This Tech Ended For the Worst Reason | Nostalgia Nerd
Head to https://squarespace.com/nostalgianerd to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code NOSTALGIANERD ~ SmelloVision is a thing that never really made it, but arguably, it should have. In the late 90s various companies popped up offering devices for your PC that could emit scents and fragrances into your face. These companies were set to revolutionise the world of gaming and media, by drawing in another one of our crucial human senses. That company was called DigiScents and their product was called iSmell. In this video I talk to creator Joel Bellenson and find out exactly what happend and why we don’t have DigiScents flying into our faces at this very moment.
You can view the text version of this video, including references and links at https://www.nostalgianerd.com/tech-ended-worst-reason/
⌛Timings⌛
00:00-04:56 Smell’O’Vision
04:56-09:39 DigiScents
09:39-10:18 SqSp
10:18-31:58 DigiScents
31:58-32:33 Credits
🔗Video Links🔗
Smell-O-Vision comes to iPhone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui7sWTelEzU
Weird Al Explains Smell-O-Vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlD6ST_BrG4
Electric Playground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykh7aN1zM8E
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Some material in this video may be used under Fair Dealing / Fair Use. Where under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 (UK: Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988), allowance is made for purposes including parody, quotation, criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, education and research. Fair Dealing / Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
@Nostalgianerd
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
If you liked this, then you'll probably like my video about the Trojan Room Coffee Pot https://youtu.be/IOqlDsfTC6g
@martinsteele2576
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Brilliant. Another firecracker of a video. Thank u so much.
@newforestpixie5297
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
in 1984 a gas service engineer told me he was working on introducing scratch n sniff for mens magazines. apparently he needed reminding of the smell of classic Atco petrol mowers .they were all great fun at our depot & without the humour i would’ve left & hopefully gone on to lead a fulfilling life instead of continually joining fiddly bits of pipe together in uninspiring,damp or stuffy locations for decades after.
@jessihawkins9116
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
i remember buying my first gây pórñ vhs and it came with a smell-a-vision card….I was immediately turned off by the technology 😕
@DAVIDGREGORYKERR
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Would it use 8 bits so depending on the bit pattern a different smell would be released.
@DAVIDGREGORYKERR
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
The control data would have to be multiplexed into the DOLBY DIGITAL Data Stream
@chloedevereaux1801
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
the zuckerborg doesn't have a beard…….
@chloedevereaux1801
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
is bbc children in need a way for the scummbag bbc to pay off the kids fucked by jimmy saville………..
@scyhte82
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
1:58 That dudes shirt says iSMELL. lma fucking o
@davidpower3102
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
YouTube deletes my comment when I try to post the new link to the video feed of the coffee pot from its new home in the HNF.
Search for HNF coffee pot blog and you'll find the link in the blog post.
@robbietorkelsonn8509
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
imagine your entire house smelling like a dead body
@bryan.bayesian
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Excellently done!
@andy23r
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
a Duke Nukem scratch and sniff better smell like cheap liquor and after glow.😈
@BeRkStAh
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
@4:07 I had a little sniff aswell.
@Racecar564
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
I think we could do without the bad smells in media, thanks very much. Amazing though that this was developed as much as it was, not to mention when it was!
@lanniekin
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
If porn didn't smell like the inside of an abandoned McDonald's deepfryer we'd have smellovision in every home tbh
@Eta_Hoyimi
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Recreating Mr. Blobby's smell and distributing it intentionally absolutely has to violate the Geneva convention in some way.
@BBUCK_Fiden
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Uganda?! He probably has AIDS.
@StarkRG
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
If the technology could be sufficiently miniaturized (a big if), the not-quite-perfect, "cartoonish" scents would go a long way in a VR headset.
@ItsHyomoto
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
This definitely feels like something that has better applications elsewhere. Like the novel side of it is a byproduct of more interesting uses.
@win7best
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
21:55 piss kink mfs gonna go crazy with this one
@JordonRenn93
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
WTF YOU SMELLING IN LIESURE SUIT LARRY?!?!
@FlashMeterRed
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Considering odour receptors are found in other parts of the body, and their therapeutic potential, how did they go with patenting of the "64 molecule" soup that target these receptors? However much you think videogame/electronics companies make, those pharna companies have deep pockets
@SieTeppischfresser
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Children in Need has a bear with the 1 eye symbolism.
@emilyslicer2843
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
This is James somerton level of ignorant/ negligent reporting
Man is a bold face liar
@64bitcrafts
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
It's a tech that regularly gets doomed sadly. With VR having a resurgence, there was a company that was making a add-on module (FeelReal?) that would spritz you with a small vareity/combination of scents based on software input, but right as it was hitting the late prototyping stage, 2020 had the new Vape restrictions kick into effect, which conveniently overlaid onto their product–the scent 'juice' was effectively a non-fda tested vape, and the whole thing collapsed on itself.
