# This vase smells funny. Guess the odor. Part 1 of a story. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 13, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291 "2008-07-13T01:45:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/21 "2008-07-13T04:01:22Z")
Beer? Wine? Whiskey? Saki? Embalming fluid? ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/22 "2008-07-13T04:20:02Z")
Ambergris? Sulphur? ---
**Author:** ![Shera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Shera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/23 "2008-07-13T04:57:54Z")
Placenta? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/24 "2008-07-13T05:11:12Z")
Are we allowed to play 20 questions? ---
**Author:** ![Maui\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Maui\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maui_Lion)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/25 "2008-07-13T05:21:02Z")
_has to be done_ Vagina? 🙂 EDIT: It seems the “Big Grin” emote is a headslap…anyone else notice this? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/26 "2008-07-13T05:24:28Z")
Risotto? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/27 "2008-07-13T05:24:28Z")
> [@](#): > > originally posted by **Autolycus** : > Last edited by Autolycus : Today at 07:46 PM. Reason: we dont need no steenkin prepositions. Oh, wait … it smelled like a preposition? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/28 "2008-07-13T05:30:35Z")
Nope. Some of you are close though. A few more guesses and I’ll start giving out hints. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2008, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/29 "2008-07-13T06:59:29Z")
gasoline? olive oil? rubbing alcohol? dishwashing liquid? that stinky stuff they perm your hair with? C’mon, **Auto** , the suspense is killing me. I want to hear part 2. ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/30 "2008-07-13T09:13:49Z")
Kitten? Dog? ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/31 "2008-07-13T10:54:25Z")
Cheese? ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/32 "2008-07-13T13:24:43Z")
[QUOTE=Lavender Falcon] Hmmm. A smell that results from a process. Did it have a yeasty or fermented smell, like bread, vinegar, wine, or beer? [/QUOTE] Right idea, but the wrong process. If the vase had smelled like beer, I would have to wonder _why_ it smelled like beer. The smell from this vase was obvious once we thought a little bit about how it was produced. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/33 "2008-07-13T14:14:33Z")
Copper? Charcoal? Smoke? Burned rubber? Almonds? Straw? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/34 "2008-07-13T14:26:24Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] Right idea, but the wrong process. If the vase had smelled like beer, I would have to wonder _why_ it smelled like beer. The smell from this vase was obvious once we thought a little bit about how it was produced. [/QUOTE] Did it smell like slave labor? Truthfully, I got nothing. I really just wanted to pop into the thread to say that the use of “snooter” in the OP was hilarious, and this is now my standard vote anytime anyone asks what they should change their screenname to. ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/35 "2008-07-13T14:55:26Z")
Decomposition instead of fermentation, maybe? Compost or an earthy smell? I was thinking fermentation, because maybe the vase had been used to make wine or for allowing bread to rise, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/36 "2008-07-13T15:11:27Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] Did it smell like slave labor? QUOTE] Did it smell like Teen Spirit? Clues to date: “the smell could be mistaken for other smells, which use similar products for different treatments” “It truly was a unique, unmistakable and completely unexpected aroma” “unique smell, but at the same time, there are lots of different things that smell like it that all use the same process” “A smell that results from a process” - not fermenting beer, right idea though “The smell from this vase was obvious once we thought a little bit about how it was produced.” Guesses- Something related to the production of the vase: Brass, brass polish, wood, wood polish Something related to shipping the vase Sawdust, packing material Something related to a normal use for the vase: plants, rotting water Something related to an abnormal use for the vase Heroin, opium, marijuana, semen, dead animals, gold, monkey paw, mummy hand, proprieter’s ex- lover Fish or bird eggs, fox or other animal den smells Bee’s, honey, pickles Beer, paint, glue, hair, tanning chemicals, soap, urine, fertilizer, nitrates, WMD ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/37 "2008-07-13T15:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] Copper? Charcoal? Smoke? Burned rubber? Almonds? Straw? [/QUOTE] One of these answers is _extremely close_ to what we said it smelled like, but we did mention one of these answers once we started talking about the process that made the vase. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/38 "2008-07-13T15:39:08Z")
OK, another hint. It’s something dopers like. ---
**Author:** ![Lavender\_Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b782af/32.png) [@Lavender\_Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lavender_Falcon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/39 "2008-07-13T15:47:30Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] OK, another hint. It’s something dopers like. [/QUOTE] Pie? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThirdCultureKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@ThirdCultureKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdCultureKid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291/40 "2008-07-13T15:47:32Z")
Pie? Squid? Sheep? Goats? Dope? It’s _killing_ me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-vase-smells-funny-guess-the-odor-part-1-of-a-story/456291.md?page=3)