The Bizarrely Fascinating Act of Smelling ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Bizarrely Fascinating Act of Smelling

Theoretically, we have the ability to smell a trillion smells. In reality, we know like seven words to describe what we’re smelling. There’s a bunch of smart science behind this. But basically, here’s what you need to know. You can actually train your nose to smell more effectively just by practicing. Smell that?

Everything You Need in Your Toolbox for Generating More, Better Ideas

[Partner] You need a hammer for nails. You need a screwdriver for screws. You need a pen and paper for ideas. Going analog helps you generate 4x more ideas than using a screen. 3.2x more focused. 13% better retention. Should we go on? Point is, Baronfig now offers an Idea Toolset that includes their Squire Pen (#1 ranked pen by NY Mag’s Strategist blog), Confidant Notebook (opens flat and available in all sorts of colors and paper types), and Guardian Case (water-resistant with five pockets, including one that fits your phone). For the next couple days, you get 20% off with code ELEVATE at checkout.

How Did Consuming Spicy Food Become a Measure of Masculinity?

Do you remember the first time you ate something spicy? We do not. But we do remember getting into hot sauce in our adulthood. And we most definitely remember Hot Ones taking over YouTube and triggering everyone to try too hot sauce. That’s about all we know about hot sauce. Until reading this. Is hot sauce manly?

The 25 Most Iconic Book Covers in History

Sure, it’s subjective. What makes a book cover iconic? What makes a book cover terrible? We don’t know. We don’t design book covers. But we do know an iconic one when we see it. And we would offer this. Iconic design maybe isn’t even about design at all. It’s about the content of the book that landed so hard in the zeitgeist that it became a cultural movement. A symbol for something. Now go ahead. Judge a book by its cover.

How to Get Past a Paywall to Read an Article for Free

Pretty much every article we share with you is to help you become more interesting every day. This is not one of those articles. This is about how to get to said articles even if there’s a paywall. Because even if you regularly support journalism by paying, sometimes you just need to get around it. We hear you. You’re welcome.

The Mixer

The companies with the happiest people. The profane poetry of Succession. How to get to know your antiques better. What a $240 beer that’s illegal in 15 states tastes like. How scientists learned to enter people’s dreams. 11 of the strangest plots hatched by the CIA. Why the r/Chris Subreddit really hates Christopher Columbus. How hops got sommified.