There's a direct neural link from the nasal cavity right into the brain stem. Neurons that pick up smell, and trigger your reptile brain. Smell is our oldest sense, and the most intimate one. BTW COVID attacked those neurons in a subset of people. That's what led to loss of smell/taste, as those very neural cells were converted to virus 🦠 particles. The five basic tastes (sour/bitter/salty/sweet/umami) are taken up in the mouth, but aroma is all in the nose.

Source: lecture on smell at Mainz university, 2022-ish. 

 interesting.. 

 its a common game for kids in central europe. cover the eyes and use a clip to close the nose. give food to try and you will have a lot of fun, as they wont be able to tell. 
when your kids are young, the older ones might start first ;-)  

 actually not only covid but many cold do impair smell.

and i am not sure whether the nerves go directly to the brain stem but rather the hippocampus.  

 I probably mixed up the biological names. It's a very ancient part of the brain, might be hippocampus, amagdyla or whatevs. I never can memorize those 😶 

 You also have smell receptors on you skin, inside the lung and intestines. No kidding. They trigger hormone release based on their sensory reactions. Pretty interesting stuff.