recently a lot of publicity has been given to pheromones, the chemical scents signals used by animals and insects to make sexual contact. In some species the effect is quite dramatic. male moths, for instance can track a female a kilometer or so away by her pheromones or airborne hormones.
several attempts have been made to reproduce pheromones artificially - pig breeders, for example have experimented with types of spray-on "instant boar" in the hope of bringing their sows into heat. for some years now the hunt has been on to identify the pheromones in human beings. there is a lot of evidence to show they exist but it seems that they are easily disguised by other smells such as sweat tobacco and alcohol.
a few years ago a cosmetic company launched perfumes for women and aftershave for men containing androsterone, the sex hormone contained in the instant boar spray.
despite all the wishful thinking and a good deal of publicity, however the instant chemistry failed to materialize when the products were worn.
It seems that bottling a sexual scent signal for humans is still as elusive as finding an elixir of youth - though some advertisements like to perpetuate the fantasy that your scent can drive the opposite sex wild. this may be exaggeration but it cannot be denied that scents excite and stimulate the imagination.
as kipling wrote "scents are surer than sights and sound to make the heartstrings crack".
So what turns you on?
