01SENSORY ASSOCIATIONSCULTURAL
- Color
- Storm blue
- Texture
- Mist on stone
- Temperature
- Cool
- Sound
- Soft rainfall
SB-0001
SmellBook editorialCULTURALRevision 2
Rain
Also known as Rainfall
Cool air, wet surfaces and the mineral-earthy atmosphere associated with rainfall.
ATLAS POSITION001 / 200
MILESTONEIconic 100
PRIMARY CATEGORYNature
PUBLIC TYPEPhenomenon
PROFILE STATUScomplete
CULTURAL3associations / context
EXPERIMENTAL2nearby / prototype structure
VERIFIED1published source-backed claims
Source registry ↗02FEELS LIKECULTURAL
calmfreshnessnostalgia
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
03CONTEXTCULTURAL
after summer heatcity pavementforest soil
04NEARBYEXPERIMENTAL
Early editorial relationships, not a live graph ranking.
05SCIENCE & SOURCESEXPERIMENTAL
VERIFIEDCLM-PETRICHOR-001 ↗
The scientific literature has used the term petrichor for the characteristic earthy odour associated with rain acting on dry mineral and soil environments.
Historical scientific framing of petrichor; this does not mean every rainy environment has one identical chemical profile.
VERIFIEDPRIMARY
Nature of Argillaceous Odour
I. J. Bear & R. G. Thomas
DOI 10.1038/201993a0WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
One profile can belong to many routes.
These links are editorial navigation across the public atlas—not live graph scores.
FROM SMELLBOOK STORIES
This smell also lives in stories.
Editorial pieces add place, memory and cultural context without changing the canonical profile.
EXPLAINER SERIES · 2026-09-24Why rain on pavement feels like a smell event
Rain changes the air, the ground and what nearby materials release. The result can feel bigger than any one smell identity.
Read ↗EXPLAINER SERIES · 2026-09-18Sea Air is not blue, but people often describe it that wayCross-sensory language makes invisible smell easier to communicate, even when the color itself belongs to association rather than odor.
Read ↗PLACE SERIES · 2026-09-16A city route after rainWet pavement, stone, soil pockets and cleaned air create a temporary version of the city that disappears as surfaces dry.
Read ↗SmellBook treats rain as an atmospheric experience rather than a single ingredient.
EDITORIAL REVISIONRevision 2
Added evidence provenance and connected atlas metadata.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-09-22EVIDENCE MATTERS
A profile can contain different kinds of knowledge.
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See evidence coverage ↗