. Get the head. Talking of which, I found out something about, learned something about, you know John Purwey, who did Wurzel Gummidge? And was in Doctor Who.
00:07:13
Speaker
Yes. Yes, exactly. Did you know that he was a senior consultant in the war rooms for Winston Churchill? Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah.
00:07:25
Speaker
And every time he was in the war rooms with Churchill, like, oh, let's, you know, let's strategize whatever. And then Winston Churchill would go out and he would leave leave littered all over the floors, like chewed up and discarded cigar butts.
00:07:39
Speaker
He'd go out and sell them to make a few bob. Oh, that's what I was doing. Of discarded Churchill's. Yeah, that'd be straight on eBay. Pertwee.
00:07:51
Speaker
Mm-hmm. That's bizarre, though, isn't it? Bizarre. Anyway. Anyway. Let's... Right. Where are we going talk about ADHD? Let's move on to today's theme. Let's go to the farm, Marty. Loads of smells on the farm.
00:08:05
Speaker
Well, it's a good job that out the the tractor is right outside the pub. So we can jump in the tractor and go. It's convenient. far I know it is. I know is. It is very convenient.
00:08:17
Speaker
All right. Here we go. Let's get in. Let's get in. Oh, we're
00:08:23
Speaker
we're off. are
00:08:35
Speaker
Did we, um, just sort of, did we, we, we forgot, didn't we? forgot We forgot again to take the plough off the back of the tractor. Yeah, these roads are ruined. They're ruined.
00:08:46
Speaker
Yeah, but we're not the mayors anymore, so we don't care. No. Right, let's start off with the smell thing, and I'm going start off with the with ah something that kind of horrified me ah a couple of months ago.
00:09:01
Speaker
Okay. Right. So you know that... old You know when you go to into like an old person's house or an old people's home, it has a sort of a certain smell.
00:09:13
Speaker
There's a certain smell with old people, right? Yes. And it's to do with how your body. body changes right and it and it starts to change the stuff that it does and hormones and wet moist things and and moist and did you have to say that word i hate that word moist i'm allowed to say once every 100 episodes Oh, okay. so All right. As per as per our our contract.
00:09:47
Speaker
but oh Okay. If you look at page 87, it says I can say the word moist. Yeah, it's in small print. um But, yeah, so we smell like old people, and we start to smell like old people as early as, like, in our 50s.
00:10:08
Speaker
Is it the smell of degradation? I'm not sure what the chemical-y stuff is, right? But in theory, you and I, Paul, are already starting to smell like old people.
00:10:25
Speaker
Oh, blimey. I know. Triggered. ruin I just ruin so the whole podcast. I'm so triggered. I'm triggered. Right.
00:10:36
Speaker
I'm literally clenching my buttocks as we speak. know. It's horrifying. I know. it's ah it's a horrifying ah no But I did find, actually, that there is a... i'm not we I'm not endorsed by anyone, but there is a product that is specifically for to combat that.
00:10:58
Speaker
So no that's what I use. Are you kidding? Are you kidding? No. No. Is it smell of mothballs? No, smells of oranges. Lume.
00:11:11
Speaker
Smells of orange. ah It's ironic. Loom is like the opposite of bloom. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway. Because it's like you're not blooming, are you? It's just like you're looming.
00:11:26
Speaker
You're looming. You're going towards 70. You're looming. Yes. Old age is starting to loom on me. It's on the horizon. Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:39
Speaker
Oh, dear. Yeah. Oh, God. All right. But are you serious? you know you've got You've bought a product specifically to avoid the smell of of um degradation old age.
00:11:54
Speaker
I don't want smell like an old person, Paul. I don't want to like, oh, he smells like an old guy. Right. No, I don't want that.
00:12:06
Speaker
Blimey. No. Okay. So let's let's get into, I mean, it it is, should we call that a segue? ah Sure. Why not?
Olfactory Studies and ADHD Impact
00:12:16
Speaker
Let's call that a segue.
00:12:18
Speaker
So you're probably thinking by now, well, what the what the hell has smell got to do with ADHD? Right. Who wants to take it on? You? I can.
00:12:30
Speaker
There's on it been this actually been some studies, Marty. There's been some studies specifically about the relationship between ADHD and smell and reduced old olfactory sense of sensitivity. So olfactory is anything to do with the sense of smell.
