[abe]

The Subject of Smells

Smells play a large part in our lives but IMHO it is mentioned less than the other senses.

I LOVE the ability to smell. And there are some smells that one might not think of as being all that fragrant, but ones I particularly recall with fondness.

The smell of a new roll of Kodak film. Nothing else like it. The smell of new sneakers. But it's been a while since I last smelled a pair that had the aroma I recall loving as a kid.

And then there's the smell of natural gas in Brooklyn, NY.

Natural gas is supposed to be odorless and a scent is added to it to help detect it's presence.

That gives me the impression that different parts of the country use different scents or differing amounts of it. When I was in Red Hook years ago the smell of the city and the smell of the natural gas from the kitchen stove struck me as different from what I was used to.

Does any of this make any scents?

Booo! Bad Pun!

[Tomchu]

The smell of fresh electronic equipment.

... Especially the smell of fresh Apple products. Mmm ... so toxic-like, so addictive.

[BlueSky]

Napalm in the morning.

[volcano]

I love the smell of new books.

I also like the distinct scents of older, 19th century homes.

[abe]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

Napalm in the morning.

[abe]

Originally Posted by Tomchu

The smell of fresh electronic equipment.

You have a point!

I remember opening the box of my first brand new transistor radio on christmas day! Hmmmmmmm! And subsequent smaller electronic devices. Larger ones I haven't noticed as much of a new smell as smaller ones.

[abe]

Originally Posted by volcano

I love the smell of new books.

I also like the distinct scents of older, 19th century homes.

Yeah, bookstores and libraries do it for me, too!

[Goldfinger]

The smell of a new car.

[Daveecee]

The smell of fear as a calculus test is administered

[abe]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

The smell of a new car.

YES! And the canned spray stuff is just weird smelling, to me. Nothing like real new car smell.

[BlueSky]

Um, yeah... while I was waiting for the page to fully load, I'm sorry to say that this popped up:



Don't blame me, I'm just the Massengill.

er...messenger.

[abe]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

Um, yeah... while I was waiting for the page to fully load, I'm sorry to say that this popped up:



Don't blame me, I'm just the Massengill.

er...messenger.

Which should not be used by anyone to say you are a dou***bag.

[Ghoser777]

I wish I could smell... stupid sickness.

If snot was money, I'd have at least eleventy billions dollars by now.

[abe]

Originally Posted by Ghoser777

I wish I could smell... stupid sickness.

If snot was money, I'd have at least eleventy billions dollars by now.

Which would make you a snotty rich guy? Sorry aboult your malady. I am fortunate in that way.

[aristotles]

I love the smell of new Canadian paper money.

[Doofy]

New cars, hot valves, dirty maple fingerboards, clean felines, warm women and Christmas.

[bradoesch]

The FireWire cable that shipped with the tray-loading iMacs. That crazy scent brings back all the memories and emotions of my first Mac. Such a bizarre, wonderful smell.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Sex.

Sorry to be so predictable.

greg

[abe]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton

Sex.

Sorry to be so predictable.

greg

Probably why you have so many different opportunities.

[jamil5454]

Folgers in your cup.

[alligator]

New carpet. Wow.

Also, pine trees.

How about that weird smell when it rains?

[jamil5454]

Originally Posted by alligator

How about that weird smell when it rains?

The smell of ozone/pollution?

[abe]

Originally Posted by jamil5454

The smell of ozone/pollution?

Yeah, that's a great one. And freshly mowed grass.

And Play-Doh.

[zmcgill]

Originally Posted by alligator

New carpet. Wow.

Also, pine trees.

How about that weird smell when it rains?

I like that smell, then it usually turns to the smell of worms frying on the sidewalk.

I remember smelling the top of my iMac DV as it was running and thinking it was really weird.
My girlfriend's shampoo smells really good too.

[ambush]

Weed.

[Ghoser777]

Burned leaves in the fall.

[davesimondotcom]

Distinct, but not unpleasant smells that trigger "places" in my brain:

The sulfer smell of certain parts of Yellowstone
The smell of bluelines (designers who are a little old school will know what I mean)
The peanuts, stale beer and cut grass smell that makes me think of Cobb Field (where I spent my youth playing baseball)
The smell of the sugar beet factories in my old hometown of Billings, MT

I can still remember the smell of my first girlfriend - I don't know if it was her shampoo, soap, perfume or some combination of the three, but she always smelled so fresh...

[abe]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Distinct, but not unpleasant smells that trigger "places" in my brain:

The sulfer smell of certain parts of Yellowstone
The smell of bluelines (designers who are a little old school will know what I mean)
The peanuts, stale beer and cut grass smell that makes me think of Cobb Field (where I spent my youth playing baseball)
The smell of the sugar beet factories in my old hometown of Billings, MT

I can still remember the smell of my first girlfriend - I don't know if it was her shampoo, soap, perfume or some combination of the three, but she always smelled so fresh...

Fresh is nice.

[ambush]

Fresh ****ing is nice too

[macroy]

The good:

Fresh baked goods
Popcorn
new car
fresh leather
wet pavement
Gasoline (but not exactly good FOR you)
fresh copies from a xerox machine
ALL WOMEN
and for you oldies... the smell of worksheet made from those carbon papers you used to get from school (pre copiers?)

The bad:

exhaust
locker rooms
Brewery
burnt food
airplanes

The Ugly:

dirty bathrooms
recently used bathrooms
silent farts
Juicy farts
sweaty shoes/socks
That white stuff that collects in the back of your mouth (the hell is that anyways?)
bad breath
trash
rotting flesh

[jebjeb]

I find that smell is the easiest thing to invoke a memory from me. I can be walking through a busy train station or airport and walk by a woman wearing the same perfume as a woman from my past (teacher, family friend) and I will instantly think of that person. I remember holidays from the smells as well.

