I recently did something for science. Patting myself on the back for doing something positive over here. It’s not often that I feel like I can contribute to science in a meaningful way so when I saw that there was a Smell Test Challenge being done through the Michael J. Fox Foundation for research for Parkinson’s, I hopped on the opportunity right away.

It was super easy to sign up ( I will provide links at the end of the post) and I received the kit within a couple of weeks from initially signing up. It arrived on my porch and took less than 30 minutes to complete from start to finish.

The process was simple. Open the envelope and use the enclosed pencil to complete the scratch and sniff test.

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I completed the 4 booklets which totaled 40 scratch and sniff tests.

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Each sample had 4 choices and in almost every case they were really simple for me to identify. Think of those scratch and sniff stickers or perfume samples that used to be in magazines. I recorded my answer in the corresponding bubble and then was able to record those in the online answer sheet after entering my unique participant id number.

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It really was simple to complete and I hope my answers will help lead to some further research on the link between diminished smell and the link to risk for brain disease.

Having lost my own dad to complications due to Parkinson’s disease means that I am acutely aware of how horrible it is. If I can to one small test to help with research with this, you know I will. If you are interested in participating yourself, simply click here to go to the website where you can sign up.