04/08/2026
And if we experience petrichor- imagine what it must be like for our dogs! We experience sight first, then scent, but dogs experience scent first and foremost. When it is barely raining or freshly rained, training walkies are almost always switched to sniffaris bc the doggies ✨love✨ to sniff that sweet, sweet petrichor.
☔️So, I studied geosciences in college, which means weather was just my gateway drug.
Anything earth science and I’m gone.
In my commercial loan officer career, I geek out over septic design and percolation testing. It’s fascinating to see what’s under our feet!
Throw in soil bacteria, chemistry of the atmosphere AND geology… 🤯
“Petrichor” is exactly the kind of thing that breaks my brain in the best way.
Petrichor?
I know… I know… it sounds like the rejected name of a Pokémon character or something, right?!
I love talking about this with my kids. It’s actually the name for the smell of rain!
Here’s the thing… your nose DOES know what it is without you even thinking about it.
It comes from two things working together.
Plants secrete oils during super dry periods that are absorbed into soil and rock. That’s why you smell it more after it’s been dry for a while.
Once it rains, something called geosmin gets released by actinomycetes… a type of soil bacteria… when raindrops hit.
When those two mix and get kicked into the air, that’s what you smell. 👃
Your “nose knows” already.
Scientists measured our sensitivity to geosmin at the it’s 400 parts per TRILLION. For context, that’s more sensitive than a shark detecting blood in water. 🦈
It’s believed our ancestors developed the sensitivity because rain means fresh water, more plants… which means: food!!
That smell of rain was hardcoded in our brain as the smell of survival.
When the rain comes this weekend, step outside with your kiddos for a moment and let them breathe it in.
Take a slooooow breath in and tell them what they’re actually smelling and the science behind it. It’s a conversation they’ll remember.
