COVID-19 Outbreak Information Updates (Reboot) [over 150.000,000 US cases (est.), 6,422,520 US hospitilizations, 1,148,691 US deaths.]

Yankee Candle calls itself “America’s favorite brand of premium scented candles”, and offers over 600 fragrances, like “Spiced pumpkin” and “Warm apple pie” designed to fill your living room with homey holiday vibes.

Days before Thanksgiving 2020, a Twitter user pointed out a sharp rise in negative reviews complaining the famously pungent candles had no smell. Could it be a hidden sign of the Covid wave, the user wondered?

In total, the candles have well over 100,000 reviews on Amazon – a potentially rich trove of epidemiological data.

That off-the-cuff tweet led to a flood of jokes, but has since been validated by scholarly research: there is indeed a correlation between Covid cases and the number of reviews complaining that Yankee Candles don’t have a smell. In early 2022, the rise of negative reviews mirrored official case counts.

So it’s concerning that in the last few weeks, there has been a notable uptick in reviews complaining that the candles don’t seem to work. (Yankee Candle did not respond to a request for comment for the story.)

One reviewer wrote on 1 October that the smell of the “Mountain Lodge” candle was “too subtle, not like any other Yankee candle I’ve burned in past 35 yrs. Doesn’t even fill one small room.” Someone who bought “Sparking cinnamon” wrote on 9 October they were “excited to light this candle … it was a disappointment … zero scent.”

As more Americans seem to be giving up on Covid measures, the candles are again attracting attention – including from Dr Jorge Caballero, the founder of volunteer group Coders Against Covid who published a viral tweet about the candles on 9 October: “Yankee Candle reviews indicate that Covid is about [to] surge again … Mask up and get boosted. Please.”……

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/13/zero-scent-candles-covid?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other