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People are hopping mad about this post, as I apparently ‘copied it of reddit’.
Except my post is 4 hours older than the reddit one. (And a snippet from my 2015 book.) 
Ahhhh twitter....
Show this thread
The smell of the air after a storm is caused by Geosmin: A chemical released by dead soil bacteria.
Humans are hyper sensitive to it, capable of detecting at a concentration of 5 parts per trillion.
It's theorised in our evolutionary past this helped us seek out water.
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Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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You follow /r/todayilearned as well? Might be good to attribute the source next timehttps://reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/92il0d/til_that_the_smell_of_the_air_after_a_storm_is/ …
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My 2015 book?
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What a joke... Your post is literally the title...
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Notice how my post is 4 hours older than the reddit one?
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Burn them James. Burn them.
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r/therewasanattempt
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This has been a really interesting thread - I made a mistake and admitted to it. Why burn someone when they humbly accept the truth and admit fault?
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It’s all banter dude. It’s great that you admit your mistake. I suggest that you try not to make baseless claims before checking source materials. Good day sir!
End of conversation
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I kinda love that we’re basically to dead bacteria what sharks are to blood. We’re so cool. :)
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I so wanted to sneak that analogy in! Damn character count!
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"I love rain more than sharks love blood"
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As I just walked home in the rain I had wondered what the smell was, then I saw your tweet. Why does the rain cause this chemical to be released into the air?
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Drops of water hitting the air cause the geosmin to be released into the air.
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Thanks
@cereal_writer. Do you mean as the drops hit the ground? And presumably then it is simply the mechanical force that releases the geosin? Why doesn’t it get released if I run around on the grass? -
Yep as the water hits the ground. I think the difference between this and you running is that you don't create an aerosol when you run but the droplets do. This video might explain better?https://youtu.be/Waqmq_GTyjA
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Brilliant explanation! Fascinated that it is all about
#bubbles@Prof_Leighton@helenczerski, and pleased my question was not a silly one! Thank you! -
And I guess also could explain why my hay fever is worse when it has rained. That aerosol mechanism is presumable moving pollen.
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Nick, the mechanism behind 'thunderstorm asthma' was elucidated in 1992 by a Melbourne based physician-botanist duo. I used to work with the physician. Osmotic shock ruptures pollen releasing highly allergenic starch granules in vast number. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1347092
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Same mechanism holds for hay fever. Melbourne is a world capital for grass allergies & thunderstorm asthma as north winds preceding summer storms drag pollen in from across continent.https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/thunderstorm-asthma-the-night-a-deadly-storm-took-melbournes-breath-away-20170308-gut8ur.html …
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