Playing on TVs of the future: Smell-O-Vision?

Nowadays, when a friend says her TV stinks, you assume she's talking about picture or sound quality. Some years down the road--assuming certain cross-Pacific R&D pans out--she might mean that literally.

Researchers at the University of California at San Diego are collaborating with Samsung to develop a compact odor-generating component for TVs and cell phones. The as-yet-unnamed device would give television programs and Web sites a palette of 10,000 odors.

Sure, people have been trying to add smell to visual media for a long time (Smell-O-Vision anyone?). The UC San Diego-Samsung collaboration, however, is pushing the technology closer to reality. Miniaturization and digitization are cracking the big challenges of odor-on-demand systems: control and variety.

Odor pixels are the key: a 100x100 matrix of tiny wires will make it easy to heat any one of 10,000 tiny liquid-filled containers.

It'd be cool to catch a whiff of ocean during a beach scene, or take in the heady odor of woodsmoke as a campfire flickers onscreen. But I'm thinking the smells have got to be totally natural. Otherwise, the intense pine forest experience I'm expecting might turn out to be a subliminal cue to break out household cleaning products. Maybe Samsung could offer an eco-organic version.

And there has to be an option to block certain odors. When the intrepid investigators on CSI: Peoria wrinkle their noses upon finding a decaying corpse, I'd like to keep my distance. I'd also just as soon not have my living room filled with eau d' Burger King.

There's also the potential for mischief. How will I know if Samsung or some other TV maker is slipping pheromones into my TV's odor unit? That would give lusting after the latest techno-toys new meaning.

UC San Diego and Samsung aren't the only ones trying to bring back Smell-O-Vision. NTT Communications has installed an odor-generating kiosk in a Tokyo mall to add smells to restaurant advertising, ScentSciences sells a 20-smell USB device for PCs and game consoles, and other Japanese researchers are trying to make it happen by adapting inkjet technology .

Crave freelancer Eric Smalley has written about technology for more than two decades. His freelance credits include Discover, Scientific American, and Wired News. He edits Technology Research News , where he gets to preview the cool technology we'll all be using 10 years from now. Eric is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. E-mail Eric .

The Joys of Mamihood: Cheesy Feet | New York Chica | Celebrities ...

” Smell like?”

“Did it smell like a dirty trash can?” I laughed. I said,  “noooo.”

“Then what did it smell like mommy?” I said it smelled like cheese.

She says. “Oh then it’s definitely my feet!”

Omg! I laughed so hard, my tummy was hurting from all the laughter.  I couldn’t believe she actually said that. She said it calmly and proud too.

I guess that’s what happens when she wears her shoes without socks. Gross! Maybe it’s time for mama to buy her some new shoes.

It’s funny because she has such a profound love for cheese that there is no shame in her “cheesy” game.

Afterward, I took her a quick shower and brought her to bed. No more cheesy-smelling feet.

And there you have it, the joys of Mamihood: Cheesy Feet Style.

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