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Petrichor?
What in the world is petrichor???
A recently discovered long-lost dinosaur?
A fear of petrified wood?
A scientific term for nauseatingly stinky feet?
A weird veggie that no one would ever eat?
Nope.
Uh huh.
Not even.
Nice try!
Petrichor is actually something that most people really like.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary
it is "a distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant
odor that is associated with rainfall
especially when following a warm, dry period."
Ah! You know exactly what it is!
It is that amazing smell after it rains, especially after it has been dry for awhile.
It's earthy, almost sweet, so unique.
It is a smell that opens up a flood of memories, a smell you recognize the moment it hits
your nose.
The interesting part is how petrichor is created.
This unique odor is caused by bacteria in the soil, called actinomycetes. This bacteria likes damp soil and thrives in it and it also produces
a compound called geosmin. When the soil begins to dry out because of lack of rain, the bacteria begins to die off and releases geosmin spores. Then when it finally rains, the raindrops disturb
and kick up these spores into the air and
the spores have that distinctive earthy smell. This petrichor odor is carried through the air to our noses for us to smell and say "Ahhh!"
So the next time you experience that sweet smell after a good rain, thank the bacteria and geospin spores! And just maybe the word PETRICHOR will pop into your head too!