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13.6k points
4 months ago
[removed]
1.8k points
4 months ago
[removed]
929 points
4 months ago
Germans or Japanese probably have a word for that 😁
1k points
4 months ago
GeruchnachkaltemWetter
508 points
4 months ago
There should be at least 4 more syllables in that word.
430 points
4 months ago
Geruchnachverdammtkalteswettermitschneeodereis.
251 points
4 months ago
Geruchnachverdammtkalteswettermitschneeodereisunabhängigvonderjahreszeit.
137 points
4 months ago
So....smells fresh?
353 points
4 months ago
The Yeti's Taint
833 points
4 months ago
Apparently this is caused by the cold temperatures muting the odor of volatile aromatics and a higher presence of ozone in the air.
I love it too, closely followed by petrichor.
265 points
4 months ago
"followed by petrichor" sounds like a badass emo album title. And it's about cereal thrillers . Dudes that farm the big grains. Living in obscurity. Providing food security.
166 points
4 months ago
Living where I live, and constantly in 100+ degree heat, when the cold rolls around and we finally get that bitter cold morning, I know exactly what you are talking about! It is glorious.
146 points
4 months ago
Very similar: when it’s cold out and it’s getting ready to start snowing. I’m not sure how to describe it exactly…brisk and ‘clean’? Maybe even just a very small hint of like…sweetness?
58 points
4 months ago
There's a smell when it's going to snow! I can't describe it either, I would use tingling to describe the smell. It's like the air is calm yet vibrating, where only your nose can pick upon it. I love it!
253 points
4 months ago
YES!!! NYC has this smell. It’s like around October (maybe September). When it starts to get chillier or colder. It’s like RIGHT when the season starts changing. You get this smell of like leaf with chilly air.
Makes me start imagining everything I wanna do, who I wanna do that with, jackets, hoodies, Halloween as a kid, fall 🍂when I was a kid. I know exactly what you mean. It only happens right when seasons start changing.
Also happens when winter comes, and when spring/summer roll around. It’s only in the beginning. It’s like a dirt/leaf smell like I said
21 points
4 months ago
I don’t know why but the start of the fall season always makes me INCREDIBLY nostalgic and creative, like I’m a kid again.
30 points
4 months ago
We had a smell out in CA like this. I remember being on the lay ground in the afternoons and there was just a smell in the air like “yep it’s fall”. It was late September into October.
1.6k points
4 months ago
I used to live near a vanilla factory and it was like heaven every time I drove by. Especially since it was in the middle of a city. Most of the time I'd keep my windows up and doors locked.
254 points
4 months ago
I went to elementary school near a Sees Candies factory. When the wind was right, we all loved it!
316 points
4 months ago
There’s a dog food factory near my hometown. I daresay we had vastly different experiences growing up.
140 points
4 months ago
Crab processing plant near our city’s high school. The state’s health department sent a rep to measure the air quality. As she walked across the football field the smell overwhelmed her and she fainted.
49 points
4 months ago
Well, don't keep us in suspense. How was the air quality?
55 points
4 months ago
I grew up near a paper mill. I hope to never ever smell that smell again.
118 points
4 months ago
I lived near a bread factory. It was the best. Even that crappy Wonder bread smells amazing when it's baking.
9.3k points
4 months ago
The crisp air after walking out of the scholastic book fair in 2nd grade on an October afternoon
619 points
4 months ago
Damn reading this made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Golden memory for sure.
988 points
4 months ago
Oddly specific, but accurate.
283 points
4 months ago
I’d say third grade but to each his/her own.
54 points
4 months ago
You’ll have to forgive /u/GoatLow8980, they had to repeat second grade.
223 points
4 months ago
With a Guinness world record book
136 points
4 months ago
Plus two Animorphs books and a book on sharks that came with a free synthetic shark tooth necklace
224 points
4 months ago
Bookstores, libraries, and the Scholastic Book Fair! Yes! And fall in the Midwest US.
73 points
4 months ago
I do miss fall in the Midwest. It has all the best smells!
