smell-o-vision

smell-o-vision · noun¹

From smell + -o- (interfix used for ease of pronunciation) + vision, probably popularized by Smell-O-Vision (proper noun) which was recoined in 1959 by Mike Todd Jr. (1929–2002), the American producer of the film Scent of Mystery (1960), as the name of the system invented by the Swiss scientist Hans Laube (1900–1976) used for the film. The term was possibly modelled after terms used in the motion picture industry such as Panavision (a company manufacturing cameras and lenses) and VistaVision (an early widescreen motion picture film format). The variant spelling smellevision is possibly a blend of smell + television.

Smell-O-Vision · proper noun²

From smell + -o- (interfix used for ease of pronunciation) + vision, recoined in 1959 by Mike Todd Jr. (1929–2002), the American producer of the film Scent of Mystery (1960) which used the Smell-O-Vision system invented by the Swiss scientist Hans Laube (1900–1976), possibly modelled after terms used in the motion picture industry such as Panavision (a company manufacturing cameras and lenses) and VistaVision (an early widescreen motion picture film format): see the November 1959 quotation.

First known use, by meaning

• from 1959 A system that choreographed the release of odors into a movie theater during the projection of a film.