# Why can't I remember odors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586 "2000-01-26T15:38:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vestal\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5e9695/32.png) [@Vestal\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vestal_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/1 "2000-01-26T15:38:00Z")
Why is it that we can recall visual and auditory experiences, but not olfactory? I thought of this on the way to work this morning while replaying a Styx tune in my head. * * * VB Remember, you can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish! ---
**Author:** ![ignatiusjreilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@ignatiusjreilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatiusjreilly)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/2 "2000-01-26T15:41:00Z")
You can - it’s just your olfactory memory (and auditory memory as well) works differently than your visual memory. Think about it - as soon as you smell your mother’s beef stew (or whatever she cooks), you know EXACTLY what that smell is, right? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/3 "2000-01-26T15:50:00Z")
You can remember them, only when they recur. I often get a whiff of something which brings back memories from my childhood. Smells are more like triggers. With sight, I sometimes find it difficult to remember what a childhood friend looked like. And with pain: I remember being in such pain when my appendix ruptured that I vomited, but I can’t remember the sensation itself. * * * Judges 14:9 - So [Samson] scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. ---
**Author:** ![Oblio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c4cdca/32.png) [@Oblio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblio)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/4 "2000-01-26T16:41:00Z")
I can remember from a visual trigger two smells from long ago. The smell of new farm implements at a dealership. The smell of a plant nursery in the spring, especially the mulch bins. Both of these memories come from when I was very young and taking (or being dragged kicking and screaming) trips to each with parents/grandparents. For smell triggers try … New box of crayons Finger paint That non-toxic paste used with construction paper. Does it taste the same too :o ---
**Author:** ![Vestal\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5e9695/32.png) [@Vestal\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vestal_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/5 "2000-01-26T16:54:00Z")
Good point on smell triggers! Here’s some of my favourites: creosote: reminds me of my childhood in England, where they use coal in residential fireplaces. Also, diesel exhaust brings back trips on double decker buses! Jet exhaust: The fun of working with aircraft. Jontu cologne: An old girlfriend, _sigh_🙂 roasting lamb & parsnips! * * * VB Remember, you can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/6 "2000-01-26T17:40:00Z")
And smelling a madeleine dipped in tea should remind you of your high school french teacher. ---
**Author:** ![TheUnforgiven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TheUnforgiven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUnforgiven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/7 "2000-01-26T17:50:00Z")
If you’ve been to a hospital recently it’s disinfectant. Everyone knows that smell! ---
**Author:** ![Squid\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Squid\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squid_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/8 "2000-01-27T06:09:00Z")
I remember reading some time ago (I’m sorry but I can’t remember where exactly) that the sense of smell is most closely related to memory. However, I assume you mean that you can’t bring up a smell the way you can “see” something in your mind’s eye. It is interesting that you can remember things in your mind’s eye and to some extent remember certain sounds and feelings. Try as I might I cannot reproduce a smell or a taste in my head. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t some freak out there who can. ---
**Author:** ![Vestal\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5e9695/32.png) [@Vestal\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vestal_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/9 "2000-01-27T06:34:00Z")
That’s _exactly_ what I meant, Squid! * * * VB Remember, you can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish! ---
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/10 "2000-01-26T19:12:00Z")
Squid said: > [@](#): > > That doesn’t mean there isn’t some freak out there who can. I had never thought about this being a rare talent. Squid, you’re a chemist. Do you mean that you can’t recall to mind exactly what benzaldehyde, octanol, or butanoic acid smell like without opening the bottles? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/11 "2000-01-27T01:14:00Z")
I’ve always thought odor (olfactory) hallucinations were pretty common. I remember, and occasionally smell, many odors from my past. As I sit here I can call up the odors of a lot of things. Paint Vinegar KFC Old SO’s nether regions Green watermelon candy Coffee And on and on. When I used to get stoned these memories were much stronger. Sigh!!! Peace, mangeorge * * * I only know two things; I know what I need to know And I know what I want to know Mangeorge, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![Sputnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Sputnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sputnik)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/12 "2000-01-27T03:12:00Z")
Example from personal experience: Fall 1981, Boston MA I entered a thrift shop on Charles Street to browse around and I noticed a familiar scent that I couldn’t place. I stayed in that store long after I had lost interest in the merchandise because I was racking my brain to identify the smell. Finally it came to me that the older lady behind the counter was wearing (more than enough of) the exact same perfume that my kindergarten teacher wore. If someone had asked me before I entered the store if my kindergarten teacher wore a distinctive scent, I would have thought he was nuts. It wasn’t until that point that I understood what people mean when they say olfactory stimulus can trigger memories. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/13 "2000-01-27T03:31:00Z")
I can prompt personal olafactory hallucinations much like mangeorge decribes. Crayolas Coffee Paste My mothers perfume All sorts of stuff ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/14 "2000-01-27T13:55:00Z")
Eh, I guess some are just olfactory challenged! a) Smells are very powerful memory agents to the point where many people can pinpoint an exact place and time in their life when they smelled a particular scent. b) The mind can conjure up the memory of a scent just like an image, too. All of this perhaps depends upon how keen your sense of smell is and how acutely well you take notice of scents all around you. ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-remember-odors/6586/15 "2000-01-27T20:16:00Z")
I guess I’m one of the freaks too. I can conjure a smell OR taste from memory quite often without having anything to trigger it.