# I have never smelled a skunk before... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760 "2003-08-17T12:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/1 "2003-08-17T12:36:31Z")
What does it smell like? Rotten eggs? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Shaolinrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Shaolinrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaolinrabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/2 "2003-08-17T12:41:54Z")
Itā€™s really more of a thick, musky smell. More like a huge rotten egg fart interacting with Liz Taylorā€™s perfume than rotten eggs themselves. Have you ever smelled bile? If you can imagine the smell of rotten fruit mixed with the raw sewage aftertaste of a port-a-potty on a musty Alabama afternoon thatā€™s pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/3 "2003-08-17T12:45:03Z")
Yum. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/4 "2003-08-17T12:45:20Z")
Never?! :eek: Itā€™s actually not as foul-smelling as most would have you believe, but words cannot describe it. From my experience, it _is_ identifiable as uniquely skunk. Nothing else even close. But itā€™s not a sickening smell like rotten eggs or putrid meat. Granted, I wouldnā€™t want my apartment smelling like a skunk or to have to smell it for an extended period, but I canā€™t think of any way to describe it or something to compare it to ā€¦ maybe industrial chemicals or something. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/5 "2003-08-17T12:46:31Z")
Nope, never. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/6 "2003-08-17T12:56:52Z")
Well, while the smell of a skunk is unique, its aroma is approximated in a few other media, such as the musk of other animals, skunk cabbage, certain herbsā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/7 "2003-08-17T13:00:54Z")
**I have never smelled a skunk beforeā€¦** But my heart is very sure No one else could smell it more. **Sorry, it popped into my head as soon as I saw the thread** ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/8 "2003-08-17T13:03:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AvhHines \* > \*\ ***I have never smelled a skunk beforeā€¦** > But my heart is very sure > No one else could smell it more. > > **Sorry, it popped into my head as soon as I saw the thread** \*\* What is that? A country song? ---
**Author:** ![New\_Improved\_Scott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f17d59/32.png) [@New\_Improved\_Scott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Improved_Scott)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/9 "2003-08-17T13:11:12Z")
ā€œTo all the girls Iā€™ve loved beforeā€ maybe? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/10 "2003-08-17T13:13:48Z")
Itā€™s not that _bad_, itā€™s just very strong. My grandmother actually loves the smell - she says it clears her sinuses. My grandmotherā€™s kind of weird, though. ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/11 "2003-08-17T13:57:35Z")
Have you ever smelt a nice tasty bud from Northern California, itā€™s pretty close to that. Yeah. Tasty buds, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/12 "2003-08-17T14:20:29Z")
**ruadh** I have friends that say the same thing. It may be that the muskiness isnā€™t ā€œawfulā€ as much as itā€™s ā€œoverpowering.ā€ Iā€™ve always thought it smelled similar to a ā€œgarlic fartā€ with a bit of vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/13 "2003-08-17T14:22:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eats\_Crayons \* > \*\*Iā€™ve always thought it smelled similar to a ā€œgarlic fartā€ with a bit of vinegar. \*\* ā€¦ or a warm Heineken ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/14 "2003-08-17T14:23:47Z")
A skunk off to the side of the road is one thing. It doesnā€™t smell all that bad. A dead skunk in the road is a lot worse. You donā€™t really want to be near it. Your dog getting skunked, freaking out and jumping into your bedā€¦you could never imagine that a smell could be that bad. Trust me. Haj ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/15 "2003-08-17T14:27:19Z")
It IS very musky but unpleasant, with a sharp note, and pretty persistent. The closest thing I can think of on the unpleasantness scale would be a full cat litterbox. While it may be yucky but tolerable at a distance, let me tell you that up close (or at high concentrations) the smell can be nauseating. My neighborā€™s dog once had a close encounter with a skunk. Now, when the skunk sprays, the target should be offended/irritated enough to run awayā€¦ but in this case, the dog just got infuriated, grabbed the skunk by the back of the neck, and proceeded to shake vigorously. My neighbor said that when she ran out to try to break things up, the yard appeared to be foggy with skunk spray (ugh!). I donā€™t know WHAT possessed her, but in an effort to keep the dog out of further trouble she brought it INTO the house, where the scent permeated everything. The next day, one of her kids got sent home from school for stinking so much, and her husbandā€™s colleagues kept asking if something had died in the closet where heā€™d hung up his jacket. The dog got a thorough bath, but for days afterward whenever she barked you could smell skunkā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/16 "2003-08-17T14:29:17Z")
Oh, I should add that the litterbox-skunk comparison only applies to more remote sources of skunk smell. Up close, there really is no comparison. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/17 "2003-08-17T15:22:50Z")
Up close, itā€™s horrible, but catching a brief, distant whiff of it (like when youā€™re tooling down the road and think, ā€œhmm, someone hit a skunkā€) ā€“ I kind of like it. ---
**Author:** ![fnord1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@fnord1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fnord1966)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/18 "2003-08-17T16:30:45Z")
I dont mind smelling it, but I wouldnt want to wear it. I cant really describe the smell. Ozone,sulfer and ass. yeah, thats about it. One word of advice, Dont shoot a skunk in the brain when its buisness end is pointed at your garden. Skunky tomatoes dont taste good either. Keep your pets away from Skunks out in the daylight. Chances are its rabid. Thats why the above skunk was shot, that and it was walking like it was drunk, and drooling all over. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/19 "2003-08-17T16:41:32Z")
Iā€™ve always thought the smell was close to an extremely pungent version of burning rubber. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760/20 "2003-08-17T16:47:59Z")
When I lived in Connecticut, someone ran a skunk over right by my front door. Even when the roadkill was removed, the smell was still there for about 5 days. It smells like tomcat piss x 10, in my opinion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-smelled-a-skunk-before/195760.md?page=2)