Diane Ackerman - Smell is the mute sense, the one without words
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Welcome to The Daily Quote—a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I’m your host, Andrew McGivern, for March 11th. Now, let’s talk about today’s national holiday. Its Debunking Day today. A day where we get to have fun debunking all the fake news your social media friends are posting all day long.
Wait let me fact check this. Ok... Yes it is in fact Debunking Day today but I just noticed it's also Wash Your Nose Day!
Yes, that’s a real thing, I trust my sources on this one.
Today is all about nasal hygiene. We wash our hands, our faces, even behind our ears, but how often do we think about cleaning our noses? Considering they’re our body’s built-in air filters, maybe it’s time we show those nostrils a little love.
Your nose is your body’s first line of defense against all the dust, allergens, and mystery particles floating around in the air. Today is a reminder that nasal hygiene is just as important as washing other places —because breathing freely is one of life’s simple joys.
That brings us to today’s quote from the poet Diane Ackerman, who once said:
“Smell is the mute sense, the one without words.”
Think about it—your sense of smell is deeply tied to memory and emotion. The smell of fresh-baked cookies can take you back to childhood, a certain perfume can remind you of someone special, and the scent of rain can bring a sense of peace. But when your nose is clogged, all of that disappears. It’s only when we lose our sense of smell—whether from a cold, allergies, or worse—that we realize how much it shapes our world. So today, take a moment to appreciate the little things—like the smell of coffee in the morning, fresh flowers, or even just clean, fresh air. And if you’re feeling stuffed up, maybe give your nose a little rinse. Because life smells a whole lot better when you can actually breathe it in.
I saw a Youtube video a while back covering the top home remedies for the common cold and flu and one of the remedies was nasal irrigation. The doctor narrating the video said of all the remedies this one is the most supported by science. Well in the spirit of Debunking Day lets check that claim out...
According to some studies that Perplexity brought up for me... nasal irrigation using a saline solution can provide some relief for symptoms associated with the common cold or flu but the consensus in the research seems to suggest that it is adjunctive treatment rather than curative.
One key finding is that when parents use nasal irrigation to treat their noses they ended up using less pharmaceutical decongestants and other medications which reduced unnecessary medication use.
As seems to be the case every time... the answer is more studies are needed to fully understand the benefits.
That’s it for today! If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow the The Daily Quote in your podcast app or share it with someone who you think would enjoy it.
And don't forget to take care of your sinuses today because it is Wash Your Nose day. I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for today, but I'll be back tomorrow, same pod time, same pod station for another Daily Quote.