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Customers are flooding Amazon with reviews of Yankee candles that candles have no scent.
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Negative reviews appear to be consistent with the proliferation of COVID-19 cases caused by Omicron variants.
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Loss of smell, known as anosmia, is a major symptom of COVID.
A review of Yankee candles on Amazon could be the latest indicator of a nationwide COVID surge.
Some customers who recently purchased from the scented-candle brand using Amazon are flooding the site with negative reviews that the scent of candles is barely noticeable or completely absent. Many reviewers gave the candles five stars and described a strong scent reminiscent of a Christmas tree, but others said they didn’t smell anything or only burning wax.
“I bought this candle before, but the scent fills the room. It’s almost scentless. Boo,” said a December 20 review on the scent of Yankee candles balsam and sugi. ..
Another critic wrote on December 19th, “Unless you plant your face in a glass container, there is no scent. Burn for 8 hours and no scent.”
But candles may not be a problem. Those customers may have lost the sensation of smell, which is a symptom of COVID-19.
Loss of smell, known as anosmia, is one of the clearest symptoms of COVID. Some people regain their ability to smell when they recover from COVID, while others report that they cannot smell. A few months or a year, After having a COVID.
Nick Bochamp, an assistant professor of political science at Northeastern University, graphed complaints about Amazon’s top three Yankee candles. He tracked when negative reviews began and how many of those complaints increased each week.His graph showed a sharp spike around December, similar to the Omicron variant. Leading to a new wave of COVID cases In the United States.
A Yankee Candle spokesman did not immediately respond to insider’s request for comment on the review.
This is not the first time Candle Review has predicted a virus surge. Last winter, Bryn Mawr College researcher Kate Petrois discovered that reviews of Amazon’s best-scented candles dropped about one star between January 2020 and November 2020.At the same time, Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post report..
Still, Beauchamp and Petrova both state that this data looked like evidence of a surge in COVID, but should not be treated like scientific research.
“I wouldn’t take this very seriously,” Beauchamp tweeted. “Looking at the percentages, there seems to be a seasonal surge in” odorless “every winter. “
Read the original article Business Insider