Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

HTDE: Crushes and Smells

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This week: How to tell your crush you like them. Plus, do smells really linger in your nose?You can email your burning questions to [email protected] To Do Everything is available without sponsor mess...

Transcript

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Hey guys, it's Peter. Once again, in your weight weight feed, I am so pleased to present to you another episode of How To Do Everything by Weight Weight Producers Ian and Mike. Now remember, you can only get these episodes of How To Do Everything in our feed for a short while. So if you love the kind of mysteries that Mike and Ian are revealing, make sure you subscribe to How To Do Everything at their own feed. Thanks.

Hi, Lisa. What can we help you with? Well, let me get Darcy hang on a second. She's the one with the question.

Okay. Okay. Make sure we can get into a spot where you can hear us, all right. Is she getting Darcy out of the back of a cupboard? Okay. She just ran in here. All right, Darcy, do you want to introduce yourself and tell Mike and Ian

what your question is? I'm Darcy and my question is, how do you tell her boy that you like him?

Oh, that's a tough question. How old are you Darcy? 10. Okay. Is this a generic question or is there a boy we're talking about? There's a boy we're talking about. And is this a question on your behalf, or are you asking for a friend? On my behalf. All right, I appreciate the boldness here, Darcy. Let's get into it. Who's the boy? His name is Edmund. Okay, Edmund. And she likes the color blue and sharp and she likes to play

video games and stuff. I love it. Okay. He sounds lovable. So have you tried to tell Edmund that you like him? Not really, and then maybe because I'm afraid that he's going to say he hasn't

liked me. Yeah, that's always the risk, isn't it? Okay, so when you guys are on the playground

and you're talking, what do you guys talk about? It's sort of personal stuff. Sure. Yeah, my make. Fair enough. Fair enough. Have there been anything that just happened that

maybe Edmund has said or done where you thought, oh, I think he does like me? Not really.

From your friends, though, and his friends, right? His friends say that he likes me and my friends tell his friends that I like him. I mean, that feels pretty, so I feel like that's pretty solid information. Do you feel confident in all of that? Kind of. I also think it's one of those things where it is an active bravery. No matter how it goes. Yeah. Like if you get the news you want and he likes you back, that's wonderful and you are brave. If it turns out he doesn't like you back,

you are still brave. That's right. That is like a thing to sort of go into it with because bravery is like everything. Did you want us to call Ed and write down? Yeah, do you want us to just call him? We'll do it. You have a phone number? No. Good. Wait, was that was that no you don't have a phone number or no you don't want Mike and Ian to call him? Both of them would be fun. Both of them would be fun. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Darcy, I see really good judgment here. You're making all the right calls.

All right. We are going to see if we can find somebody who can help Darcy find love. But in the meantime, I have a question that I have been wondering about can a smell get stuck in your nose? Yeah. I know what you're talking about. I've been there. They you smell a smell and then you get away from the smell and it's still you're still kind of smelling it. Claire Dumark is online with us now. She's a researcher at University Paris Seclay.

Is the smell staying in my nose or is this psychological? That's interesting. That's interesting. So yeah, it's like the smell stays in your nose, right? Yeah. It stays in your nose and comes back when it's the one. So there is no scientific proof of this of a smell that could like, you know, hide in a corner of your nose and then come back later. So you might first know that smells they are molecules. So they are particles, real particles that you know detect and those particles

Are supposedly eliminated when you smell them.

enzyme that I able to basically break those molecules. Okay. So particles and the particles are

eliminated. So the molecule that makes the smell is destroyed. Exactly. Exactly. So you're not supposed to be able to smell its average later. Wait, what destroys it? But when I smell it, then it immediately it's purpose is served and it disappears. Exactly. It's broken basically in small thoughts and eliminated in your mucous. And so by breaking it, I'm the flow, the molecule is eliminated. Once you smell it, once you capped it. Okay. So when this thing happens, it's all in my head.

