# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/41 "2011-05-28T15:57:13Z")
As soon as they put the lead apron on my at the dentist’s office I could instantly fall and stay quite soundly asleep. They always apologize about it and rush to take it away. I wish they’d forget and leave me there under it for a good long while. Every once in a while I look on ebay for an old very heavy one, but the trend seems to be toawrds more streamlined space aged super light ones. It doesn’t have to be that specific thing, either. My grandparents had a quilt that instead of regualr batting or feathers was (I am only guessing) quilted onto layers of felt or maybe a couple of wool blankets. It was super heavy and for me equalled instantaneous and unparalleled naps. For my eargasms I use a nail, or a bobby pin. I do enjoy a good satisfying pus eruption, but sadly have only about a 50% sucess rate. Sometimes I can tell that a thing isn’t “ready” but once I’ve noticed a thing is there I cannot NOT squeeze it. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/42 "2011-05-28T16:08:23Z")
The smell of the bit of cardboard you get on the top of a box of chocolates. Best. Smell. Ever… Apart from possibly the smell of unburnt quality tobacco. I should probably buy some, even though I’ve never smoked, but then it’d go stale afer a while and that would be depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/43 "2011-05-28T16:11:10Z")
The feel of long fingernails softly scratching my back. Jumping in to a bed with freshly laundered sheets. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/44 "2011-05-28T16:54:06Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Jumping in to a bed with freshly laundered sheets. This is a good one, but my enjoyment of it increases tenfold if I have just showered and shaved my legs before slipping between the freshly laundered sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/45 "2011-05-28T17:14:57Z")
I love the taste of a hot cup of coffee right after eating something with a lot of black pepper. When I lived in Rhode Island I used to get these hard pepper biscuts from a Portuguese bakery every morning to have with my coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/46 "2011-05-28T17:21:46Z")
New tires. Like at the tired store. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/47 "2011-05-28T20:27:27Z")
The smells of new construction: sawdust, new drywall or plaster, fresh cement. ---
**Author:** ![\_mostly\_Harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/9d8465/32.png) [@\_mostly\_Harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_mostly_Harmless)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/48 "2011-05-28T21:20:04Z")
There is a certain day every year usually about late September or early October when I go outside and it just smells like Autumn. I love that smell, especially the first time of the year. Also I love the hot, dry Santa Ana winds we get in Southern California. Most of my friends hate them but I harbor a secret affinity. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/49 "2011-05-28T21:53:26Z")
Glad I’m not the only one who likes the feeling of a Q-tip in the ear! 😃 Oddball smells I don’t normally admit I like: Ozone in the air just before the thunderstorm hits The garden chemical aisle (fertilizer, weed killer, etc) Dry-cleaning fluids (mom worked at a dry cleaners when I was a kid…) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/50 "2011-05-28T22:19:56Z")
The experience of sitting in a place with lots of vegetation on a hot summer afternoon with the insects droning and the heat almost bouncing off the leaves of the plants induces what to me is a very pleasant lassitude, though I understand most people don’t care for the heat. The smell of tomato plants, as opposed to the tomatoes that grow on them. That is, the tomatoes smell OK, the plants have a different, distinct and very nice odor. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/51 "2011-05-28T22:21:38Z")
The sound of a perfectly hit tennis ball. ---
**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 28, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/52 "2011-05-28T23:14:05Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I also love the feeling of digging my thumb nail into a pencil eraser. > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I like squeezing moderately hard on my fingernails. > [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > The sound of skates on ice. > > The sound of metal cleats on cement. > [@Filbert](#): > > The smell of the bit of cardboard you get on the top of a box of chocolates. Best. Smell. Ever… > [@Snake\_Plissken](#): > > I love the taste of a hot cup of coffee right after eating something with a lot of black pepper. > [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > Ozone in the air just before the thunderstorm hits > The garden chemical aisle (fertilizer, weed killer, etc) > Dry-cleaning fluids (mom worked at a dry cleaners when I was a kid…) > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The smell of tomato plants, as opposed to the tomatoes that grow on them. That is, the tomatoes smell OK, the plants have a different, distinct and very nice odor. > [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > The sound of a perfectly hit tennis ball. All of the above are fun, interesting, even shocking (tomato plants? Gah! The chemical aisle in the garden shop? Gah!) examples of unusual, unexpected sensory pleasures. > [@Shakes](#): > > The feel of long fingernails softly scratching my back. > > Jumping in to a bed with freshly laundered sheets. I would be amazed if there were many…hell, ANY people who didn’t take pleasure from these. No offense, or anything…just not remotely odd or unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/53 "2011-05-29T00:27:14Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > The smell of rain hitting hot pavement. I came to post this exactly, but you beat me to it. So I’ll add the related smell of an impending rainstorm. > [@gwendee](#): > > As soon as they put the lead apron on my at the dentist’s office I could instantly fall and stay quite soundly asleep. Hm, guess I’m not the only one, then! