The smell of rain on the air. How can we smell something that’s not here yet? But it’s true.
Those smart boffins in white coats at CSIRO looked into it. The word is “petrichor” and it describes the smell of rain in the air. It is the name of an oil that is released from the earth into the air before rain begins to fall. CSIRO suggest that when we relied on rainy weather for survival, we evolved an affection for it. Not only did they investigate it, they named it as well. They joined the Greek “petra” (stone) and “ichor” (the ethereal blood of the gods) to achieve the word. To read more about the CSIRO invention: http://theconversation.com/the-smell-of-rain-how-csiro-invented-a-new-word-39231
We all need to believe in something that’s not here yet; something to look forward to, something to strive for, something beyond our reach, something that during our quest will appear and be explained. It is the meaning of life that we search for and the answers are many, in big and small things, in revelations, in our ideas. It is the human condition to go beyond and see what is there, because we can. A curious mind is a marvelous thing.