It's all second. So I wanted to go there after. So it can be in your head. Yes. Like when you see

something and you know a bit later, you think again about it and you see it in your mind. It can happen, right? Like you see something, then you do your life and later you take a coffee. I was like, oh, I saw that. And you see the image in your brain, right? Yeah. Yeah. It seems to be more something like this. Can I ask Ian, can I ask you a question? What is the smell that when you think about this? Because I feel like I guess, I'm going to guess what it is,

but I want, why don't you tell me what it, I already tell us what it is. I can't actually remember

what made me start thinking about this. But I think what Mike is referring to is I have a child

who is still in diapers. Exactly. Yeah. Occasionally, you will change a diaper and you know, half an hour later, you will think, did I do the job as well as I thought it. And you find that you did. And so this may be wonder, is it hanging out in my nose? And now I know it was just the trauma of changing the diapers. So it does happen, was does it time fall in place and order unfortunately? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Earlier, Claire, you said that you were, I think you're joking

that a small molecule of smell would be hiding in your nose and then it would find it. Is it possible for a molecule of smell, somehow be hidden under something or, you know, just be, you know, laying and weight? No, it is not possible that a molecule hiding in your nose and the weight to a right. Is there a reason that, you know, like an evolutionary advantage, a reason that a smell is destroyed when we smell it? It indeed has to be because, um, indeed, like, if you had a

permanent smell and some seniors happen and you cannot smell this or just smell, that is very,

maybe very important for your survival. Um, then you have to have the first smell disappearing so you

can be sensitive to the second one and if the smell is not leaving and your system cannot process it your brain will take over because the brain can basically also break the connections that make you smell something. Oh. This is also why you, uh, don't smell your own order. You have no idea what you're smelling. Other people do. I'm not speaking about, like, uh, intense sweat that you

have, like, sometimes this one you can smell it because you don't always smell like this, that you're

permanent order. You don't smell it. Yeah. Can I ask Claire as someone who's like, I guess, an expert in smell. There are any number of bad smells. Is there a smell that people in your field regularly think of as one of the best smells? And I was the best smell. Yeah. Like, oh, that's a good smell. Mavania. Vanilla is always working as something that everyone likes. The vanilla really. Yes. How that's good. It seems that there is two detachments or so the maternal milk is also

containing this molecule, so maybe this is even something we learn to like very early on. It's linked

to like a nutritive food, so yeah. Wait, so breast milk has molecules of the same as vanilla?

There is some studies that shows that, yeah. Oh, wow, that's interesting. Okay, so it's it's a deep in us that we like Vanilla from way back. Exactly. Well, Claire, thank you so much. Yes, of course.

Hey, if you have any questions or if anything's lingering in your nose, like ...

Ian's two nostrils, go ahead and send it to us and it to us as a question at how to at npr.org.

I, you know, reason why our promos are calls for questions need to be hurtful, but whatever it gets you sending those emails so that we can help you as soon as possible. I'm sorry, I did that. That's not fair. Your nose is terrific, and I'm sure it smells good. I'm sure your nose smells good. I will also say how to npr.org. Our email has been flooded with many, many of you trying to help out Kevin and Rebecca, the people we helped out last week who had a mysterious blanket

and sheet mystery. Most of you, or a lot of you, are suggesting they get two separate sheets,

separate comforters, or separate blankets. This is a good solution. I just want to say some names. I'm just going to go through the email box people that wrote in either with kind words for Kevin and Rebecca or a solution. We heard from Mara, we heard from Nina, Christina, Katie, kidship. I was about to say Chris, but that's another email. Chris offered no help. Monica, did you say Monica yet? So many people, the list is endless. Andrea, there's someone saying,

yep, what's wrong? What's wrong with you guys? Anyway, I will say it truly warms the heart to see everyone shipping in to help Kevin and Rebecca. Kevin and Rebecca, I hope you hear from all these

people who almost unanimously have decided you need to get separate blankets. Get and separate blankets.