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/54 "2011-05-29T00:59:42Z")
This is a bit hard to explain: I pick at the skin next to my fingernails, and since the skin is slightly thicker there, it will form into a stiff point. I loooooooove the feel of this hardened skin rubbing against my fingers. My boyfriend’s natural smell, unaided by colognes or perfumes (though I guess that’s not oddball). The smell of old hardcover books, cigarette smoke, sulfur on a match head, or gasoline. Really chemical-y permanent markers are great, too. The feeling of the edges of book pages against my fingertips. It has a scratchy quality that I like. The feeling/sounds of pressing buttons. I love really clicky computer keyboards (and hate that most new ones are so freaking quiet). Really crunchy kettle chips. Picking off loose, peeling skin. The sound of high heels and horse hooves on hard pavement. The feeling of cracking joints, like my back, neck or knuckles. ---
**Author:** ![woodrowjween](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aca169/32.png) [@woodrowjween](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodrowjween)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/55 "2011-05-29T03:58:13Z")
The smell of freshly mimeographed paper. Don’t think they use that anymore. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/56 "2011-05-29T06:49:05Z")
Orgasm. Oh wait, you said “oddball pleasures.” 😃 Umm…ok - the sensation of Tobiko popping in my mouth. > **[Tobiko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobiko)** > > Tobiko (とびこ) is flying fish roe in Japanese cuisine, known for its use in sushi. > The eggs are small, ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 mm. For comparison, tobiko is larger than masago (capelin roe), but smaller than ikura (salmon roe). Natural tobiko has a red-orange color, a mild smoky or salty taste, and a crunchy texture. > Tobiko is sometimes colored to change its appearance: other natural ingredients are used to accomplish the change, such as squid ink to make it black, yuzu to make it pale orange (al... ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/57 "2011-05-29T10:36:54Z")
That sweet-powdery smell of old plastic gone brittle in the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/58 "2011-05-29T11:57:20Z")
The smell of rain just beginning to wet concrete. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/59 "2011-05-29T13:17:34Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I like squeezing moderately hard on my fingernails. I think this may count as oddball. I like it on my toenails, too. If I’m in a situation where I’m feeling a little sleepy and I’m not supposed to actually snooze (work) I will do this for a minute and it sort of wakes me up. (To my fingernails, not my toenails.) Squeezing fingertips and toe tips right on the nail is a standard part of most massages I’ve had in Indonesia. It does feel very nice. There was [a Dilbert cartoon about the feeling of putting a Q-tip in your ear](http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Q-tip) once. ---
**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 31, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463/60 "2011-05-31T17:26:04Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > As soon as they put the lead apron on my at the dentist’s office I could instantly fall and stay quite soundly asleep. They always apologize about it and rush to take it away. I wish they’d forget and leave me there under it for a good long while. Every once in a while I look on ebay for an old very heavy one, but the trend seems to be toawrds more streamlined space aged super light ones. > > It doesn’t have to be that specific thing, either. My grandparents had a quilt that instead of regualr batting or feathers was (I am only guessing) quilted onto layers of felt or maybe a couple of wool blankets. It was super heavy and for me equalled instantaneous and unparalleled naps. > > For my eargasms I use a nail, or a bobby pin. > > I do enjoy a good satisfying pus eruption, but sadly have only about a 50% sucess rate. Sometimes I can tell that a thing isn’t “ready” but once I’ve noticed a thing is there I cannot NOT squeeze it. There are [weighted sensory blankets](http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=weighted+sensory+blanket&aq=4m&aqi=g4g-m1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=f17ae772ca1ea813&biw=1680&bih=856) available or you can make your own. My son who has autism uses it to calm down when going to bed at night because the heaviness of the blanket helps address the sensory processing disorder to calm him down. It works well even if you don’t have autism or SPD. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddball-sensory-pleasures/583463.md?page=4)