# Ever actually smell something in a dream? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015 "2006-08-09T15:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/1 "2006-08-09T15:47:18Z")
Last night I smelled someting in a dream. I don’t think that’s every happened. Anybody out there frequently experience smells in their dreams? Curiously yours, jsh ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/2 "2006-08-09T15:56:19Z")
I get something that we’ve taken to calling “smellucinations”. Oddly, they’ve all revolved around the smell of dog poop. Basically, I wake up in the middle of the night convinced that I’m smelling a fresh dog shit in the house. I get to thinking “oh jesus, I gotta go clean up dog shit” but as I wake up, and as my feet hit the floor, the smell is gone. I know what you’re thinking: “ **Trunk** woke his dumb ass up with a vile fart, and then blamed it on the dog.” But, you’ll have to take my word for it that it really is the smell of dog shit, not human fart. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/3 "2006-08-09T16:07:57Z")
Formaldehyde. More than once. We used to have to mix 50 lb bags of powdered formaldehyde into drilling mud, it has a sickly sweet, nauseating aroma. Even though it’s been over 20 years since I’ve mixed any, I still smell it in my dreams…sometimes like I’m suffocating in it. AFAIK, it’s the only smell I have dreams of, at least the only one I remember. ---
**Author:** ![sneezy5660](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@sneezy5660](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sneezy5660)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/4 "2006-08-09T17:11:40Z")
When I was in college, I dreamed in color and smellavision at the same time. In the dream, I was sitting on a couch with Erik Estrada. He had on a yellow shirt, and some aftershave that smelled very good. I was living in a girls dorm at the time, so I have noe explanation for the aftershave. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/5 "2006-08-09T17:17:17Z")
Oh yeah. Weird feeling, isn’t it? You wake up and think, “Damn! Just a dream.” Well, ok…not in the case of the dog poo and the formaldehyde. Just the other night, I dreamed I was sitting in the kitchen, talking with my grandpa (who passed away several years ago), and someone was baking bread. I can still remember the smell of that bread baking. Mmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/6 "2006-08-09T17:27:39Z")
As long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed with all senses. I smell things like hairspray, flowers, cologne in most of my dreams. But one night, I woke up during a dream thinking I was dreaming about spaghetti sauce because I could smell it. The smell was so distinct and realistic, I nudged my husband to see if he could smell it too because I couldn’t imagine why anyone would make spaghetti at that hour. It turned out he had eaten spaghetti that night at work, and he had just farted. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/7 "2006-08-09T17:38:21Z")
As long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed with all senses. I smell things like hairspray, flowers, cologne in most of my dreams. But one night, I woke up during a dream thinking I was dreaming about spaghetti sauce because I could smell it. The smell was so distinct and realistic, I nudged my husband to see if he could smell it too because I couldn’t imagine why anyone would make spaghetti at that hour. It turned out he had eaten spaghetti that night at work, and he had just farted. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/8 "2006-08-09T17:46:51Z")
[QUOTE=cruel butterfly] As long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed with all senses. I smell things like hairspray, flowers, cologne in most of my dreams. But one night, I woke up during a dream thinking I was dreaming about spaghetti sauce because I could smell it. The smell was so distinct and realistic, I nudged my husband to see if he could smell it too because I couldn’t imagine why anyone would make spaghetti at that hour. It turned out he had eaten spaghetti that night at work, and he had just farted. :eek: [/QUOTE] In what universe does a fart smell like the food that produced it? I think you were still dreaming. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-actually-smell-something-in-a-dream/368015/9 "2006-08-09T18:17:39Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] In what universe does a fart smell like the food that produced it? I think you were still dreaming. [/QUOTE] no, he admitted it. I said, “Is [my stepdaughter] cooking spaghetti?” It’s her favorite quick fix. He said, “no, I had spaghetti for dinner earlier though.” I said, “Why am I smelling it?” He said, “Well, I just farted. Maybe that’s it?” His farts are toxic. I’ve never questioned the validity of a fart smelling like the original food, but with my husband, nothing would surprise me.