I guess having a big snoz is good for something!

Even in my youth, I didn't smoke and I have always been infamous for my weed-detection abilities. If someone had smoked mull in a room within the past week, I could detect it. Parents should have employed me!

[gerbnl]

while i greatly appreciate the ability to smell most perfumes make me wanna puke.

unfortunately a lot of people don't seem to be able to tastefully dose their perfume use. I'd like to make it a punishable offence to be smelled more than one meter away by an unaided and unobstructed nose. In some cases i'm tempted to request the death penalty, but because i'm a nice bloke i'll settle for a severe beating.

sounds harsh? maybe, but if someone is ugly or just dressed funny one can simply turn your head off, alas no such thing with smell, they are forced upon one another.

[Railroader]

The smell of hops when making beer is a VERY memorable smell. That and the smell of sanitizers.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by gerbnl

while i greatly appreciate the ability to smell most perfumes make me wanna puke.

unfortunately a lot of people don't seem to be able to tastefully dose their perfume use. I'd like to make it a punishable offence to be smelled more than one meter away by an unaided and unobstructed nose. In some cases i'm tempted to request the death penalty, but because i'm a nice bloke i'll settle for a severe beating.

sounds harsh? maybe, but if someone is ugly or just dressed funny one can simply turn your head off, alas no such thing with smell, they are forced upon one another.

Agreed. This affliction has only really developed in the last 10 years or so, but I can't stand the smell of 99% of all perfumes. And most people put them on WAYYYY too strongly.

Scented candles give me a head ache too.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Agreed. This affliction has only really developed in the last 10 years or so, but I can't stand the smell of 99% of all perfumes. And most people put them on WAYYYY too strongly.

Scented candles give me a head ache too.

My wife uses home fragrences - basically oils that you put over a burner. They drive me nuts!

Perfume too. The other day, this chick was wearing a ton of perfume AT THE GYM! WTF? You are at a gym, working out! She's got full make-up and perfume going on.

I actually had to change machines because the stuff was going to make me sick.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by macroy

The good:

ALL WOMEN

Have to disagree here. Some women are definitely malodorous.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by ambush

Fresh ****ing is nice too

[abe]

Originally Posted by jebjeb

I find that smell is the easiest thing to invoke a memory from me. I can be walking through a busy train station or airport and walk by a woman wearing the same perfume as a woman from my past (teacher, family friend) and I will instantly think of that person. I remember holidays from the smells as well.

I guess having a big snoz is good for something!

Even in my youth, I didn't smoke and I have always been infamous for my weed-detection abilities. If someone had smoked mull in a room within the past week, I could detect it. Parents should have employed me!

I know just what you mean. I'm much that same way. There is a scent I recall from childhood, infancy actually, of a soap or something and I've only very occasionally smelled it since then and it has never been in a situation that I could track the scent down and determine the name of it.

But, it is fresh and very light.

I would LOVE to know what it is. I go into bed and bath shops and perfume racks and scented oil stores ALWAYS with that scent in the back of my mind.

Nada.

But I'm still sniffing.

[Visnaut]

New powerbook.
The raspberry shampoo my girlfriend used to use in high school.
Fresh stack of paper.
The combination of pastries, coffee and tobacco from any café in Europe.

[G4ME]

Originally Posted by Railroader

The smell of hops when making beer is a VERY memorable smell. That and the smell of sanitizers.

you get used to it after the first week of working at a brewery, and the sanitizers take most of the sense of smell away from you anyways.


i do enjoy the smell of a nice bleu cheese though, stilton gets my mouth wet right now.

[abe]

Originally Posted by macroy

The good:

and for you oldies... the smell of worksheet made from those carbon papers you used to get from school (pre copiers?)

Mimeograph machines.

[©öñFü$íóÑ]

WASABI

......and the many -MANY- cute girls that smell really nice at school... (damn near impossible to focus on a midterm)

[qnxde]

Originally Posted by Doofy

clean felines

Seconded!! Cats rule.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by G4ME

you get used to it after the first week of working at a brewery, and the sanitizers take most of the sense of smell away from you anyways.

i do enjoy the smell of a nice bleu cheese though, stilton gets my mouth wet right now.

That's why I always say DON'T turn your hobby into a full-time job. Not that you were a hobby brewer, I have no idea if you were or not.

[G4ME]

nope but it pays the bills

[Cody Dawg]

I love the smell of a newborn baby...the smell of a ripe plum...the smell of freshly mowed lawn...the smell of a rain shower......the smell of lilacs...the smell of baking bread...the smell of freshly brewed coffee...the smell of jet fuel (weird I know but I do - it reminds me of traveling)...the smell of motor oil (reminds me of my husband working on a car engine on a Saturday afternoon)...the smell of blooming orange trees...

Great thread.

[MrsLarry]

the smell of my boyfriend's "Axe" body spray.... oooooohhhhh... makes me tremble. Just the smell of it, and like insta-afrodisiac. It really is just like the commercials...

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by MrsLarry

the smell of my boyfriend's "Axe" body spray.... oooooohhhhh... makes me tremble. Just the smell of it, and like insta-afrodisiac. It really is just like the commercials...

*trips over himself running to store yelling "the commercials are true!"*

[andi*pandi]

fresh cut grass, lilacs, the smoke when you snuff out a candle, my grandfather's pipe, a stack of brochures just off the heidleburg (mmm, ink), your own clean baby, clean sheets.

women burn candles and such because we have more sensitive noses and want to cover up the bad smells. DH hates them too.

[sbender_ceo]

the smell of food is priceless...............
imagine how life would be without being able to smell food....*shivers*..not good