Each human being is encased by an invisible 3 ft. (1 m) cylinder. Any smell, good or bad, emanating from a person should not be detectable outside their Cylinder. Very simple.
There is a good reason for this rule. Inside the cylinder is personal space (yes, the size of the cylinder varies by culture). Outside is public space. You invite people into your personal space, smells and all. Assaulting the public space with your odors is an uninvited invasion.
Note: The Cylinder O' Smell is about odor and not about environmental allergies, which are a different discussion.
Interestingly, this rule applies equally to perfumes and gym socks. Some examples:
- You enter the lobby of a building and are nearly overwhelmed by the receptionist's scent enhancement (a mix of perfume, hair spray, body spray, and makeup) from 30 feet away. Bad
- Someone uses spray underarm deodorant in the locker room. Bad
- Mr. Evil (but, to my experience, never Miss Evil) wears their unwashed non-scent suppressing gym clothes. Very bad
- You wear subtle perfume/cologne and someone has to get real close to check it out. Sounds good to me.
- You nuzzle your S.O.'s clean hair. It smells wonderful. Very good.
You get the idea. The exception to the Rule is when everybody smells that way (hunting trips, marathons, makeover parties, etc.)
Next week: The Cylinder O' Sound, or headphones and earbuds.