00:12:52
Speaker
okay So reduce smelling sensitivity, meaning that we may, may as ADHD is, may not be able to detect odours as easily or or require higher concentrations to ah to do so.
00:13:07
Speaker
So the things that maybe neurologically, neuronal people can smell, we might need help in um sensing the same kind of odours in the same way.
00:13:21
Speaker
I believe it's called hyposmere. hi Hyposmere? Oh, really? Okay. yeah Another thing is that some individuals with ADHD, particularly children, although I suspect most of the research has been done with children, so maybe not relevant at all, sometimes show impairments in identifying and differentiating between odours.
00:13:48
Speaker
Okay. Okay. o um Last thing just to test ah to set this up, um to tee this up, is actually um this the the sense of smell is actually being studied at the moment as a possible way of diagnosing better or understanding but or understanding better ADHD in general.
00:14:14
Speaker
It could be the sense of our sense of smell could be a way of diagnosing ah more accurately ADHD and faster. And flash news this week. There's some news that retina exams could be used in a not too distant future to diagnose ADHD, a little side note to that one.
00:14:40
Speaker
That's interesting. A little side note. So, yeah, there is a link between a sense our sense of smell ADHD. Right. So you've got hyposmere, which is the reduced smell detection, but also ADHD can affect you. We have heightened symptoms.
00:14:57
Speaker
smell Yes. And that's called hyperosmia. Hyperosmia. Right. um you know So, yeah, so it's we can so we can really smell smells and sometimes we can't smell smells. But isn't that and so typical? It's like it's always so much of like this stuff with ADHD, flip-flops.
00:15:22
Speaker
between excessiveness and the opposite of excessiveness, like complete lack of. Right. It flip flops. I think, you know, like I think because my wife is very good at smelling things.
00:15:40
Speaker
Okay. Like we'll be doing something. She'll do you smell that? I'm like, no, I don't smell anything. And then about 10 minutes later, then I smell it.
00:15:52
Speaker
um Yeah. and And I think she just has a little bit more of a sort of a, she can hyper focus it on it more. But it's types. of What types of smell though? That's the thing.
00:16:08
Speaker
Right. Is it specific? Like acidic. It's like tasting things, you know, like acidity, you know, sweetness, you know. not talk i'm not sure. kind so I would have to ask her. Keep the diary.
00:16:25
Speaker
Personally, for myself, there are... that there are Certain smells that I really, really like.
00:16:36
Speaker
Like. And the interesting thing, because if you really like a smell, then you almost get a dopamine hit from it, right? If you know those kinds of smells, you get, and you'll actually go out of your way to smell that smell.
00:16:53
Speaker
Oh, totally. Yeah. Every time ah I open up a nutmeg, I've got, you know, I've got a little jar of nutmegs. I have to smell that jar, and that that little pot of nutmegs. Oh, that's like gold.
00:17:09
Speaker
Yes. I'm the same with them on um that theme, cinnamon. Oh, right. I'm all over cinnamon like a nasty rash.
00:17:21
Speaker
It's the best thing. Yeah, yeah. Okay. um there There is a bunch of smells that, I mean, so if you caught the yeah TikTok post last week, there are some comments from like those. Here's some of the smells that people like. And this is one of the good ones.
00:17:40
Speaker
from Heather Michelle. She says, the smell of the fair, you know, like a fairground. Yeah. Yeah. The the smell of a of the fair, ah a combination of fried food, diesel fuel, with a hint of adrenaline sweat.
00:18:00
Speaker
Yes. And candy floss. And candy floss, I suspect. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Garden Arts. Depends on your your age, I suppose. we're not when Because we had a fair that was near your house and near mine Epsom Downs when the the Derby Day was there. And then there there was a fair and carnage would ensue.
00:18:24
Speaker
ah remember the smell of, um distinct smell of candy floss and toffee apples. Lovely. And diesel, as you pointed out. Yeah, that lovely smell of diesel.
00:18:37
Speaker
Teddy mix. I know. Nice. Garden Arts said ah lavender. um Old books. Oh, yeah God, yes.
00:18:51
Speaker
Old books. Old books. Lovely. Yeah. I was talking but talk to someone yesterday. They were saying, oh, if you wanted to, they wanted to get a book. And they said, oh, you could, um you could like download the book. And I said, no, no I want the smell of a book.
