42: The Answer to Almost Everything — Season 1, Episode 114: What power do smells have?

Episode synopsis

Many people don't consider their sense of smell particularly important. However, if we had to give up one of our senses, surveys show that the majority choose their sense of smell. Twenty-five percent of the students surveyed would even rather lose their sense of smell than their smartphone. But we would lose more than we realize. Smells not only evoke memories, they also warn us of dangers and illnesses. They have power in our everyday lives. And we haven't yet fully explored this power – the potential of our sense of smell. It could also help us solve future challenges.

About 42: The Answer to Almost Everything

What would we be without mucus? Can we live on water? How much does life weigh? Finding out the answers is the aim of ARTE's new science show. In a nod to Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", where the figure 42 is the ultimate answer to all questions, 42 tries to provide the answers.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Can we dig our way through the Earth?
• E2Could We Live on the Moon?
• E3Should we use lotteries instead of elections?
• E4How Much Does Life Weigh?
• E5Will we move onto the water?
• E6Can Algorithms Make Us Healthy?
• E7What if there were no mucus?
• E8How do we solve the nuclear waste puzzle?
• E9What if Fear Didn't Exist?
• E10What if the ice disappeared?
• E11Do We All hear the Same Thing?
• E12Are we too pessimistic?