THE PUBLIC SMELL ATLAS · 200 SMELLS
What does the worldsmell like?
A free, open encyclopedia of smell, from rain and coffee to places, materials and memories. Look a smell up, ask a question, describe one you can’t name, or wander by world.
- KNOW ITS NAME?Look it upEvery entry in the Atlas, A to Z, or use the search above.
- CAN’T NAME IT?Describe what you noticePick a few qualities such as warm, wet or smoky and see which smells share them.
- JUST CURIOUS?Browse by worldNature, food, places, objects, weather, memory and more.
- NEED A REFERENCE?Use the directoryBrowse by smell family, setting, evidence or record number; compare smells and cite records.
An entry can belong to more than one world, so these counts add up to more than 200.
Worlds are broad browsing groups; the map calls the same groups categories. Places: environmental smell identities shaped by climate, materials, activity and expectation. Spaces / Indoor Environments: smell directions that help describe rooms, hospitality, retail and shared environments. An entry can be in both, such as Sea Air.
START WITH A SMELL
Entries with published evidence
145 of 200 entries have at least one VERIFIED claim. Here are the first six, in the order SmellBook lists them, not a ranking or a choice of the strongest evidence.
- RainCool air, wet surfaces and the mineral-earthy atmosphere associated with rainfall.wet · mineral · cool · earthyVERIFIED · Wording not checked: no source summary available
- CedarA dry, warm woody direction with pencil-shaving and forest associations.woody · dry · warm · resinous
- Orange PeelBright citrus oils with a green, bitter edge released from fresh orange skin.citrus · bright · bitter · green
- CoffeeRoasted, warm and bitter aromatic territory strongly tied to preparation and ritual.roasted · warm · bitter · dark
- RosePetal softness with green, fresh and sometimes honeyed floral associations.floral · petal · green · soft
- Sea AirA breezy coastal impression combining salt, humidity, mineral surfaces and open air.salty · airy · mineral · fresh
SMELL WORDS
Words that help you describe a smell
SMELLBOOK LEARN · FREE
Learn to notice and describe smell
New to describing smells? Start with the first lesson, Noticing smell, then try Words for smell.
- Introduction to SmellA free SmellBook Learn course on noticing, describing and understanding smell, with examples from the Atlas.5 lessons
- Smell and CultureA free SmellBook Learn course on places, time and cultural associations of smell, with examples from the Atlas.5 lessons
- Smell and ScienceA free SmellBook Learn course on where smells come from: the volatile compounds behind them and how researchers find the ones that matter.7 lessons
- Smell VocabularyA free SmellBook Learn course on the words people use for smell, with examples from the Atlas.12 word pairs
- Classroom GuidesFree SmellBook Learn lesson plans for teachers, built from the Atlas and the Learn courses.4 classroom guides
- Seminar GuidesFree SmellBook Learn seminar plans for university teaching, built from registered evidence, the heritage record format and the citation tools.4 seminar guides
NOW IN SMELLBOOK
Stories from the Atlas
Why rain on pavement feels like a smell event
Rain changes the air, the ground and what nearby materials release. The result can feel bigger than any one smell identity.
Rain as weather, material change, city event, place memory and visual language.
Open issue ↗DISPATCH · 2026-09-24Rain, pavement and the smell of a changed cityThis edition follows rain from weather into surfaces, streets and language.
Open Dispatch ↗RECENTLY ADDED
Newest entries
MORE OF SMELLBOOK
Other ways to explore
- Smell mapSee every entry on one map and follow the relationships between them.
- Compare two smellsAny two entries side by side: smell words, families, settings, evidence and what is not known.
- Smell familiesGroups of related smell words, and the smells that use them.
- Cite a recordEvery entry has an SB number, a permanent identifier and a ready-made citation.
- My SmellBookSave, like and note smells. Kept only in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
- Global / MeYour own saves, kept only in this browser, beside the shared public Atlas.
- FragranceFragrance intents and directions explained in plain words.
- SpacesApplied scent for rooms, including when no added fragrance is the better answer.
- LabsResearch experiments, kept separate from evidence. RESEARCH / EXPERIMENTAL.
About SmellBook
SmellBook is a nonprofit, public-interest reference for smell. The encyclopedia, search, citations and public data are free to use. Each entry says what kind of knowledge it rests on: VERIFIED evidence from published sources is kept apart from editorial and cultural description, and Labs research stays RESEARCH / EXPERIMENTAL. There are no accounts, and the Atlas is the same for everyone.
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