00:19:10
Speaker
I want to smell. I want to up to me. I don't want a Kindle. That doesn't smell of anything. Right. yeah mean you know Yeah. I mean, like those old books bookstores when you kind of go in and,
00:19:23
Speaker
It's just like God. Heaven. It's like heaven, isn't it? Yeah. know. The smell of cut grass. Yes, yes, yes. Also, I really like, you know, like in those big stores where you buy, um you know, ah like house hardware stuff, like, you know, like hammers and home stuff. And then they have a wood section. Iron mongers.
00:19:51
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I'm thinking of the big ones. Oh, DIY stores in general. Yeah. We have sort of lumber section where there's loads of wood and just go and walk around there. It's like, m the smell of wood, the smell of cut wood. Yeah.
00:20:11
Speaker
Very nice. Also, set depends on, oh, yeah, I'm quite sensitive to that. i'm to like If you can find cut the certain woods that are particularly nice when they're cut, I'm thinking of two that come to to come to mind, cedar wood, particularly lovely smell.
00:20:28
Speaker
um And, um oh, God, indeed that Australian wood when it's cut is really nice. Oh, I know you what while you while you're pondering on that, ah some other people said that they really liked dairy farms.
00:20:52
Speaker
it was a There was a dairy farm shout out. And and and not I get that. I mean, ah my my friend at school owned a dairy farm, so I spent a lot of time hanging out with him.
00:21:08
Speaker
Okay. He was a nutcase. He was a nutcase. um Okay. and ah Any detail on that? Well, I mean, so I used to – I mean, he was my friend at school, right? So he had a farm, and what I used to do to earn some money on a on a Saturday would be to go to his farm, and that' and then him and me would bag up all the cow shit into bags, right?
00:21:37
Speaker
right And then the farm would sell it as as as manure for your for for your plants and ah and yeah roses. So I spent quite a lot of time out in the fields with piles of dung with him shoving it into bags.
00:21:56
Speaker
And then he like one day he got an air rubb rifle, right? I don't know. He bought one or something. There's always he one of – yeah, that always happens. is so There's always someone who's got an air rifle.
00:22:11
Speaker
Right. And then so he thought it was really really hilarious if he started firing at me. Right. So I was like, I had to hide behind these dung piles while he was taking pot shots.
00:22:26
Speaker
That's really dangerous, though, because even air pissed air guns, air rifles, they can actually yeah take your life. Yeah. My God, that's madness. He was mad he was a mad kid.
00:22:41
Speaker
I mean, like one day he turned up at my house, right, because he had welded on onto his – he'd taken the front spokes and wheel off of his off of his of his pedal bike, right?
00:22:54
Speaker
Right. and And he'd found – a a a motorbike and he'd taken the front spokes and wheels and handlebars of a motorbike and welded it onto his pushbike and he and indeed he just turned up at my house right with this Frankenstein of a massive like ride motorbike front with a little tiny roquet in chemistry wondering
00:23:30
Speaker
In chemistry, ah there's this, a ah we did this experiment. don't know whether you remember experiment experimenting with magnesium, with magnesium ribbon, right? and yeah So it's like you would basically get a little piece of of magnesium and you put it in the flame of your Bunsen burner.
00:23:51
Speaker
It's usually the only reason to turn up for chemistry. Right, yeah. and Right, burn like a small sun, right? yeah for minute And you would have goggles on and you'd have gloves on yeah and you'd be like, and the magnesium was on the end of your prongs or whatever it was. like He decided in the lesson, he he he got his he's his roll-up paper for his cigarettes that he would make cigarettes, right? Roll-ups.
00:24:25
Speaker
And he rolled up in his roll-up cigarette and he put magnesium ribbon the the roll up right that's insane okay with his with his glasses on and right and and his little magnesium ribbon cigarette being held in his in his in his clamps and then he was just edging it towards the bunsen burner flame right
00:24:57
Speaker
Did he die? not he survived. Oh, okay. He survived. Miraculously. so Anyway. Okay. ah some okay some people Back to smells.
00:25:09
Speaker
So why are we talking about that? Okay, yeah. because Because I like the smell of dairy farms. There we go, eucalyptus. The smell of eucalyptus. Mm-hmm.
