14 DAY TRIAL // Here's a piece of news that will probably put a dent in your enthusiasm the next time you decide to gather your loved ones and go for a picnic.
Research carried out by scientists at the University of Huddersfield in the UK has shown that the scent of freshly cut grass is quite similar to the odor let out by dead bodies in their early stages of decomposition.
No, really, it looks like that smell grass produces when freshly cut and that some describe as invigorating is actually quite macabre. Makes you think twice about taking a deep breath to make the most of it, right?
How freshly cut grass smells like corpses
Speaking at the British Science Festival in Bradford, the University of Huddersfield research team explained how, immediately after death, lifeless bodies don't smell all that bad.
Rather, when decomposition is just starting and flesh begins to digest itself, they let out a compound called hexanal. The scent of this compound resembles that of freshly cut grass. In fact, the flavor industry used hexanal to create fruity aromas.
It is only after bacteria get to the body and start eating away at it that foul smells are produced. Until then, being around a decaying corpse isn't a bad experience, at least not olfactory-wise.
Not to freak you out for good, but apart from hexanal, it appears that recent bodies also let out compounds that, albeit in small amounts, are also found in some perfumes.
“A body smells pretty rank, but there are changes over time with different stages of decomposition,” said University of Huddersfield specialist Anna Williams in an interview.
“In the first few days, the body is going through a process of autolysis, which is basically the self-digestion of cells. When the bacteria get involved, that's when it gets really smelly,” the researcher went on to explain, as cited by Breaking News.
Why research the smell of dead bodies?
The reason the University of Huddersfield team thought it worthwhile to research the smells let out by decomposing bodies was that they hope their work might help train search dogs to find not just bodies in advanced stages of decomposition but also ones that haven't been dead long.
The researchers think this would make the work of law enforcement officers considerably easier. Hence, they propose that so-called cadaver dogs be trained to detect not just the smell of decayed flesh but also compounds such as hexanal, an indicator of a relatively new body.