@strawberrykicker2
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
i dont remember this being a think back in the 90s but it would have been pretty scary as i do remember seeing a documentary sometime around 2001 where they said paedophiles could make your keyboard emit toxic vapours that make you more susceptible
@PanekPL
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Man I'd love to smell a CoD lobby
@TheDementation
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Imagine having all that talent and making dogshit like smell'o'vision. You would know if the alient was close to you in Alien Isolation because you could the fact you had shit your pants.
@grandetaco4416
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
People are cheap when it comes to printer ink. 50 bucks a scent for something that is not a necessity, isn't going to go very far.
@michealpersicko9531
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Fun fact about odorama. John Waters lost the patent for it to nickelodeon when he let the trademark lapse. Nickelodeon used it for the rugests movie and i think they still own the name
@amberflokstra88
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
“The late 1900’s” …. I have never felt more attacked than I feel right now😂
@DeathMetalDerf
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
All of the "business reasons" that ended up dooming this technology represents every single little thing I dislike about capitalism and the way business is done in general. It's never about what's best for everyone, it's only what's best for the investors, and if the investors don't see it your idea is DOA. Even if millions of lives could be saved or made less difficult, if they can't find a way to wring every single possible penny from it, it just rots on the vine.
@HyperSphereOmega
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
This is the most elaborate vape
@jaymel4691
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Is this supposed to be satire? I hope it is. This "technology" failed because it was a stupid, terrible idea. It's not tragic, good riddance. It had nothing to do with 9/11, and shame on everyone for comparing the failure of this silly idea (which was doomed to fail from the start, because it was ridiculous!) to a tragedy where thousands of people actually DIED in horrible ways! And why would the smell of a dead body EVER be considered a good thing or as a "fun extra" for a video game or movie? And what about allergies and VOC's? Or reactions by people's pets to some fragrances and chemicals? These people have no idea how the sense of smell even works, let alone any idea of what consumers would actually want. At best, it would be a novelty people might use once, say "ok, that was cool I guess" and then never again. And it would go into the box of junk to give away to Goodwill. This is not even a new concept, smell-o-vision was a gimmick in the 1940's they used during some movies. It was a silly gimmick then and this was a silly gimmick as well. And isn't the 1900's from 1900-1909? I think you meant to say the 20th century, or the 1980's-1990's. The late 1900's would be 1908 or 1909!
@hollyenglishishere
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
This is terribly fact-checked (if at all) and to acquaint 9/11 with this dude's business failing is gross click-baiting. Shame on you.
@elen5871
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
that Joel Bellend-son guy absolutely took you for a ride, man. the fact you very obviously didn't Google anything about him is sad. i get that you've probably got better things to do in your life than YouTube these days, which is why the upload schedule has lessened and frankly the quality has too, but holy moly, some guy going "i could have been on flight 93!!!" and you just eating it up and making it the central focus of your video, instead of him admitting that their main investor did their due diligence and pulled out when they found out he had NO ACTUAL PRODUCT is pretty wild. anyways, Mack Attack did a pretty thorough and deserved takedown of this tire fire, and also pointed out that Joel has never published a single things related to anti-malarial drugs, but what he HAS done is create an "app" where you put in your 23andMe data and it tells you whether you're gay or not. reminder: Joel lives in Uganda, the "kill the gays" country. He's close with the president there, and instead of developing new drugs like he lied to you about, he's developing bogus apps that "tell" whether someone is gay or not. presumably so they can be executed????
he's a scammer, man. a dangerous scammer, he's been a scammer for 30+ years, and he scammed you, because you didn't do due diligence. that is SO disappointing. do better. i know you can.
@jonathansweet2230
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Why are twin towers with a fart cloud in your thumbnail?
What part of smelling rotting intestines full of moldering fecal matter makes playing COD any better?
@tobykassulke2385
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
0:43 i have the full set of these. Sadly theyre not smelly anymore 🙁
@mac5er
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
I remember Gabriel knight 3 had an option to select such a device, but I can't find anything about it online.
Maybe it was a different game, could have been broken sword.
@ciberdelia.telnet
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
I've clicked because of the thumbnail with the Twin Towers being hit by a plane.
@zweimeterzweimark
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Haha had a Simpsons Magazin in the early 2000s, where you could rub a rose and Homer's butt … guess what 😀
@rightwired
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
My only experience with smell-a-vision: I worked at a movie theater, and we were a non-Union shop. In 1990, the Chicago-mafia Projectionist Union sent a mouth-breathing, low IQ troglodyte to set off a tear gar canister in our theater. It took a month and tens of thousands of dollar to remove the smell. We were one of many theaters who were violently terrorized and attacked by these crazy Marxist union democrat-leftists.
@RyuuTenno
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
i think this could've worked, if they figured out a more generic set of smells, and then movie theaters and such could utilize custom ones for better immersion (would make people want to visit theaters more, since you wouldn't get the same thing at home)
Just cause with everything going on, you'd need a wildly different set of smells for every experience and that can get very pricey really fast
@MrArgus11111
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
This is the stupidest product idea in history
@blue_monday85
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Tommy Tallarico jump scare
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