Street Scents: Scientists Study NYC Smells

From mystery odors to smelly fish markets, New Yorkers are constantly bombarded with the aromas of urban life. Rockefeller University researchers spent five years creating a “smell demography” of metropolitan New York City to sniff out what New Yorkers think is noisome or nice.Researcher Leslie Voshall is expected to detail the findings at a conference Friday on how odors affect New Yorkers’ daily experiences.

New Yorkers’ least favorite smell? The scent of sweaty socks. Residents’ favorite is apparently vanilla.

City smells sometimes have soured relations between New York and New Jersey. In the past, the Garden State has been blamed for mystery smells and a maple-syrup odor that have wafted over parts of Manhattan and Staten Island.

{CBS/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}