New York Researchers Say Your Nose Knows Friendship

Imagine meeting someone for the first time and, within just a few minutes, you just know you're going to hit it off. It turns out, your nose might be doing more of the work than your eyes or ears.

The Nose Knows Friendship

According to a fascinating new study out of Cornell University in Ithaca, women might be able to sniff out a potential friend - literally. The research found that heterosexual women could predict whether they’d like another woman just by smelling a T-shirt she had worn. No talking, no eye contact, just scent.

Smell, Speed-Friending, and Science

The researchers set up a sort of “speed-friending” event, where participants had four-minute face-to-face chats. Before these chats happened, though, the women were asked to smell T-shirts worn by the others. These shirts were infused with the natural, everyday scents of the wearers.

This wasn’t about perfume or body odor in a vacuum. This was about what scientists call “diplomatic odor,” which is a person’s scent shaped by their environment, lifestyle, products, and even lunch choices.

First Impressions via T-Shirt?

Here’s the wild part: the women’s initial scent-based judgments lined up with how much they liked the person after meeting them. If someone liked a T-shirt smell, they often liked the person too. And vice versa.

READ MORE: Strange Cornell University Tradition Involves a Dragon

It wasn’t about one smell being “better” than another - it was about personal preference. One woman might find a scent comforting and friendly, while another might not be drawn to it at all.

Friendship Chemistry You Can’t See

Professor Vivian Zayas, co-author of the study, explained it like this: “People take a lot in when they’re meeting face to face. But scent, which people are registering at some level, though probably not consciously, forecasts whether you end up liking this person.”

SEE ALSO: First Major Cyberattack Launched by Cornell Student in New York

It’s not just about first impressions either. The study showed that after interacting, women sometimes changed their opinions of the scent, too. Our perception of someone’s smell can actually evolve as we get to know them better.

Your Signature Scent Says a Lot

This isn’t about someone smelling like roses versus fresh laundry. What’s amazing is how personal and unique our preferences are. The study found that each participant had their own “scent fingerprint,” a pattern of who they liked based on scent alone.

“Everybody showed they had a consistent signature of what they liked,” Zayas said. “It was idiosyncratic. I might like person A over B over C based on scent, and this pattern predicts who I end up liking in the chat.”

So, What Does This Mean for Us?

While most scent research has focused on romantic attraction, this study flips the script and dives into the platonic side of things. And it’s a powerful reminder that friendship, like love, can start with something invisible.

Get our free mobile app

The next time you meet someone new and instantly feel that “click,” don’t overthink it. Your nose might already be ahead of you.