# What smells the most in a perfume factory? (funny smelling sneezes) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011 "2006-08-09T15:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/1 "2006-08-09T15:20:47Z")
Whenever my fiancee sneezes forcefully, there’s a noticable scent for a couple of seconds afterwards. It’s kind of a sweet, floral smell. Any idea what could be causing this? (The answer to “What smells the most in a perfume factory?” is “your nose”, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/2 "2006-08-09T15:22:15Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > (The answer to “What smells the most in a perfume factory?” is “your nose”, of course.) I don’t know about your question, but that’s a much nicer version of that joke than I know 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/3 "2006-08-09T15:30:07Z")
I asked this a while back, because I sometimes produce an aroma when I sneeze forcefully (a sort of sweetish, musky smell, in my case). Can’t find the thread though; I think it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/4 "2006-08-09T15:46:13Z")
Oooh, whenever I smell sweet after I sneeze, I run for the Airborne and Echinacea. It means I’m getting sick. I don’t know if it’s a quirk of my body or if some bacteria (or bacteria byproduct) smells sweet, but the sweet sneezes are precoursers to really bad chest colds for me. (And the copious, thick phlegm from them also tastes sweet.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/5 "2006-08-09T16:10:09Z")
Does she happen to use a steroid nasal spray? A number of them have this strong flowery aroma that I can smell for hours after I use it (and since I _hate_ scents, I made the doctor switch me to another product). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/6 "2006-08-09T16:57:09Z")
> [@Mama Zappa](#): > > Does she happen to use a steroid nasal spray? A number of them have this strong flowery aroma that I can smell for hours after I use it (and since I _hate_ scents, I made the doctor switch me to another product). You beat me to it. Flonase, for one, has a very strong “rose” smell. When my partner uses it she smells like she just ate her way through a rose garden. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/7 "2006-08-10T12:36:52Z")
Thanks for the replies. She doesn’t use any kind of nasal spray. Googling the words _sneeze smell_ turned up some cases of others who’d experienced something similar, but no concrete answers that I saw. Some people seemed convinced that the sneeze was merely clearing their nose and allowing them to notice other smells – but that’s clearly not the cause here, as my fiancee and I can _both_ smell her sneezes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/8 "2006-08-10T13:12:26Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Some people seemed convinced that the sneeze was merely clearing their nose and allowing them to notice other smells – but that’s clearly not the cause here, as my fiancee and I can _both_ smell her sneezes. I agree; in my particular case, it’s always _the same, distinctive and unusual smell_ - every time, and it is detectable on the item sneezed upon (usually one of my hands, as it most often occurs with violent, unexpected sneezes). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/9 "2006-08-10T14:27:35Z")
Sometimes I fart when I sneeze. Maybe the phenomenon is a manifestation of how much you love her? ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/10 "2006-08-10T14:44:28Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Sometimes I fart when I sneeze. Maybe the phenomenon is a manifestation of how much you love her? Are those two sentences related? I.e., she farts when she sneezes, but I love her so much that her farts smell like roses? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/11 "2006-08-10T14:47:32Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Sometimes I fart when I sneeze. Maybe the phenomenon is a manifestation of how much you love her? Could be! My boss suffers from the same disorder and there have been reports of a bright flash of light; perhaps the sun really _does_ shine out of his arse. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-smells-the-most-in-a-perfume-factory-funny-smelling-sneezes/368011/12 "2006-08-10T16:48:32Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Are those two sentences related? I.e., she farts when she sneezes, but I love her so much that her farts smell like roses? 😃 Bingo! It was on Seinfeld last night: Elaine, you gotta have a baby! Somehow when it comes out of your own kid, it doesn’t stink!