# Odd smells you love. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436 "2006-01-17T23:46:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/61 "2006-01-18T19:36:50Z")
Another vote for skunk here. Unlike most of the other folks who’ve posted, I have yet to have it be strong enough that I didn’t like it. I’ve never been sprayed, though, so that might change my mind if it were ever to happen. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/62 "2006-01-18T19:40:34Z")
New shower curtains Play Doh Pimple pus (either the real greasy stuff or smear the waxy plugs between your fingers to release their aroma) Ear wax Baby Magic bath Creosote like you smell in the subway Sawdust Fireworks ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/63 "2006-01-18T20:53:55Z")
Is it odd to be an emphatic nonsmoker and still enjoy the smell of tobacco? I’m in a play right now where I carry a prop pipe, and during downtimes I’ll occasionally take it out and stick the bowl up to my nose and have myself a big satisfying whiff. But if you asked me to actually smoke it, I’d probably barf. Smoke it with tobacco, I mean. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/64 "2006-01-18T21:21:39Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > … > Pimple pus (either the real greasy stuff or smear the waxy plugs between your fingers to release their aroma) > … [insert 3 foot tall, blinking, projectile vomit smiley, with sound effects] Good Og!!! ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/65 "2006-01-18T23:00:29Z")
I like the way the inside of my truck smells. It is 26 years old, all old cars have a smell. I like the way carberator cleaner smells (much experience, see above.) Hot Dr. Pepper with lemon in it, cures everything. I like the way beer smells on an August evening. Fax paper. Office staples and paperclips. They have a similar smell like a big jar of coins… Goats. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/66 "2006-01-18T23:21:55Z")
I love the smell of a new school box. Not the plastic ones kids get now–no, I’m talking about the old-fashioned paperboard kind that I used when I was a kid. I found one like that a couple years ago and couldn’t help myself–I opened it and took a big ol’ sniff! Yep, it still smelled good! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/67 "2006-01-18T23:28:39Z")
I love the smell of an orange juice factory. Kind of a sweet, burned orange smell. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/68 "2006-01-18T23:46:25Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > …but I’ve always loved the smell of gasoline at a filling station. I still prefer it to diesel coming from the pump. I always loved that smell too, but it’s hardly noticeable now with the newer kinds of spouts. In a similar vein, I always loved the smell of jet fuel at airports. The smell, the sounds of airplanes landing and taking off still reminds me of when just going anyplace on a plane was a big thrill. At least I thought it was jet fuel, but I suspect it may consist just as much of the exhaust from cars circling around the arrival and departure terminals. ---
**Author:** ![rostfrei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7bcc69/32.png) [@rostfrei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rostfrei)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/69 "2006-01-19T00:13:02Z")
I love the smell of those “cum” trees. I think Cecil did a column on them many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![oboelady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8491ac/32.png) [@oboelady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oboelady)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/70 "2006-01-19T00:19:41Z")
I grew up in Ohio and had to cut the lawn frequently. I now live in the southwest where desert landscaping rules. One morning, while riding my bike to work, I went past a schoolyard where the grass had very recently been cut. I could not believe the flood of memories! I was instantly 30 years younger and back in Ohio. What a fantastic smell. ---
**Author:** ![blackhobyah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blackhobyah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackhobyah)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/71 "2006-01-19T00:55:54Z")
Trains coming into the station. There’s this hit of hot metal and dust and oil or something, I’m not sure exactly what, but I love it. And dust, that dry, earthy smell. And fresh concrete when you’re walking past a building site. And fresh paint. There’s something about fresh paint that smells of possiblity. And I love the smell of tomato leaves, it’s sort of the scent of tomatoes X 100. And glossy paper, like expensive wrapping paper or expensive catalogues. My family laugh at me because I’m always sniffing things, but just about everything has a distinct odour, even people. There is a perfume company called L’Artisan who make scents that try and capture unusual odours, including one that has a distinct top note of petrol. [http://www.artisanparfumeur.com](http://www.artisanparfumeur.com) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/72 "2006-01-19T03:08:28Z")
I know the perfect job for those of you who love gasoline smells. My old job in the oil patch. Not only do you get to smell those smells, you get paid to put your sniffer to use walking line! Woo! I would, however, not recommend that you stick your head in a nearly empty tank on record hot day and almost pass out from the fumes and fall in. Just saying. I like sharp smells. I hate perfumy smells. And I love to bury my face in my cat Halley’s fur. She smells like powder. Irving smells like cookies and makes me hungry. The back of my husband’s neck occasionally smells like fireworks. He claims I have a brain tumor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/73 "2006-01-19T04:43:52Z")
Interesting topic. Add me to the list of roofing tar/asphalt. Both for the smell and the notion that it represents society in motion. I like the smells of electronics and cork. They remind me of stereo equipment (its the smell of sound). ---
**Author:** ![wayward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wayward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wayward)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/74 "2006-01-19T09:57:42Z")
Leather. Reminds me of my Dad when I was a kid. What? He used to work in a leather factory and I could always smell that he was home before I saw him. A hint of horse/cow manure on the breeze. Nothing says ‘countryside’ better. Fresh photocopies. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/75 "2006-01-19T11:46:28Z")
> [@oboelady](#): > > I grew up in Ohio and had to cut the lawn frequently. I now live in the southwest where desert landscaping rules. One morning, while riding my bike to work, I went past a schoolyard where the grass had very recently been cut. I could not believe the flood of memories! I was instantly 30 years younger and back in Ohio. What a fantastic smell. I think most people like that (except chronic hayfever sufferers, maybe!), but for me it has to be mixed with two-stroke exhaust (i.e. grass being cut with a petrol mower) to be perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/76 "2006-01-19T13:27:55Z")
Mothballs. My ex-girlfriend always smelled of mothballs when the weather turned cold. It still reminds me of her. ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/77 "2006-01-19T14:23:11Z")
I love the smell of Tiger Balm (an anesthetic topical cream). My friend gave me some for my mosquito bites. At first, i thought it smelled terrible, but i didn’t have any medication, so i continued to use it. Eventually, i didn’t mind the smell, and now i love it. Sometimes i’ll just open my jar to take a sniff. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/78 "2006-01-19T15:01:15Z")
I forgot tooth dust. When you’re getting your teeth drilled for a filling, that tooth dust smell is quite distinct. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/79 "2006-01-19T15:04:42Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I forgot tooth dust. When you’re getting your teeth drilled for a filling, that tooth dust smell is quite distinct. Wow tooth dust, that’s a new one! ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436/80 "2006-01-19T18:37:46Z")
Add me to the horse-barn sniffers. I’ve been to the Indiana State Fair every year of my life (since I was just a fetus!), and my biggest thrill was always walking into the Saddle Horse Barn for the first time - low-lit, dusty, long rows of old wooden stalls, and the combined smells of horse, sweat, manure, hay, sawdust, and straw. Mmmm. It’s like heaven for a person who has always loved horses and never been able to spend time with them. Then they renovated the building and made it the South Pavillion. It’s used for other things during the year, so the smells are no longer steeped into the walls and the stalls. It still smells good, but not quite as good as before. I like to smell the back of my husband’s neck in the morning, before he takes a shower (it just smells like him). Puppy breath makes me smile, too. (I used to work at a vet clinic/grooming shop, so I had days where I practically OD’d on puppy breath.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-smells-you-love/340436.md?page=5)