00:25:20
Speaker
Lovely smell. Yeah, I also like, you know, like um when you buy a blow-up bouncy ball, a new ball yeah that is like made of like vinyl stuff and you know and you get that new ball smell.
Nostalgia and Smell Memories
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, I'm getting in that smell as you say it. I can smell it, yeah. A beach ball. Yeah. Yeah. Well, smell is the, of all our senses, smell is the one the one most like strongly linked to to memories.
00:25:56
Speaker
If I think of my grandmother, I think oil of Yule.
00:26:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think of, um what do i what do I think of when I think of my nails? Oh.
00:26:11
Speaker
I'm trying to think of a smell that would just, oh, nutmeg is the one that makes me think about it. So it takes right back to when I was about 11 and I was in her kitchen and she was maybe cooking jam or something and she had nutmeg out and it just takes me back.
00:26:35
Speaker
sp For me, it's the same with cinnamon. My grandmother used to make the best apple pie with custard. And there would be, you know, lashings of of um cinma and cinnamon in there. the minimum Okay.
00:26:52
Speaker
i god i've got I've got a list of stuff. Have we got any more stuff from um our listeners? before going to mine. I think that fact that covers a a a fair amount. So so those those petrol smells came up a lot.
00:27:12
Speaker
I've got that. Totally. Which is like um you know like a freshly laid tarmac. you don't like if you If you walk past and they've had their drive tarmac and you get that kind of that strong smell. Well, I...
00:27:28
Speaker
I went down a bit of a rabbit hole in the smell of petrol because when I was a kid, I really liked the smell of the petrol. And now I hate it a lot. When I was a kid, I'd like if my dad stopped at a petrol station, I would get a lung full of that smell. I loved it.
00:27:46
Speaker
And I did a bit of a rabbit dive on that rabbit dive. Anyway, you know, I mean. And, um, and actually there's a link to, um, ADHD cause it actually, uh, it's linked to, you know, our search for, you know, infinite search for, you know, um, dopamine.
00:28:09
Speaker
And those kind of this very strong substances and and actually potentially if you wanted to, you could get into trouble, you know, that could lead on to, you know, glue sniffing and other substance abuse.
00:28:24
Speaker
So it's actually, you know, very much us looking for those like kind of stimulants in this case, a smell, pure smell.
00:28:34
Speaker
But now we'd learn, obviously, I mean, that was in the 70s I was doing that. Now we'd learn, actually, it's really ah toxic, the um petrol fumes.
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, there was the really bad stuff was a whole glue-sniffing phase yes at school, right? it was ah It was a big thing. massively.
00:28:56
Speaker
Yeah. I went to on a trip. When we were art college, We went on a trip to Paris. that you You didn't come to Paris, did you? No. For some reason. I couldn't afford it, probably.
00:29:07
Speaker
Okay. um Neither could I, but I went anyway. And there was there was this guy i was sharing my room with at like a hostel in Paris somewhere.
00:29:19
Speaker
And he stole my deodorant. And he was spraying my deodorant and he used up a whole can, spraying it through um ah towel. I think it was his towel. At at least it was his towel and sniffing my deodorant spray.
00:29:39
Speaker
and so getting off his trolley. for it Madness. Right. how am How am I supposed to still do that know pull the birds if I'm smelling like a... Exactly. I stank. That's why I didn't pull all the time I was in Paris.
00:29:54
Speaker
My life could have been so different. Oh, you know what? you you believe You could be living in the south of France right now with your yacht. Yes. Yes.
00:30:07
Speaker
With a weird kind of half London Cockney, half Parisian accent. Right. And your wife is some is some some crazy French woman who.
00:30:20
Speaker
Yeah. Sounds quite inviting, actually. Who drinks wine and dances at midnight. Yes, at Pernod.
00:30:29
Speaker
Sounds really inviting, actually. Yeah. I've got other things that I really like the smell of. It's probably one of my earliest memories, actually. Now I'm thinking about it. Let's go back. Because I was living in Kent at the time.
00:30:42
Speaker
i was living in Kent. I was born in a place called Headcorn, which is near Maidstone in Kent. That's where was born. a real place, Paul? Headcorn? Headcorn. that real place? Headcorn.