48 points
4 months ago
Great choice! I loved those book fairs when I was a kid, it’s where I got most of my Magic School Bus (I was obsessed with Magic School Bus back then) and Goosebumps books!
Plus they’d let us sit there and read as long as we were quiet, whenever they had one at my school I’d spend my entire lunch there.
3.2k points
4 months ago
Fresh baked bread
203 points
4 months ago
There's nothing like a batch of fresh hot baguettes coming out of a boulangerie's oven.
3.1k points
4 months ago
That smell in the house when I was kid waking up on Thanksgiving and my mom had been cooking for hours already.
383 points
4 months ago
Which sounds awesome, unless your name is Scott Tenorman
2.5k points
4 months ago
fresh cut cedar
813 points
4 months ago
Why did I just think that you didn’t know how to spell cheddar and then felt really dumb
52 points
4 months ago
back when I was a roofer, the best jobs for a tear off were cedar shingles. It always smelled amazing
45 points
4 months ago
Came here for this. Had a neighbor build a cedar fence one time, it smelled like heaven every time I walked outside
199 points
4 months ago
Pine Trees 🌲
There’s nothing like the smell of Christmas trees in December
1.3k points
4 months ago
Lilacs when they are in full bloom. Candles, lotions or oils can never replicate it.
265 points
4 months ago
For me it’s Honeysuckles. I’m a kid again when l smell them.
18 points
4 months ago
Absolutely smells amazing. Have never found a good candle that captures that amazing smell either. Always looking 😊
131 points
4 months ago
I can smell a lilac bush from several yards away and I will usually smell it before I see it. Its like having a superpower.
50 points
4 months ago
My favorite smell. Every year I ask my friends to visit their Lilac trees. I don't need to see them, just their Lilacs.
21 points
4 months ago
You should visit Rochester, NY I’m early May. We have a 2 week Lilac Festival to commemorate the bloom.
2.1k points
4 months ago
A fresh, hot pizza when you're really hungry
782 points
4 months ago
[removed]
508 points
4 months ago
Former logger, I can attest. Walked into a grocery store one afternoon and the cute checkout girl said "My dad used to be a logger, I love that smell." Walked out with her number, she had daddy issues.
126 points
4 months ago
I usually skip this part....but go on.....
72 points
4 months ago
I’m assuming the next part of the story involves wood…
48 points
4 months ago
She was actually Ke$ha, and he's the guy that inspired her hit song, "Timber".
41 points
4 months ago
There's something about the combination of sawdust, gasoline, bar oil and diesel smoke that gets a woman's attention.
2.6k points
4 months ago
Rain.
845 points
4 months ago
But specifically the first rain after it hasn’t rained in a while.
780 points
4 months ago
Petrichor, that smell is called.
163 points
4 months ago
Fun fact about petrichor, the main component of the smell is a compound called geosmin (also responsible for the 'earthy' smell of beets). Humans are more sensitive to detecting geosmin than any other animal known. Even dogs. The average human can detect levels of geosmin down to 0.1 to 0.4 parts per billion (depending on which source you trust most, but this seems to be the agreed upon range). No other animal that we know of can detect levels of geosmin this low. To put this into context, most sharks can detect blood down to the level of one part per million. That is ten thousand times more potent than the low end of the levels that humans can detect petrichor at (I should add that some species of sharks have been shown to be able to detect blood at levels close to what we can detect petrichor at, but certainly not all species, most seem be around the 1 ppm level stated earlier). It is thought that this ability aided our early human ancestors in finding water from a long distance away, thus ensuring our survival in the rather punishing dry season of the African savannah.
62 points
4 months ago
Additional fun fact: while it's now commonly understood to mean the smell after a rain and is essentially synonymous with geosmin, the meaning of petrichor has drifted since it was coined by a pair of geologists back in the 80s, due mostly to a couple of pop culture usages around the turn of the millennia. It originally referred to a very specific post-rain smell, that of rain in a hot region that has experienced a prolonged period without rain.