Of course, if you don't want to send an email, you can also comment on our episodes on Spotify. Okay, this hasn't really happened just before on the show, but Lisa and Darcy, who we spoke to at the beginning of the show, about Darcy and Aiden, they have reached back out to us and they say they need to give us an update before we go any further solving their problem. Uh, hello, Lisa, Darcy. Hi. Hi. What's happening? How's it going? Stop happening. Okay, wait, so

stuff's happening, what's going on? Um, Aiden told me he liked me. Oh, really? Yeah. Wow, can you take us through it? What happened? Um, supposed to notice he is a bathroom and he would just let me in. Then we walked up from the end and he said, you know, when Connor told me that you liked me and I said, no, I was lying. Oh, and what did you say? Um, yeah. Yeah, you said, tell us how you really feel. I can't explain how I feel it in the work. Oh, yes, yes, that's beautiful.

Yeah. So what happens now? Um, I don't know. Yeah. Um, let me ask you this question, because I know what you're in fourth grade, right? Yeah. So do you guys go out and do stuff that go to the movies? Do you go out to dinner? What what what happens? We don't do that stuff. Yeah. We pass notes to each other

and class. Really? Do you get in trouble for that? Because you should. No, we don't get in trouble

for that. Okay. We still like right next to each other. So it's easy. So is this like, um, so would you say, are you, is, are you, boyfriend and girlfriend is that now? Is that how it works? No, not really. I don't really know. Okay. Okay. Don't have to put a label on it. It's mom. I said that they were

special friends. Great. That's wow. If only we're always that simple, huh? So I was sorry,

go ahead. I said I wish it was. Yeah. You wouldn't be wasting your time with these due jokers. That's for sure. Okay. So when we talk to you before, um, you wanted some advice on how to tell him, um, it sounds like he has now been told. Everybody got the kind of answer they wanted. Is there

anything we can do do for you now moving forward? I think Garcy will have some advice for other

girls who want to know how to tell a boy they like him. Yeah. Just let the other person do the work. Yes. Yes. Well, that does it for this week's show. Would you let an end? Well, I learned that, um, the

Certified best smell in the world is vanilla.

I prefer vanilla ice cream to chocolate ice cream. Is that right? I'm often the only one. Yeah.

Um, and I do think what Claire said about how maybe the reason we love vanilla is because the compounds in vanilla also exist in breast milk. I feel like that makes me feel keep going. What a weird about my preference for vanilla over chocolate ice cream. I don't want to,

there's certain bags you don't want to unpack. Yeah. I think that's right. That's one of them.

That's the kind of information now that I now that I have it. And I know

what you're gonna order the next time we go to the ice cream store. I'll just make sure when we're done eating then drinking. I'll just bring you over close to just gently burp you. I also found interesting what Claire told us that when you smell a smell, when you inhale a smell,

your body destroys that smell. Yeah. It tears it apart so it cannot be smelled again.

Wait. Okay. So if that, if that's what's happening and you're in a place where there is a terrible smell,

is that the right approach then to just go after it like like use your nose like a vacuum cleaner and just like this smells terrible. The only way out is through. I got to suck it all in and destroy those bad odors. I like the idea of just taking one for the team. Just I will inhale all of these molecules. I will destroy them. Yeah. Do you have a match? I just need to get rid of the smell.

Don't worry. I got it. Give me a few minutes. Yeah. I am the match.

How to do everything is produced by Skyler Swenson with technical direction from Lorna White. We also want to tell you to check out the NPR app. That's an application for your telephone. The NPR app brings you the best of public radio personalized for you. The best of public radio and us. The NPR app has your favorite podcasts. You're even your local public radio station and the world's biggest stories. Size wise, these are the biggest stories. It's going to be

hard to get from one side of one side of the story to the other in a single day. So you're going to want to pack snacks and something to sleep in a change of clothes. Bring a charger, attempt to traverse. These almost inter-mountibly large stories. Yep. This is going to be huge. You're going to love it. Download the NPR app in your app store today. Existingly large stories from NPR. I'm Ian and I'm Mike. Thanks.

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