Epistemological violence in America

I've been dealing with a cold for the past few days, and as a result have gone largely without olfaction. This has of course messed with my sense of taste as well. It occurred to me while walking around today in eighty-plus degree heat that I would no have no idea whether I smelled bad. This got me thinking about smelling in general, and what sort of communication really goes on between the nose and brain when you smell a flower or a dumpster. What is to smell?

Moreover, without the sense of smell, and I realize this question probably sits somewhere on the razor-thin cusp between nonsense and metaphysics - what does nothing smell like?