Impossible smells exhibition opens

One of the smells at the exhibition is the 'surface of the sun'

The world's first exhibition of 'extinct and impossible' smells is under way, from the metallic fallout of the first atomic bomb to the aroma of cloves and oranges from first aid kit of a medieval plague doctor.

The acrid reek of a blazing meteor impact, the sweaty bouquet of a space station, the hothouse aroma of a Victorian greenhouse are also there for the smelling at the Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland.

The aromatic exhibition has drawn on the efforts of perfumers, chemists, botanists and a Nasa scientist. "What we have created here is a world first, a scientific flight of fancy made up of exotic and strange scents," says Robert Blackson of the University of Sunderland, mastermind behind the endeavour.

"One person will love a smell when their friend will hate it," says Blackson. "There are no good or bad smells."

One extraordinary fragrance is the aftermath of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan on August 6, 1945. "The Hiroshima smell is quick and pungent, very metallic," says Blackson. full story