Writer's Block: Smells like teen spirit

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Recognizing the powerful link between scent and memory, for my 8th grade science fair project I ran memory tests using distinctive scents (ginger and lemon essential oils)
I ran the experiment in my basement using a set of antique Victorian school desks as my workstation. I had several sets of 10 random objects (toy car, lego, pencil, etc) each glued to shoebox lid "trays." In the control test, subjects studied a tray for (30 seconds? one minute? I forget), took a break for a set amount of time, and then were asked to record as many objects as they could remember. In the variable test, subjects studied the tray while smelling a cotton ball soaked in one of the two scents, took the same break (with no scent), and then were able to smell the scent again while

The experiment didn't prove anything at the time because I was only testing short-term memory, and the only statistically significant data I collected was proving proactive interference because everyone remembered the first set better than the second set regardless of which was scented. (Luckily I had sense enough to expect this, which is why I rotated between scents first and scents second).

However, I did prove something, because now every time I smell ginger I immediately think of those desks in our basement, cotton, and cardboard trays.

(I even wonder if this accounts for why I don't like ginger that much; I was always stressed out during science fair, and I would have been running the experiment in my cold basement during the worst time of the year.

I have an impeccable memory, made even more so by my strong sense of smell (I've started to wonder if I don't pick up on scents more subtle than other people-- which wouldn't surprise me since I often suspect I'm an HSP), so this will take a while.

( Ho Boy. This Gets Long )

And this is not an exhaustive list. It's very frequently I come across a scent that immediately recalls something for me. It's almost like synesthesia with memory.

Writer's Block: Smells like teen spirit

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Recognizing the powerful link between scent and memory, for my 8th grade science fair project I ran memory tests using distinctive scents (ginger and lemon essential oils)
I ran the experiment in my basement using a set of antique Victorian school desks as my workstation. I had several sets of 10 random objects (toy car, lego, pencil, etc) each glued to shoebox lid "trays." In the control test, subjects studied a tray for (30 seconds? one minute? I forget), took a break for a set amount of time, and then were asked to record as many objects as they could remember. In the variable test, subjects studied the tray while smelling a cotton ball soaked in one of the two scents, took the same break (with no scent), and then were able to smell the scent again while

The experiment didn't prove anything at the time because I was only testing short-term memory, and the only statistically significant data I collected was proving proactive interference because everyone remembered the first set better than the second set regardless of which was scented. (Luckily I had sense enough to expect this, which is why I rotated between scents first and scents second).

However, I did prove something, because now every time I smell ginger I immediately think of those desks in our basement, cotton, and cardboard trays.

(I even wonder if this accounts for why I don't like ginger that much; I was always stressed out during science fair, and I would have been running the experiment in my cold basement during the worst time of the year.

I have an impeccable memory, made even more so by my strong sense of smell (I've started to wonder if I don't pick up on scents more subtle than other people-- which wouldn't surprise me since I often suspect I'm an HSP), so this will take a while.

( Ho Boy. This Gets Long )

And this is not an exhaustive list. It's very frequently I come across a scent that immediately recalls something for me. It's almost like synesthesia with memory.