Courtesy of Getty Image Bank
As negative purchase reviews for incense candles that emit a good smell increased, analysis showed that the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues.
The inability to smell well is one of the typical symptoms of COVID-19. It is explained that as the olfactory paralysis came in the early stages of the infection, it became difficult to smell well, which led to a negative reaction to the product.
According to the Guardian on the 13th (local time), negative reviews for the scented candle brand of the US representative ‘Yankee Candle’ increased on social network services (SNS) in the fall of 2020, when Corona 19 spread in the US and the UK . Even at the beginning of this year, when the Omicron mutation swept the world, dissatisfied product reviews such as “It doesn’t smell the same as before” increased.
Scientists say negative reviews about incense candles are a sign of an increase in COVID-19. Dr. Jorge Cavalero, American medical scientist and founder of Coders, a private organization researching COVID-19, said on his SNS on the 9th, “Yankee Candle’s poor product evaluation means that the Corona 19 will increase rapidly. ” he said
Nick Beauchamp, a professor at Northeastern University in the United States, confirmed the correlation between the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the reviews of Yankee Candle purchases on Amazon through a paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Artificial Intelligence in the month of May.
As a result of reviewing 10,000 Yankee Candle purchase reviews, they found that for every 100,000 new confirmed cases, the number of “unscented” purchases increased by 0.25%. Product reviews complaining about ‘Vera Wang’ perfume, a perfume brand popular with women, also increased with the spread of Corona 19.
However, recently this rule has not been met. As a result of analyzing the reviews of Amazon Yankee Candle purchases in the last four months by Professor Beau Champ, the number of negative purchase reviews saying “there is no smell” increased, but the number of new confirmed corona19 cases decreased during the one period. .
Professor Beauchamp said, “The negative purchase reviews of incense candles and the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases coincided for three years, but now they are starting to diverge. It seems to have had an impact,” he said. He added, “It’s worth noting that many people have learned that the inability to smell scented candles is an early symptom of COVID-19.”
