Do we have two nostrils so we can smell in stereo? Moles do!
We don’t think about it, but we see in stereo: this is where our depth perception comes from — we triangulate based on the parallax from our eyes.
We also hear in stereo.
So … if we have two eyes and two ears because those senses work in stereo … is that why we have two nostrils? Basic research on moles (who are blind) shows that they do smell in stereo:
“People have wondered for a long time whether smell has this component as well,” said Kenneth C. Catania, a biologist at Vanderbilt University. Now he and colleagues report in the journal Nature Communications that common moles, which are blind, have the ability and use it to swiftly locate prey.
I’ve wondered this for a long time (and have even told the vXkids that I bet our hounds can triangulate based on smell).
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