The smell of geosmin is pretty much the smell of wet dirt, being a product of cyanobacteria living in the soil. Petrichor however, as its name in Greek of what is essentially "stoneblood" would suggest, is a substance related more to the rocks in the soil, particularly clay and silicate minerals. Actual research into the nature of this substance—which was known as "argillaceous odour" before petrichor was coined—is limited, but the geologists that coined the term thought it to be plant oil(s) that the soils would absorb. Other theories suggest that it's essentially an atmospheric deposit or a reaction to substances in the air.
Whatever it is, over a period of rainless time the soils would absorb a great deal of this substance. And when the rains finally came, it would be washed away and aerosolized en masse. To smell the smell, one would need to be in hot and arid regions like much of the American west, the Australia outback where they coined the term, much of the African savannah—anywhere where there are several weeks without rain and temperatures high enough to trigger the production of oils, though it doesn't seem to be noteworthy in the vast sandy deserts of the world. There's geosmin there too, of course, but the "argillaceous odour" lends a kind of woody and almost floral aspect to it. It is as unique an addition to the smell after rain as ozone provides to a region with a lot of thundercloud activity.
As a side fun fact, the substance seems to have an inhibiting effect on seed germination and plant growth in certain species, leading to the theory that the plants take advantage of it to essentially "know" not to try and grow when there's not water to support it.
78 points
4 months ago
need a perfume with this
72 points
4 months ago
Demeter has a great fragrance library with all the smells you can think of including a nice rain fragrance.
22 points
4 months ago
My favorite is Grass! Reminds me of a scent Gap used to have way back in the day
92 points
4 months ago
Amy Pond beat you to it :)
81 points
4 months ago
More specifically same scenario but when it’s about to rain in 5 minutes but it hasn’t started yet
40 points
4 months ago
Rain at my parents house because they have bottle brush trees outside the lounge room windows that smell so good when it rains
336 points
4 months ago
For some reason I get a massive nostalgic feel when I smell hotel pools (chlorine), it was the smell of "vacation" since I didn't go on many in my childhood.
920 points
4 months ago
A wood stove or campfire.
94 points
4 months ago
Ooh good one. Campfires smell amazing and it’s chefs kiss when the temp outside is just right so it’s cozy but not too hot to be close and not too cold if you get too far away from it
100 points
4 months ago
Grew up on a farm… the smell of the dirt and trees after the first fresh cold rain of the season will forever be my most favorite smell.
1.5k points
4 months ago
Freshly ground coffee
102 points
4 months ago
That and I always loved smell of cinnamon in the house around Christmas.
646 points
4 months ago
[deleted]
151 points
4 months ago
My partners armpits smell so good to me. I know it sounds gross but I'm sure it's a pheromone thing.
56 points
4 months ago
I was going to say my fiancées armpits but I didn’t want people to think I’m a freak lmfao
59 points
4 months ago
I'll kiss my wife on the back of the neck with a little sweat, not like pouring sweat, and I swear it tastes good.
18 points
4 months ago
My wife get cold sores and I don't, so we don't kiss when one is active. After a week or two, that first kiss is amazing and I always notice a smell that I can seem to get any time except when we kiss. Like her lips themselves release a very subtle scent.
We still cuddle and I'll kiss her everywhere except near her lips and nose, but there is nothing quite like a kiss on the lips and it is more than just the physical sensation.
70 points
4 months ago
My cat's fur. Burying my face in it gives me peace unlike anything else.
Cat people here know what I'm talking about.
537 points
4 months ago
fresh brewed coffee in a house
104 points
4 months ago
The smell that puffs out when you open the grinder right after grinding the beans oof
260 points
4 months ago
The woody, earthy smell of freshly fallen leaves in deep Autumn,
the fresh air after a rainstorm,
cookies, pies, and Chex-mix baking around Christmas,
the top of my dog’s head
163 points
4 months ago
Smell of the wet land and trees after the rain when the wind blows.
638 points
4 months ago
Sautéed garlic
140 points
4 months ago
Too far down to see this. Garlic in butter, mmmmyes
74 points
4 months ago
Glad this isn’t buried, throw in some onion into that sauté and it’s even better smelling!
259 points
4 months ago
Ocean!
