# Oddball sensory pleasures **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463 "2011-05-27T18:40:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/1 "2011-05-27T18:40:50Z")
Many things we are all familiar with an share or at least understand in the world of flavors and sounds and sensations. But what about the quirky things that you enjoy that you’ve never heard of anyone else taking any particular pleasure in, or even notice? Two of mine that come immediately to mind: Lots of people love the sight and smell, but I love the\*\*\* SOUND of \*\*\ ***leather** …that distinctive squeakiness of a leather jacket specifically. I can recall liking it when I was just a little kid and my mom’s best friend, a tiny little woman, would wear leather jackets and drive me in her Jaguar with the leather seats, and the sound of the leather-on-leather when she would be turning the wheel just captured me for some reason and to this day I like it. No idea why, though. I love **the feel of paper that has dried after being wet**. There’s a special kind of delicate crackle to it that I can’t resist. I love it so much I’ve considered wetting a stack of paper or a new journal so I can use it to write on and revel in the tactile experience as I write. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/2 "2011-05-27T18:42:45Z")
Q-tips in the ear ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/3 "2011-05-27T18:45:41Z")
Friendly licks from strange dogs. ETA: I think we should bundle these together for an updated version of “My Favourite Things.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/4 "2011-05-27T18:46:37Z")
Long before I became a smoker, I loved the smell of a freshly lit cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/5 "2011-05-27T18:57:43Z")
Every once in a while I’ll take a puff of a cigarette and it’ll taste _exactly_ like cigarettes tasted (to me) back when I first started smoking. It sends me back to being 12 years old for a split second. I always like that feeling. It seems to happen when I first light it, if it doesn’t light all the way, if I don’t inhale and if there’s a breeze coming through the nearby trees. When I first started smoking, I didn’t inhale, hid in the woods to do it and didn’t always light it correctly on the first try, so it makes sense that doing that reminds me of childhood. To add on to what TDN just said. I also LOVE the smell of a freshly lit cigarette. But, for it to be perfect, it has to be someone smoking in another room and it’s when I catch the first whiff of it as it drifts into the room where I’m sitting. FTR, I’m a smoker and I don’t like the smell of smoke in general, it’s just that first smell that I like. It’s a very specific smell that’s different then a smokey room and really has nothing to do whatsoever with the smell of stale smoke that you’d find on your clothes or car in you smoke indoors (or in your car). ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/6 "2011-05-27T18:58:58Z")
> [@Brandus](#): > > Q-tips in the ear I like paper clips better. Unbend it to make a U-shaped scraper. Popping zits. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/7 "2011-05-27T19:04:06Z")
I grew up in a desert area, and am now living in a much more humid climate. Just the other day, I walked out of a building into a parking garage, and the warm humidity, the faint smell of exhaust, and someone smoking nearby all joined together to make me feel like I was on vacation: it was exactly what I would experience when stepping out of an airport when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/8 "2011-05-27T19:15:51Z")
Popping a zit that empties cleanly. Crisp new sheets on my bed against my bare feet. The smell of gasoline. The smell of a just-lit match. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/9 "2011-05-27T19:21:33Z")
The sound of the wind through spruces. I was born in Colorado and have been back many times to visit. My parents and grandparents used to own some mountain property, and we’d go up there for camping when I was younger. And we’d go back frequently for skiing. I love love love the sound of wind through the spruces in the mountains. Just two nights ago, we were walking home from dinner. As we walked past a neighbor’s yard, the wind whistled through the branches of the large spruce tree growing there. Fantastic! Takes me back immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/10 "2011-05-27T19:25:56Z")
The sound of pool balls hitting each other. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/11 "2011-05-27T19:34:09Z")
I like when a guy smells like alcohol because it reminds me of my dad. No, I do not want to fuck my dad, I just like that smell on a guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/12 "2011-05-27T19:41:15Z")
Babbling brooks, thundering waterfalls, the sound of large snowflakes hitting bare pavement, a cat’s purr. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/13 "2011-05-27T20:48:42Z")
This is the time of year when we cross over from cold to warm. At some point you have days where the temperature matches that perfect point where your body feels neutral to the air temps. That temp is still well below actual body temperature, but feels equal to body temp. It’s a great feeling. You have more energy, perhaps because it takes less energy to maintain body heat. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/14 "2011-05-27T21:21:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Babbling brooks, thundering waterfalls, the sound of large snowflakes hitting bare pavement, a cat’s purr. ALl due respect, nothing in there is oddball except… snow makes noise!!! I’m a SoCal girl, I’ve never experienced falling snow in my entire life and I’ve only even seen fresh snow once, so don’t think I’m kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/15 "2011-05-27T21:24:02Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > The sound of the wind through spruces. > Just two nights ago, we were walking home from dinner. As we walked past a neighbor’s yard, the wind whistled through the branches of the large spruce tree growing there. Fantastic! Takes me back immediately. Wind is by far my favorite natural weather phenomenon, particularly warm wind (Santa Anas) on a cool day…Halloween weather. In fact, if asked “What makes you feel alive and joyful?” that’s the first thing that comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/16 "2011-05-27T21:56:15Z")
The smell of rain hitting hot pavement. The “pucker-spasm” you get when you start eating Raspberry-Orange-Lime Sherbert. Cleaning out your ears with anything…it’s like a kind of “Aural Sex”. Blowing out the snot and breathing through your clear nasal passages. Crossing the border into a new state or country. It’s like getting the shivers as if you did something illegal and now you are in double-trouble! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/17 "2011-05-27T22:04:53Z")
I like the taste of aspirin. It’s not a comfort thing or memory association, as far as I can tell. I just enjoy the flavor. I also find nothing odd in enjoying the sound and/or feel of wind. I love wind. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/18 "2011-05-27T22:18:38Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > Blowing out the snot and breathing through your clear nasal passages. Indeed… I think we can all agree that relieving ourselves of any substance that is plugging up any of our systems is one of lifes great pleasures: pee, poo, snot, earwax, an unfortunate lunch, a bad relationship… ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/19 "2011-05-28T02:12:22Z")
The smell of wet dirt after it rains after a long dry spell. I went to college in Eastern Washington, and that smell always reminds me of the beauty of the Palouse country… ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/20 "2011-05-28T02:14:59Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > The smell of wet dirt after it rains after a long dry spell. I went to college in Eastern Washington, and that smell always reminds me of the beauty of the Palouse country.. Petrichor. One of my favorite smells too. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463.md?page=2)