# What smells do you enjoy that other people think you shouldn't? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685 "2004-03-16T19:07:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/21 "2004-03-16T23:34:36Z")
Another barn smell lover. with one exception, I don’t like the way they smell when they need to be mucked. The smell of horse urine I guess, don’t like that one. I like the dusty, furry smell in my horses neck when I pull him out of the pasture. And after a really hard ride, when they have the sweat lather on their neck, I even like that smell. And tack, good tack (a barn I used to work at once got some cheap tack from India they said. It smelled… very very bad. Alfalfa. Hmmmmmm I need to go to the barn now. ---
**Author:** ![luluBahrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@luluBahrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luluBahrain)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/22 "2004-03-16T23:52:58Z")
Love the smell of cows also gasoline And a not so strange one…freshly cut grass mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/23 "2004-03-17T00:44:41Z")
The smell of old fashioned xerox machine ink used in the 1980’s…the kind that prints in purple ink? They’d hand us out papers when I was in elementary school and I’d sniff them right away. They smelled like fresh yogurt! A newly tarred road on a summer day. The smell when you blow out a candle. I guess it’s the smell of burnt wax or wick. It always makes me think of birthday parties and makes me happy. I’m another one for cat breath, or more specifically, my cat’s saliva when she is cleaning herself. It smells almost chemical/medicinal…I can’t explain it. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/24 "2004-03-17T00:52:46Z")
I know I’ve posted this before, but I love the smell of cutting oil. They used it on the saws where I used to work and my then-husband always had the scent all over him. I don’t like _him_ anymore, but I still love the smell of it! Another love of mine is paint. Not huffing it…I don’t like it that much. When I was little, my dad used to work some out of our basement, as a sign painter. Whatever kind of paint that was used in the early '60s, that is the scent I love. I can still smell it whenever I go to my mom’s. It’s probably toxic as hell, but if I go that way, then I will go happy. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/25 "2004-03-17T00:55:27Z")
Since I like the smells of gasoline and skunk (NOT a direct hit, mind you… I’ve smelled it that way too, and needless to say it’s not a pleasant experience), I thought I was weird or something. Unless maybe I am, and you all are too. I’ll second the freshly cut grass smell. And, when my SO comes in from a day working in the garage, bearing that tang of motor oil and faint car exhaust, I am _all over him_! He jokes that I should bottle the smell and sell it as perfume. “Manly Working Man smells”… Oil and exhaust for the mechanic, fire and ash for the fireman, asphalt for the road crew guy, etc. etc. Working men…mmmm. Is this a hijack? ---
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/26 "2004-03-17T00:55:31Z")
\*\*acrossthesea \*\*, I remeber the smell of the mimiographs(sp?) from school. I just loved it when we would get copies “hot off the press” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/27 "2004-03-17T00:57:07Z")
> [@gallows fodder](#): > > 1. The smell of someone who is been outdoors in warm weather. Not the smell of sweat, per se, but the smell of the outdoors on them. You know what I mean? Yes! I think of it as the sunshine smell. I love it. I could just bury my nose in somebody’s neck if they’ve been so much as walking around in the sun. You’re right, it’s not really a sweat smell… hard to describe! ---
**Author:** ![Zardoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a8b319/32.png) [@Zardoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zardoz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/28 "2004-03-17T01:02:07Z")
Ditto on the creosote or tar or whatever it is: must be my childhood memories of going to amusement parks. In my grandfather’s house there’s a strip of plastic (bisqueen?) going up the stairs to protect it. I don’t know why people put plastic on furniture to preserve them, as it just looks dumb. But I digress. I LOVE the smell of that plastic, and it seems to be a particular kind, not unlike new car smell, but I don’t like new car smell. ---
**Author:** ![Sandlegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@Sandlegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandlegs)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/29 "2004-03-17T01:03:51Z")
i enjoy most of all smells the smell of new tires. when i’m around them at the department store, i wait till nobody can see me, and i smell them for a good twenty seconds or so. My s.o. enjoys it with me as well. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/30 "2004-03-17T01:21:55Z")
Another vote for skunks. Not close up mind you, but when one get’s run over on the road, or sprays something, just enough that the wind brings it in from the distance. Freshly lit cigarettes too. I love the smell one you can tell someone in the next room or down a hall just lit a cigarette and the smell is just starting to drift in. I’ve also always liked the smell of vinegar. The other thing that I don’t think anyone mentioned is a certain type of camera film. I don’t remember what it’s called (#mm), but it was a cartridge type. It was used in fairly thin cheapo cameras. Anyways, it would come in a little foil pack, I LOVED the smell of whatever gas it was packed in, smelled so good when you opened it. ---
**Author:** ![OldBroad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/31 "2004-03-17T01:44:27Z")
tar benzene toluene (sp?) if it’s not too close ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/32 "2004-03-17T02:45:58Z")
> [@AliiiOooop](#): > > 1. Old book stores; must come from my grandfather’s study that was full of old, musty, dusty books. You mean there are people who don’t love the smell of old books? Egads. I also love the smell of a freshly manured field. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/33 "2004-03-17T03:28:28Z")
I love the smell of my ferrets. Not the litter box, just their musk. Cucumbers. People think I’m really weird when I say my favorite smell is cucumber. I like the freshy lit cigarette too. I just don’t smoke them any more. Fresh fish. Reminds me of where I was born, on some days you could smell the docks from where we lived. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/34 "2004-03-17T03:44:41Z")
I love the smell of natural gas. My enjoyment is hampered by the fact that smelling it means something is not right. White Out smells really good to me. Kind of oniony, in a chemical way. Crayons. Yum. Makes me want to eat them, but I’m (mostly) conquered that impulse several decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/35 "2004-03-17T04:10:39Z")
I like the smell of my gerbils - not their cage (which never gets that dirty anyway), but of their little gerbilly heads. They kind of smell sweet and dusty, and warm at the same time. I also like the smell of their food, kind of like trail mix 🙂 I, too, remember the mimeographs! If anybody “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, there is a scene in the movie where a class gets freshly copied papers, and they all smell them almost in sync. ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/36 "2004-03-17T05:06:03Z")
(TMI Time) Ex-Girlfriend’s sweaty armpits. With one ex, I had an incredible sex life. I loved the smell of her after she worked up a sweat. Maybe it’s because I made her sweat. I dunno. It sure turned me on though. . o O (geez I really need to get laid) ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/37 "2004-03-17T05:25:07Z")
Can’t believe I’m the first to say **my own farts.** I think that meets the intent of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/38 "2004-03-17T05:29:12Z")
Cloves! My SO doesn’t enjoy the scent of the clove oil I purchased to annoint myself (not BATHE, mind you) with. I barely use any, it’s strong but after it mixes with my skin scent, wow… I melt. I also mix it with a jasmine oil to tone it down but still… wow. Those two scents really compliment one another. He can never tell I use the clove when I mix it with the jasmine, thank God. It lets me use it but in a sneaky way, heh heh. Clove cigarettes make me drool but I don’t smoke them. I like passing by the Goths while their smoking, YUM! I like the scent of gasoline but many people do. I like the smell of a blown out match but then again, I light candles almost daily or incense. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/39 "2004-03-17T05:44:15Z")
Gasoline, zippo fluid and rubbing alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685/40 "2004-03-17T05:44:20Z")
My boyfriend’s breath after he’s been drinking beer. For some reason, it’s sexy. Unfortunately he’s been on a sober kick for a few months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-do-you-enjoy-that-other-people-think-you-shouldnt/234685.md?page=1)