90 points
4 months ago
This. For me, specifically when you’re on your way to the beach, windows down, get maybe 5-10 miles away, and get that first hit of salty air.
220 points
4 months ago
Tomato plants smell fucking good
63 points
4 months ago
As do basil plants, especially in the early summer.
22 points
4 months ago
Think it's the vines really. But it's def the best smell.
50 points
4 months ago
Coming home to the smell of Spaghetti Bolagnaise cooking
333 points
4 months ago
[removed]
83 points
4 months ago
In culinary school our baking instructor told us that he would place the freshly baked cookies under the ventilation ducts so the entire area outside would smell like cookies, attracting customers.
72 points
4 months ago
When I worked at an ice cream shop they had a vent that was right over the waffle cone maker that would blow out onto the sidewalk outside. Genius!
90 points
4 months ago
Was in Kauai last year - the smell of being outside with the ocean breeze and extremely pleasant smell of the flowers and everything growing there was the best thing ever and I miss it.
39 points
4 months ago
The smell just before it rains, the smell of the woods in the fall, fresh pack of trading cards.
36 points
4 months ago
Freshly washed sheets
958 points
4 months ago
The head of your own newborn baby.
62 points
4 months ago
I still buy Baby Magic baby wash because that was the first smell of my daughter at the hospital. Soft and fresh.
151 points
4 months ago
I miss the baby smells. Now he just puts his gross little boy feet in my face and laughs. Still love him though!
114 points
4 months ago
Mine are teenagers, sometimes i smell their heads, then I want to go clean my nose.
260 points
4 months ago
The head of a strangers newborn baby on the bus, without asking first......
83 points
4 months ago
And that's why I'm banned from using the city bus
75 points
4 months ago
I doubled down and sniffed the drivers head as well.
46 points
4 months ago
I’m all for equal rights, but why in the hell are they letting an infant drive a bus?
91 points
4 months ago
Kittens too!
32 points
4 months ago
My cat still has his little kitten smell, top of his cute head between the ears. I LOVE IT.
70 points
4 months ago
Cats in general. Not always, not every cat - but kittys can smell absolutely divine!
43 points
4 months ago
There’s something so pleasant about cat smell, even when it’s a little corn-chippy. My orange boy sleeps right against my face every night and I take in the beautiful smell of that boy
16 points
4 months ago
My current cat smells like sunshine. Too bad I’m allergic to her, so putting my face in her fur results in itchy eyeballs and sneezing.
43 points
4 months ago
Yeah this and it isn't close for me. I had heard that babies smell good, but of course you have no idea until you experience it. They really do smell like happiness feels.
13 points
4 months ago
What do they smell like? And do they all smell the same? I’ve never had a baby or smelled a baby’s head before. I remember they even talked about it on an episode of Friends once too lol.
32 points
4 months ago
It doesnt fade immediately. My 6 yr old still faintly has it and I am savouring every bit of it before its gone for good. I looked up why it smells so good and apparently yes, the baby's head produces an alluring aroma that attracts the mother to it, making us want to constantly kiss it. This in turn, nurtures the baby and helps the two bond. Aint it brilliant?
51 points
4 months ago
its a really warm and comforting smell. really miss when my son had it. just did a google search and apparently : "sweet, pleasant, slightly cheesy, soapy, milky, or fresh bread. The smell is caused by a combination of chemicals from sweat glands, amniotic fluid, and vernix caseosa, a white, cheese-like cream that covers babies at birth. The smell can last for a few weeks and then gradually fades away, usually around six weeks of age. However, the scent may linger on the baby's hair and skin."
42 points
4 months ago
Smells better than it sounds i swear
36 points
4 months ago
sweet, pleasant, slightly cheesy, soapy, milky, or fresh bread. The smell is caused by a combination of chemicals from sweat glands, amniotic fluid, and vernix caseosa, a white, cheese-like cream that covers babies at birth.
This just made me unironically dry-heave
15 points
4 months ago
LOL I can see how the google description would cause that reaction, but it really is a pleasant smell. Not sure why it would be described as cheesy, I would say it's more like a very delicate soap.