00:30:54
Speaker
It is a real place. It's a real place. I was born there. All right. I was born there. Actually, not only was I born there. When I was born, I was born at home and my mother, um they they took my the afterbirth and my mother told them to put it under the rhubarb in the yeah the allotment at the bottom of the garden.
00:31:18
Speaker
Had particularly good rhubarb for the year after, apparently. Nice. Yeah. yeah Wow. Anyway, so that was in Kent. But it's one of my earliest memories was of um going down the high street. at the so i assume it was Maidstone High Street.
00:31:35
Speaker
Roasted coffee beans. Oh, nice. Yes. Oh, God, that's good. That is. when you When you walk past one of those roasting Roasting slash burning places.
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah. It's not like on the, like the cusp between roasting and burning the coffee bean, the best smell. know I know. was just trying to think of my, the earliest thing that I can remember smelling, but it's honestly, I i can't. It's like, it's like I could see.
00:32:14
Speaker
And then ah couldn't smell i and until I was about 12. At least that' least out that's how it appeared. So I'm trying to but first thing i can What if I try you with something?
00:32:28
Speaker
Go on, then. What if I try you something? How about the smell of Farley's Rusk with hot milk?
Cultural Observations on Smoking
00:32:33
Speaker
i I knew you were going to go with the Farley's Rusks. um I never had them.
00:32:39
Speaker
Yeah. Didn't you? i never had them. No. Wow. No. No. All right. So have you got any other things? suppose like the earliest. In reality, my earliest smell was probably because my grandmother was a chain smoker.
00:32:55
Speaker
Oh, right. ah Literally, I mean, just like horrendous chainsmoker, as was my granddad. Yeah. I don't think he was he wasn't a chainsmoker, but she was.
00:33:09
Speaker
Tell me, tell me, Mr. Thompson, right? If I'm driving around here in you in New York, um Well, not in Manhattan, but just.
00:33:21
Speaker
And if I see someone smoking, it's very rare. Like I don't often see people smoking anyway. It's like once in a while. And it used to be when I when I first got here.
00:33:36
Speaker
that loads of people smoked. Like i smoked. and I'd be so i'll be so standing outside of my office building in Manhattan smoking. There'd be people going up and down asking me if if if I can give them a cigarette or or a light. It was like everywhere.
00:33:53
Speaker
But it's almost like it feels like it's gone. Yeah. No, here in Italy, not. it's Unfortunately, it's everywhere. Everyone smokes. Not everyone. A lot of people smoke in Italy.
00:34:04
Speaker
A hell of a lot. Yeah, that the this the smoking thing, you know, and it being causing cancer has not really, you know, has not really hit people's, it's not like attached to people's consciousness yet.
00:34:20
Speaker
It's crazy. I'm not sure if attached is the right word, but anyway. Right. Yeah. That's nuts. Yeah. they They smoke a lot. Like kids at school, they a lot of them smoke at school.
00:34:33
Speaker
Even like 14-year-olds, 15-year-olds smoking a lot. That's crazy because I would never see a kid smoke. Anyway, what else is on your list?
00:34:44
Speaker
got raw sugar. ah if you've got raw ah raw sugar Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like the raw sugar, not like the fake raw sugar, not brown sugar, because that's just like white.
00:34:58
Speaker
Do you know, I didn't know this, but brown sugar, you know, you get getting the list little sachets, you know, little thingies. Yeah. thing is that's a process they do after it was white they make it brown and they make it smell caramelize it caramelize it exactly and they add color and stuff and it's just like complete nonsense so i buy the expensive stuff and the smell of that i really like the smell of it i have a sniff of an oven of a morning Nice.
00:35:29
Speaker
Yeah. So, you know, that, that white powder pile that, that you have that you go down and have breakfast and you just sniff that white, that lovely little white pile yeah in the morning. No, not the white stuff. No, the raw stuff. Only the raw stuff.
00:35:48
Speaker
Like the proper raw bio, you know, bio stuff. Right. Yeah. Right. It's like slightly, it's got a slightly kind of damp kind of texture to it.
00:36:00
Speaker
You know, it's still like humid. um right. So, so you, said all right. So it's not drugs then, right? Paul, it's, it's sugar. Oh, no, it's not that. Yeah, no, no. It's sugar. Sugar. Sugar.
00:36:12
Speaker
Yeah. yeahy okay all alright Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just sugar. Nice. Feeling, feeling triggered. I believe you.
