# Am I the only person who doesn't think skunks stink? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324 "2008-12-22T16:50:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/1 "2008-12-22T16:50:25Z")
They’re rather fragrant, actually. Their scent reminds me of the bloom from a variegated Chinese privet. Also, I like the taste of aspirin. I guess this is a poll of sorts, so I’ll put it here. Move as appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/2 "2008-12-22T16:53:01Z")
Eeew. Just goes to how how different the sense of smell can be! I suppose in more limited quantities it might not be that bad, but when a skunk shoots, it shoots so much. It’s EVERYWHERE. ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/3 "2008-12-22T16:56:58Z")
I like it from a distance and in small doses. It smells like good bud. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/4 "2008-12-22T16:59:16Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Eeew. Just goes to how how different the sense of smell can be! > > I suppose in more limited quantities it might not be that bad, but when a skunk shoots, it shoots so much. It’s EVERYWHERE. Maybe that’s the ticket. I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten right up on it or anything. I’m just talking about how it smells from a car as you’re toodling along an old mountain road. ---
**Author:** ![Rosie\_is\_Tired](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Rosie\_is\_Tired](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosie_is_Tired)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/5 "2008-12-22T17:00:31Z")
Ohh! My boyfriend, for one, cannot smell skunk. Those are his words, not sure if he means he doesn’t think the small is anything to notice or if he really is missing the ability to smell it. I always find it interesting. He also thinks watermelon is some of the grossest stuff ever. There are a few other odd sense things he’s got, as well, just can’t remember them. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/6 "2008-12-22T17:03:13Z")
> [@Rosie\_is\_Tired](#): > > Ohh! My boyfriend, for one, cannot smell skunk. My husband can’t either. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/7 "2008-12-22T17:03:16Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe that’s the ticket. I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten right up on it or anything. I’m just talking about how it smells from a car as you’re toodling along an old mountain road. Yeah, that’s not a horrible smell, just a distinctive one. It’s completely different when the dog got a solid blast of skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/8 "2008-12-22T17:37:56Z")
A large dose of it is bad, but just driving past, it’s just a smell. A strong musky smell, but not really a stink. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/9 "2008-12-22T19:06:03Z")
**Lib** , if you got a close exposure, I think you’d agree with the majority opinion on the stuff. I too find a subtle whiff of mercaptan to be less than offensive, and sort of interesting. But having been 5 feet from a skunk when it went off (hitting my dog, fortunately) I will _testify_ that in larger doses, that stuff is **majorly** nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/10 "2008-12-22T19:10:12Z")
Oh, yeah… it smells good, actually, from far away. But hit one with your car! I double-dog dare you. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/11 "2008-12-22T19:29:39Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **Lib** , if you got a close exposure, I think you’d agree with the majority opinion on the stuff. > > I too find a subtle whiff of mercaptan to be less than offensive, and sort of interesting. But having been 5 feet from a skunk when it went off (hitting my dog, fortunately) I will _testify_ that in larger doses, that stuff is **majorly** nasty. _Fortunately?!_ I suppose in that it didn’t hit _you_. That must have been one unhappy doggie, though, and one unhappy **Mercotan** that had to clean the dog up. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/12 "2008-12-22T19:47:39Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe that’s the ticket. I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten right up on it or anything. I’m just talking about how it smells from a car as you’re toodling along an old mountain road. That’s definitely the ticket. I used to wonder why everyone thought skunk smell was so horrid. I found it distinctive, yet not unpleasant…until our dog got sprayed. Holy Christ is that a different smell when you’re up close and personal. I can hardly describe it, but it is a putrid and toxic smell. God awful, right up there with rotting flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/13 "2008-12-22T19:57:26Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > A large dose of it is bad, but just driving past, it’s just a smell. A strong musky smell, but not really a stink. I agree with this. Although… Even when the dog got hit awhile back, I would say it was “utterly overwhelming” but not “stinky”. Getting near the freshly sprayed pooch was like getting your eyes burned with garlic. My girlfriend didn’t realize right away that he’d beens sprayed, because it overwhelmed her sense of smell. She had only a vague sense that maybe, somewhere, some tires were burning. But once the smelled “matured” (does it change when exposed to air?) it almost knocked her over. Similarly, I knew he’d been hit with a skunk because the “roasted garlic” smell was making my eyes water, but tit didn’t smell like skunk to me. After a bout 10 minutes it smelled like skunk though. And how! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/14 "2008-12-22T19:59:31Z")
I’ve had skunks living under my bungalow in the Catskills. I’ve driven by fresh skunk carcasses. Trust me, they stink. The only thing that stinks more than one skunk is multiple skunks. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/15 "2008-12-22T20:54:50Z")
Somebody told me they smell like coffee, and I sort of agree now. It’s not bad in small doses, but I wouldn’t want to be actually sprayed by one. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/16 "2008-12-22T21:51:32Z")
I never knew there was anybody, anywhere that didn’t gag on the smell of skunk. It’s so vile. I don’t know why skunks haven’t taken over the world, because they have the best defense against predators ever evolved. Maybe it’s because they’re so poor at avoiding cars. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/17 "2008-12-22T21:58:40Z")
I had a skunk living under my house for about a year. Any time I smell skunk I’m instantly transported to that time in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/18 "2008-12-22T22:01:35Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I had a skunk living under my house for about a year. Did it spray often? How long did the stink linger after it sprayed? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/19 "2008-12-22T22:03:08Z")
A car once hit a skunk right outside my house early Sunday morning. When I walked outside, I gagged. When I got to the sidewalk, I keeled over and puked. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324/20 "2008-12-22T22:06:04Z")
> [@Karyn](#): > > I like it from a distance and in small doses. It smells like good bud. This. That’s one of those things that you’ll never be able to un-notice once you do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-person-who-doesnt-think-skunks-stink/478324.md?page=2)