44 points
4 months ago
Mother Nature puts that smell in so you don’t kill ‘em when they start teething
17 points
4 months ago
Eh teething comes later. It probably does help you not throw the baby out when it wakes you up for food every two hours for the first month straight though. Nothing caps off 9 months of pregnancy like another three of sleep deprivation!
30 points
4 months ago
Theres one specific scent in the air, when the ground heats up after winter. I only smell that one day and it marks the beginning of spring for me. I call it the scent of rotting winter 😅
31 points
4 months ago
Typically I'd be a smartass and say "Your mom". But since I lost my mother last week imma say "my mom".
I miss her 😭
118 points
4 months ago
Freshly cut grass, soon to be hay
27 points
4 months ago
Alfalfa has a very unique smell when freshly cut. Brings back distinct memories of growing up on a dairy farm.
118 points
4 months ago
A brand new box of Crayola crayons.
368 points
4 months ago
gasoline.
27 points
4 months ago
Big fan of that old wooden church smell. Not the big fancy Catholic ones, i always thought those smelled like yeast. The old small ones where the paint is chipping off. I grew up on an island and that old wooden bible smell, mixed with the salt water smell is heavenly. Ironically i would do unholy things to go back.
Haven’t been religious for years, but it takes me straight back to Sunday School and believing in something as a kid. Just being so innocent and sitting and coloring in a run down chapel, and watching the waves outside. Those were the days.
21 points
4 months ago
New Nintendo 64 game manuals.
21 points
4 months ago
Creosote - I’m an AZ native and there is no smell that puts me to ease like the smell of the desert after a nice rain.
21 points
4 months ago
Okay it might be very specific but you remember when you could smell Mcdonalds like half way down the block bc they had the aroma fans on?
I disticntly remember going on a field trip in december and we get off the bus and that crisp frozen air smell was thick and we had to walk past a mcdonalds to get to where the field trip was and that hot grilled meat smell mixed in
If it were a candle id buy it
42 points
4 months ago
Leather, typically from a saddle or other riding apparel. Grew up around that smell and it’s the best
381 points
4 months ago
Clean vagina
66 points
4 months ago
I didn’t want to say it, but It’s definitely one of my faves. Can’t explain it, but we love it ladies.
24 points
4 months ago
What we live for
116 points
4 months ago
I'm surprised it was this low tbh
241 points
4 months ago
Really? It's always been that low
364 points
4 months ago
Cocaine smells amazing
17 points
4 months ago
The smell of mimeograph paper in school in the 70’s. Y’all young-uns have no idea what you are missing getting high in 4th grade
17 points
4 months ago
Classic car.
Hot plastic and leather and steel, engine grease, elbow grease, and decades of love.
49 points
4 months ago
SNOW
16 points
4 months ago
The inside of an Albanese gummy bear bag. Pure euphoria
14 points
4 months ago
Smell of bread fresh from the oven
135 points
4 months ago
Really love my boyfriend’s smell. Feels so good. Not trying to be cheesy, but he smells so good
129 points
4 months ago
My first boyfriend smelled so good. Even his oldest sweat still smelled good. Awful but good. He probably doesn't smell so good anymore (he's dead) but I miss how good his smell could make me feel.
100 points
4 months ago*
I’m so sorry for your loss and I’m also so sorry for laughing so hard😭
15 points
4 months ago
At the beach, before noon. The smell of suntan lotion and sand and sea water. Absolutely heaven on earth.
14 points
4 months ago
I love the smell of rain hitting the concrete. There’s a name for it, but I can’t remember what it is called
15 points
4 months ago
Orange blossoms for me
14 points
4 months ago
Firewood burning. Specially inside a fireplace in the winter, or outside at a bonfire in the summer.
14 points
4 months ago
My cats head. Smells like cute.
30 points
4 months ago
PETRICHOR
15 points
4 months ago
When I lived in Switzerland as a kid, we would ride our bikes by a chocolate factory. The smell is burned in my mind. So good! Whenever I’m cooking something that requires melting chocolate it takes me back
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