00:36:23
Speaker
Thousands wouldn't. Thousands wouldn't. um Yeah, that would have be an episode that we never actually published. and know Those kind of stories.
00:36:35
Speaker
Yeah. um How about you, Martin? What have you got? I mean, I've already kind of like, I already have a bunch of, mean, I've already kind of said bunches of ah things that I like.
00:36:49
Speaker
I do want to kind of go...
00:36:52
Speaker
Okay, yeah. but i I was trying to think of smells that I just really don't. I don't i don't like the smell of thejit of the of the of the gym. Okay, yeah. Gyms, I do not like the smell of a gym.
00:37:10
Speaker
I'm totally with you on that. Yeah. It just makes me half gag. Okay. I like that much. But, well, that's the thing, isn't it? There are some some people, like ex-girlfriend, she hated the smell of um orange juice.
00:37:27
Speaker
It made her gag. Right. ah couldn't I couldn't eat an orange or drink orange juice near her. Oh, right. That's interesting, isn't it?
00:37:38
Speaker
Which, you know, ticked a box of off one of my feage feages fetishes, of unfortunately.
00:37:49
Speaker
I'm kidding, obviously. That would be crazy. know. It was a cross. It wasn't a tick. I think in in in my anecdotal research, I believe the smell of ripe ah bananas came up a fair amount. really?
00:38:06
Speaker
yeah As a bad one? As a bad one, yeah. Okay. So for me, there certain perfumes out there that... perfumes out there then Just it's is especially perfumes that they put in some cleaning products.
00:38:24
Speaker
um Yes. Some of those, they just smell, it just smells of chemicals to me. just smells of out chemicals. And I don't get why it's pleasant.
00:38:39
Speaker
Yeah. I totally get that.
Perfume Preferences and Dining Experiences
00:38:42
Speaker
But also so even even not just not even cleaning products, actual perfumes that people buy and yeah splash all over themselves.
00:38:53
Speaker
And you like you smell them. that was And it's not just girls. It's blokes or geezers as well. It's men as well. And they splash themselves with stuff.
00:39:05
Speaker
Okay. There was a guy yesterday. I could smell him from the other side of the road. This guy. Yeah, that's how strong his aftershave was. Oh, mate. He'd like chucked over himself.
00:39:20
Speaker
Blimey. But there's a restaurant. There's apparently rest' like Michelin star restaurants in California, in l LA, that don't allow people into the restaurants if they've got perfume on them.
00:39:35
Speaker
Right. Which I totally understand, actually, because it could ruin your meal. For me, it can. Someone's got, like, poured loads of bad perfume on them or even good perfume.
00:39:50
Speaker
Oh, there is some perfume, and it's a cheap perfume. i think that it's a honeysuckle. So we're going back to, like, the 80s, all right?
00:40:01
Speaker
um And I forget the brand. But um it drove me nuts. Like there was something about that particular perfume that i somehow just went into my brain and just filled it up with...
00:40:20
Speaker
With fire. It was just like, this is amazing. In good way. like, yeah. Okay. Like, I would just start vibrate. but Really?
00:40:31
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Oh, God. Like, if if I ever came across that smell again, i I would not want to smell it. mean. Because ah would just get transported back to 1983 or something, and it would just be like,
00:40:47
Speaker
i can't take it. and Or they then you could be partying like it's 1999. Oh, god Yeah. Yeah. Well, the thing I've got a like personal thing about perfume to the extent where I can recall at least seven dates of gone on with girls, ladies, women, and I specifically asked them not to put perfume on for our first date.
00:41:17
Speaker
All right. Okay. Okay. Okay, because I don't like i'll light the smell of... ah I like to be able to smell who I'm dating. All right, you just go up to me.
00:41:28
Speaker
I'm not like resting my nostrils on them and like and unless smelling them. Just go up to them. Yeah. Stick your nose on them. Yeah, exactly.
00:41:40
Speaker
Yeah. Attach. Attach myself to their shoulder. No, I don't do that. i'm much more discreet. Just their elbow. Yeah. you just You just wait till they've gone or wafted past you. Exactly. You just take quick sniff of the air.
00:41:55
Speaker
You go, okay, all I think the sense of smell is that one of the most underrated um instincts that we have as a human race. Pheromones, Paul. To be able to smell um your your partner is really important. don't want to smell you know Chanel No. 5 or Old Spice or whatever she's wearing.
