# The smell of gasoline: love it or hate it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115 "2007-08-19T04:16:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [August 19, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/1 "2007-08-19T04:16:14Z")
I love it. Probably too much, but I try not to overindulge. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/2 "2007-08-19T04:17:06Z")
Wow, I thought I was the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/3 "2007-08-19T04:41:43Z")
I used to, but the newer oxygenated gasolines just don’t smell as good. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/4 "2007-08-19T04:47:03Z")
Love it. When I was a child, I thought the gas station attendant washed the windshield with gas, since I could smell gas when he/she was washing the windshield. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/5 "2007-08-19T04:54:03Z")
I love it - it reminds me of being out on the lake on boats and jet-skiing. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/6 "2007-08-19T04:57:42Z")
prefer deisel myself…takes me back to drum corps… ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/7 "2007-08-19T05:26:33Z")
Hate hate _hate_ it. Makes me feel sick. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/8 "2007-08-19T05:29:18Z")
I like it when it’s faint. When it gets strong, it quickly becomes unpleasant. Then comes the raging headache. I also like the exhaust smell of a lawnmower. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/9 "2007-08-19T06:29:23Z")
Love it, if those are my only two options. I’d go more with “like it,” or find it pleasant rather than repulsive, when I catch a whiff. But I’ve never stuck my face over a vat of it, or inserted the nozzle of a gas canister into my nostril and taken a deep snort, both of which I understand may have some secondary effects… ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/10 "2007-08-19T07:10:10Z")
When I’ve just come back from a few days in Rotorua (city in a geothermal area, lots of sulphur pools and geysers), the smell of petrol seems to remind me of Rotorua’s suplhur smell. So it reminds me of very cool stuff. After a while, that wears off, though. I usually don’t notice the smell of petrol more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/11 "2007-08-19T07:13:47Z")
I spent about 5 years re-fueling aircraft of all sizes. For 40 hours a week, I was exposed to avgas (hi octane leaded gasoline) and jet fuel (essentially diesel fuel). I neither like nor dislike the smell. It is just another chemical smell. Long term exposure to these fuels doesn’t seem to Despite the frequency that I was Studies show that I might have a decreased What was I saying? ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/12 "2007-08-20T02:40:38Z")
Love it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/13 "2007-08-20T02:44:51Z")
I like it okay, but I used to LOVE the smell of leaded gas. MMM-mmmm. Almost as good as the smell of mimeograph copies or Jiffy markers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/14 "2007-08-20T02:45:25Z")
I prefer napalm (ooh – in the morning, to DIE for, literally 😛 ), but I’ll settle for gas. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/15 "2007-08-20T02:50:17Z")
I guess I like it, my local 7-11 offers me a twofer. It’s a gas station with ashtrays on top of the trash cans. The cigarette smoke gives me a tingly feeling. That, I hate. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/16 "2007-08-20T02:52:51Z")
Love it, but only for 20 minutes. Seriously, after that I start to get sick of it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/17 "2007-08-20T11:03:10Z")
sometimes it doesn’t smell too bad, sometimes it makes me sick. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/18 "2007-08-20T11:05:18Z")
I like it. My dad worked on cars as a mechanic both professionally and as a hobby, and to this day I associate gasoline and garage smells with him and my childhood ( and the better parts of it at that ). ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/19 "2007-08-20T11:10:01Z")
Mmmmmmm … solvents … ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115/20 "2007-08-20T11:12:10Z")
Bleach hmmmmm now there is a smell I love and that weird purple stuff that school newsletters were printed with before photocopying mmmmm. Petrol not so much, but I identify with your liking sniffing chemicals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-gasoline-love-it-or-hate-it/416115.md?page=2)