Making No Scents

Life in the Boomer lane has learned of two astonishing and depressing studies this week. One is that Trump’s supporters have brains that are not impacted in any way by anything their hero says or does. They are, however, wired to applaud anything he says.

We will bring back the fossil fuel industry, because that is what makes America great! (wild applause)

We will put solar panels on The Wall because solar is the way to go! (wild applause)

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The Wall has just gotten higher and it will cost Mexico even more money!!! (wild applause)

The wall will have solar panels and so will cost Mexico less money! (wild applause)

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We’ve put Wall St on notice!  No more Wall St types running this country and telling us what to do! (wild applause)

I’ve chosen the best and brightest folks from Wall St for my cabinet. What better people to run this country than those who run Wall St! (wild applause)

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We will drain the swamp! (wild applause)

We will turn the swamp into a golf course! (wild applause)

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I fired Comey because of Hillary’s emails! (wild applause)

I fired Comey because he is a nutball! (wild applause)

I fired Comey because he is taller than me! (wild applause)

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I will repeal and replace Obamacare the first week I am in office! (wild applause)

Repeal Obamacare, and replace with some random plan at a later date! (wild applause)

We will repeal Obamacare and everyone will decide not to get sick anymore! (wild applause)

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Putin is great! (wild applause)

I have no idea who Putin is! (wild applause)

Even if I knew Putin I wouldn’t know if I liked him or not! (wild applause)

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And, on another note,  it turns out that smelling food, not eating it, makes people fat.  Researchers from the University of California-Berkeley temporarily impaired the sense of smell of one group of mice and left the olfactory capability of the other group intact. They then fed the same amount of food to each group. The smell-impaired mice gained way less weight than the mice who could smell. This will undoubtedly lead to a vast industry of food that, like neutered cardboard, gives off no scent.

This also leads the possibility of follow-up research, postulating that smell deficiency may also impact on people’s ability to detect bullshit, politically speaking.