The Proust Phenomenon is the idea that certain smells can trigger childhood memories. Marcel Proust wrote about this in "Swann's Way" referencing how the taste of a cookie soaked in tea revived a long-buried childhood memory. How does it work? Our brain stores all sorts of details on odors that we come across. Location, people, emotions, animals and the like are stored along with this memory. Smelling this odor again brings up all of the memories (good and bad). These memories can be from the ages of 1-10.
We visit a local halal market. I love going up and down the aisles and seeing items that either my dad or grandparents would buy. Brings up some happy memories for me. My dad had a store, filled with cases of various fruits and vegetables. To this day, the smell of golden delicious apples takes me back to being in his store as a little girl. I have been known to sneak "smells" when I'm in the product department while grocery shopping.
Do you have any smells that bring you back to childhood?
Are they from good times or bad times?
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