From howstuffworks.com: The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. Despite the tight wiring, however, smells would not trigger memories if it weren’t for conditioned responses. When you first smell a new scent, you link it to an event, a person, a thing or even a moment. Your brain forges a link between the smell and a memory — associating the smell of chlorine with summers at the pool or lilies with a funeral. When you encounter the smell again, the link is already there, ready to elicit a memory or a mood. Chlorine might call up a specific pool-related memory or simply make you feel content. Lilies might agitate you without your knowing why. This is part of the reason why not everyone likes the same smells.

Working in the food industry I have been exposed to delicacies from all over the world. Some I love, some I have grown to love, and some I find repugnant. The first time I was confronted with brie cheese, I could instantly relate the smell and taste to semen. I shyly brought this up in conversation with the girls I work with, and they agreed with me.

It beCAME an inside joke. We would put it out for everybody to sample, and would analyze how they processed the smell and taste. We have been doing this for years. The findings have been very interesting. Single men who try it instantly dislike it but encourage their girlfriend to try. This has been consistent, and I have concluded that subconsciously they are conditioning their lovers to develop a taste for swallowing. I can see how this could be very effective. Married couples try, and instantly love it — they usually go back for seconds. They are proving they have both developed a taste for everything. Single women try and instantly ask, “What is this?” — all making the same wrinkled face. I tell them it’s an acquired taste, and in time they will grow to love it. I know this entry has been in very poor taste (pun intended): “But it has never been a trip to Baskin Robbins.”