For millennia, people have sought out the finest scents, first exploring nearby lands and eventually creating trade routes which spanned the globe.

But what repels or attracts us so strongly to a particular smell?

And if you had to describe the scent of a rose, could you do better than calling it 'rosey' or 'floral'?

In the Drawing Room, Elise Pearlstine explains the science, the stories, and the language of scent.