00:42:19
Speaker
Pheromones. Pheromones. But there's this exception. There's a shop. There's a perfume shop. It's a famous shop in ah Turin.
00:42:31
Speaker
Okay. A famous perfume shop, historical, antique, whatever you want to call it. Okay. You can go in there and they'll blow your mind, blow your nose, whatever, with just the most incredible perfume you've ever had. Because most of us, we have no idea actually how good the art of perfume can be.
00:42:55
Speaker
um So most it's only usually available but to people who've got tons of money. Right. ah Because it's ah ah very often it's very expensive. But I ah went in there with an open mind and I was amazed. I almost bought a bottle of perfume for me that was 400 euros. And I did Yeah, ah that didn't I didn't buy it.
00:43:21
Speaker
But it was mind-blowing how good it was. was just an unbelievable smell. You know what would happen, right, is that you would buy that 400 euro bottle of aftershave, right?
00:43:35
Speaker
Yeah. And then you would get a date, right, and you get brilliant. And then your date goes, um yeah, Paul, can you not wear... any aftershave for our date and you'd be like, oh, God's sake, I've just bought $400.
00:43:52
Speaker
Come on. Exactly. $400. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. is i what have you Have you read the the book called Perfume by... No.
00:44:05
Speaker
know of it. Patrick Susskind. I may have read some of it. It's great. I vaguely remember picking it up somewhere and having a read a chapter. serial killer develops a perfume that is so attractive that, well, I don't want, I won't give you a spoiler.
00:44:24
Speaker
Great book. Fantastic book. But anyway, yeah, so the,
00:44:30
Speaker
um Yeah, I'm really sensitive about, I like to taste the person, taste? I like to smell the person I'm, um well, and the taste, the person that I'm dating.
00:44:43
Speaker
Calm down. Right. Yeah. All right. All right. Where are we? were We are 45 minutes in, Mr. T, so we should start transitioning. Yeah.
00:44:56
Speaker
Well, can I just, I've got a list of bad ones, like really, b like, yeah without going to going down rabbit holes. them Boiled cabbage, hate that. Yeah. That's one of them. Another thing, in Italy, they use a lot of pure alcohol for cleaning.
00:45:11
Speaker
And it's really, really cheap. but And they use pure alcohol for cleaning. It's like quite an old-fashioned thing. like my grandmother used to use vinegar and newspaper to clean everything with, especially the windows. Mm-hmm.
00:45:26
Speaker
And I'm okay with vinegar. Here, they use a lot. A lot of the time, they use actually alcohol, pure alcohol for cleaning. And I hate it. It's really accurate. Clean the window. Have a swig. Clean the window.
00:45:38
Speaker
Have a swig. Have a swig. Unlikely. What else you got on your on your on your list of bad stuff? That's it. bad That's it for bad stuff. That's it. that's it All right, cool.
00:45:52
Speaker
I will just like um ah just off of my list
Olfactory Diagnosis of ADHD
00:45:57
Speaker
here. You know, we were talking about um smell as a diagnostic or a as a diagnostic tool.
00:46:04
Speaker
It's because there's some research that proposes that the olfactory tests could help in ADHD diagnosis as smell detection requires sustained attention, which is a bit of a challenge.
00:46:17
Speaker
Oh. If you have ADHD. d ah That's interesting. Interesting. I've also found out something that a perfume, splashing it all over yourself, is can be a form of, well, couple of things.
00:46:32
Speaker
Could be a form of stimming because it could be ritualistic for some people. Could be a form of stimming, perfume. But it could also be a form of masking. oh Masking your horrible smell.
00:46:49
Speaker
Well, your authentic self. Oh, right. Yeah. yeah whereas as as Don't smell me. Smell this stuff that I bought. Yeah. Nice.
00:47:02
Speaker
This 400 euro bottle. Yes. Yes. I just want to repeat. soly I didn't buy the 400 euro bottle of Old Spice.
00:47:16
Speaker
Oh, didn't i buy it. but let's Let's jump back into the tractor and then we'll make our way over to the post office, shall we? Oh, no, the post office, yeah.
00:47:30
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Let's get in there. It smells like diesel.
00:47:37
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Okay.
