Fifth Sense at Farsley Festival

We took part in the Farsley Festival in Leeds on Monday 26th May, and chose a prime location to talk about smell and taste to people – right next to the stall selling home-made pizza from the pizza oven in Farsley churchyard!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, what worked particularly well was the jelly bean taste test (getting people to eat a jelly bean whilst holding their nose – it has no flavour – and then letting go and the flavour suddenly rushes into the mouth).  We tried this with lots of people, many of whom thought it was amazing – so many people had no idea at all just how important the sense of smell is to flavour perception.

What was also noticeable, just as in previous public events we have done, was just how many people we talked to had a smell-related disorder.  In the first 30 minutes we spoke to four people with chronic sinus problems, two of whom had been given operations to remove nasal polyps in the past that had been completely ineffective.  We were able to pass details on of the clinicians with whom we are working which were gratefully received.

Another successful event, and as Fifth Sense continues to grow and develop then we’ll be looking to visit a town or city near you!

‘Does the smell of this make you think of a place, a person, a situation?’ The incredible power of the sense of smell in evoking memories