# What odd things do you enjoy smelling or tasting or doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 16, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441 "2010-08-16T19:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/41 "2010-08-18T02:16:36Z")
> [@History\_Geek](#): > > > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > > > Light rain on dusty asphalt. > > This. Glad to know I’m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/42 "2010-08-18T02:47:03Z")
You know how if you chop onions on a cutting board, everything else chopped on the board develops an onion-y flavor? I like apple slices that taste faintly of onion. ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/43 "2010-08-18T02:54:10Z")
I like the smell of wood and sawdust. Walking through Home Depot always makes me happy, and I love it when people come through my line at work with craft wood. I also like the smell of the craft foam sheets we sell at work, and the papery, chemical-y smell that comes out when you first open one of the paper decorative boxes we sell. Mmm, Chinese factory air. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/44 "2010-08-18T02:59:50Z")
Cigars - smoked by others. My dad smoked them, and the smell reminds me of him. (No, I could never endure the suffocation of actually smoking one of those damned things.) As others have mentioned, road asphalt and roofing tar have an odd attraction, as does light skunk odor. There’s a certain kind of dreary, cold overcast morning that feels oddly comforting - no, it’s not just me that feels under the weather, even the weather get that way sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/45 "2010-08-18T03:00:33Z")
Hate the smell of asphalt. Kinda like the smell of chlorine in pools, and love the smell of wax on wood and leather. ETA: cow shit on damp fields. And fresh pipe tobacco. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/46 "2010-08-18T03:03:19Z")
I LOVE that smell of gasoline at the station. No, I’ve never gotten high off of gas fumes. 😛 Also: Any fruity candies. Whenever I’m eating starburst I have to sniff each piece before reluctantly eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/47 "2010-08-18T03:07:43Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I like apple slices that taste faintly of onion. You must like apple chutney. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/48 "2010-08-18T03:54:18Z")
Wet dog. Nothing better in the whole world than the cedar chip/hamstery odor of wet dog. ---
**Author:** ![Inter\_Alia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Inter\_Alia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inter_Alia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/49 "2010-08-18T04:00:30Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > My long haired cat has the most amazing smelling fur. I love to bury my nose in his fur and just inhale deeply. I try to do this alone, but a few close friends have seen me do it when I hug him or something before leaving or when coming home. They look at me like I’m such a weirdo. No argument there, but then I have to ask, “haven’t you ever smelled just - clean - fur?” My short haired cats don’t smell like that. I know exactly what you’re talking about! My cat was short-haired, though. I used to smell the top of her head or the back of her neck. I just loved the smell of her warm, clean fur. It’s not the same with the two cats I have now. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/50 "2010-08-18T04:30:14Z")
Creosote treated docks. If you don’t know what I mean, the piers and planking of old dock wood was treated with creosote, a kind of thick tar. Up until I was 5 years old I lived in a company lumber mill town, down on the river. The smell of creosote on a wet dock is like an instant 50 year time machine for me. Evokes memories long forgotten. I wouldn’t even think that I have any memories of such a young age. But one smell and I see and remember. Creosote, nasty, probably cancer causing shit. Or a one whiff time machine. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/51 "2010-08-18T04:43:49Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > I like apple slices that taste faintly of onion. > > You must like apple chutney. I’ve never had it! But now I want it. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/52 "2010-08-18T07:39:51Z")
I doubt you can find it anymore, but the smell of freshly mimeographed papers. Tthere’s a scene in a popular 80s movie where the instructor passes out a bunch of papers and all of the kids hold them to their noses and take a big sniff. (the name is escaping me right now, it had Phoebe Cates with that famous pool scene?). Lumber (childhood memories, my dad had a construction company), and the slightly oily, cement-y smell of a warehouse or car repair place (more childhood and teenhood memories, I spent a lot of time working on cars and helping boyfriends and my dad work on cars). And one of my jobs, around 15 years ago, part of my duties were to run and completely reorganize and clean two old warehouses (I got to learn to drive a forklift!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/53 "2010-08-18T08:51:17Z")
Petrichor. I cannot believe nobody said it: its the smell of wet earth after it rains. Also the ‘invisible’ tape that is used on gift wrapping. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/54 "2010-08-18T08:57:14Z")
I love the musky scent of my wife’s unwashed (not stinky, just not scoured clean by perfumed soaps) body - and her urine has the same musk. I don’t rush into the bathroom after she has used the toilet, but I enjoy walking past… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/55 "2010-08-18T20:35:32Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > I doubt you can find it anymore, but the smell of freshly mimeographed papers. Tthere’s a scene in a popular 80s movie where the instructor passes out a bunch of papers and all of the kids hold them to their noses and take a big sniff. (the name is escaping me right now, it had Phoebe Cates with that famous pool scene?). Lumber (childhood memories, my dad had a construction company), and the slightly oily, cement-y smell of a warehouse or car repair place (more childhood and teenhood memories, I spent a lot of time working on cars and helping boyfriends and my dad work on cars). And one of my jobs, around 15 years ago, part of my duties were to run and completely reorganize and clean two old warehouses (I got to learn to drive a forklift!) 😃 _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_? Oooh, and I love the smell of car repairs. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/56 "2010-08-18T20:45:21Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > Creosote treated docks. > > If you don’t know what I mean, the piers and planking of old dock wood was treated with creosote, a kind of thick tar. Yep, and I second the chlorinated swimming pool. In fact, just about any smell that evokes summer makes me happy. ---
**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 18, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/57 "2010-08-18T21:27:51Z")
Gasoline, oil and the ozone smell (I think that’s what it is) from some electrical equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/58 "2010-08-18T21:55:40Z")
I like to huff the bag that the Wint-O-Green lifesavers were in. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/59 "2010-08-18T23:19:46Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > I doubt you can find it anymore, but the smell of freshly mimeographed papers. Tthere’s a scene in a popular 80s movie where the instructor passes out a bunch of papers and all of the kids hold them to their noses and take a big sniff. (the name is escaping me right now, it had Phoebe Cates with that famous pool scene?). Lumber (childhood memories, my dad had a construction company), and the slightly oily, cement-y smell of a warehouse or car repair place (more childhood and teenhood memories, I spent a lot of time working on cars and helping boyfriends and my dad work on cars). And one of my jobs, around 15 years ago, part of my duties were to run and completely reorganize and clean two old warehouses (I got to learn to drive a forklift!) 😃 Yes! Fast Times at Ridgemont High! ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441/60 "2010-08-19T00:41:03Z")
I like the smell of American money - any kind of bills. The newer the better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-odd-things-do-you-enjoy-smelling-or-tasting-or-doing/550441.md?page=4)