00:47:47
Speaker
ah Okay. So we're the post office. So ah your feedback is really vital to us. Yes, it is. We read all of your comments, comments, and we might read out yours on a future podcast.
00:48:00
Speaker
Like, I think we've got a couple of them, Martin, from our dear listeners one slash viewers. Right. So, you know, uh, from our, the ADHD, Ville, uh,
00:48:14
Speaker
town crier, and Alexandra, um who always leaves a ah and fantastic comment. But one of the things that she did say was that the highlight for her on the last episode, which was 10 things that we were slightly jealous about neurodivergence.
00:48:33
Speaker
Check it out, by the way. Check it out. yeah Go back. highlight Delve into the archives. Was that you talking about pride and prejudice with zombies. Yes.
00:48:44
Speaker
that was That was peak pull. It's a great film. Totally unexpected. to my Total madness. Yeah, Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. Great.
00:48:56
Speaker
Watch it. It's brilliant. It's totally absurd, but it's brilliant. ah So a pat on the bat back for you for that. um And ah let's talk about what we're going to talk about next week, Paul.
00:49:11
Speaker
Yes. What are we going to get into next week? Next week, we're have the eighth version of our regular item, which is the good, the bad and ugly. We just like, you know, we, yeah you know, tell each other, tell our listeners, viewers what's been going on in our lives.
00:49:33
Speaker
In our ADHD lives. In our ADHD lives, you know, shenanigans. Exactly. um I'm just yeah trying to think what. um So, yeah, so some of that is going to include me being really busy at work.
00:49:49
Speaker
um Yes. And struggling to hang on. um Okay. hi and For me, it's going to be doing, ah approaching the last couple of weeks of teaching at high school because I think I'm going to be giving it up.
00:50:03
Speaker
So we'll be going into that a bit. Yeah. A little bit of a cliff cliffhanger. You know what? um and so but I actually have got like a couple of minutes. There was a story about,
00:50:17
Speaker
um about smell that I, um so a bunch of years ago, there was an April Fool story, which was in l LA. And this is, you know, when you were talking about LA earlier, this kind of reminded me of it.
00:50:34
Speaker
um The story was that there's a restaurant in l LA and it's totally black and you get led to your seat, and you can't see a thing.
00:50:45
Speaker
there's one in London too. Right. but you could But it was smell-only restaurant. So you didn't know eat anything.
00:50:56
Speaker
You just smelt food.
00:51:02
Speaker
And everyone was was kind of going... oh, that's really, you know, that's what what what what a stupid, LA, typical LA, you know, sort of craziness.
00:51:15
Speaker
And then I was having this conversation and we were going, I mean, like, if this thing was was real in LA, who would turn up? It would be stupid. And then we thought, oh, hang on a second.
00:51:29
Speaker
Models would turn up. models and actresses and anyone else who was like, wanted to go out to eat, but didn't want to eat anything.
00:51:41
Speaker
Oh, right. is kind of a diet. Because it was lot like, yeah, because it was like, it was, it was if it would be, right. You wouldn't put on a single ounce. Right. Right.
00:51:56
Speaker
But that probably could be done. If they probably already exist, they probably, you could convince your brain that your stomach is full by stimulating, kind you know, your your your sense of smell.
00:52:11
Speaker
You know, you could stimulate some way, trick your brain into thinking you've had a full roast dinner. ah I mean, like, if I smell food, it has the exact opposite effect.
00:52:22
Speaker
I'm like, my God. If I smell a bacon sandwich, I want a bacon sandwich. Oh, yeah. I know. All right. Well, on that, it just leaves it to me to say that ADHDville is delivered fresh.
00:52:38
Speaker
Bacon sandwich cliffhanger. Yep. If you choose a to find provide a podcast, please subscribe to the pod and rate us most smelly. And feel free to correspond at will in the comments. But wait, there's more.
00:52:51
Speaker
If you want to see our beautiful, beautiful faces, then sally forth to the YouTubes and the TikToks. And you can also pick up a quill and email us at adhdville at gmail.com.
00:53:05
Speaker
But in the meantime, fucking kind to yourself. And I beseech you, fellow ADHDers, know thyselves. Be pungent, sons of the hounds. Come hither and get a a nostril full.
00:53:19
Speaker
Get a nostril full. Get a nostril full. There, says the man. That's that. Come on.