# Scent association



## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

What are yours?

Nehi's bread-baking thread got me thinking about how a scent can stir an emotion or a memory so vivid that it almost takes you back in time, and you FEEL that feeling again. It's actually kind of amazing how that works.
I can remember an instance during one of Jess' (RedEarth's) first visits to Mississippi. She is a magnificent cook. It was a beautiful day in early spring, one of those days where ya' get a bit done, but can be a ltlle lazy. We did some gardening, and came back in the house. I had a coupla' brews, laid back in my recliner, and dozed off while Jess got to work in the kitchen. She woke me up with a soft kiss, the house had that awesome smell of bread baking, and Dire Strait's "Sultans of Swing" was playing on the radio. I can vividly remember coming to.... all bleary-eyed, smelling that bread, hearing that song, a sunbeam on the floor, and opening my eyes to a beautiful, amazing gal who looked so perfect in that old, stained apron that she coulda' made an army of Victoria's Secret models look like hags. It was a perfect moment, and to this day, I can't hear that song or smell bread baking without my mind taking me back to that feeling.

Hoppes #9 guncleaning solvent.....I can't smell it without feeling like a kid at Christmas. I grew up doing lots of hunting around Christmas, so there was lotsa' gun cleaning going on, and one whiff of that product mentally puts me back in Tennessee, ten years old, and clutching my .22 while staring into a snow-laden oak and thinkin' how proud my grandma would be of me if I hiked back to the house with a few big ones for the stock pot.

I bought an air-freshener thingy several years ago to put in my walk-in closet 'cuz the closet was carpeted and starting to smell like a foot. That slightly fruity aroma stirred something in me for months, every time I went in there, and it took weeks for me to figure out the connection.....it smelled just like Rachel. Rachel was a gal I kinda'-sorta' dated in maybe the tenth grade. She was unbelievably gorgeous, captian of the basketball team, and was the gal at school that all the fella's fawned over. Somehow, I pulled a total hat trick, landed her, and would meet her in secluded breezeway after basketball practice every day to do some smoochin'. Not only was I nuts over her, but I was KING!....he77...I had Rachel, the gal that all the other fella's wanted, thereby officially making me the champion. 
It's pretty crazy how one of so many senses can take a person to a memory or feeling.....not just a reminder, but an actual feeling.
Anyone else?


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

Old spice, tricks my trigger...LOL


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Great post swampman.

The smell of bread evokes wonderful memories of my grandma.

Fresh cut grass is the aroma of youth and playing kickball in the yard or climbing trees or catching fireflys.

The smell of lighter fluid reminds me of the railroaders that would come into my mom's diner when I was a teenager. They always appealed to my wanderlust.

The smell of wine reminds me of wild and stupid days, and still can make my stomach flop!

Patchouli brings back my 'hippy' days ...and memories of free concerts in the park.

Oil reminds me of my old Triumph ( darn thing always leaked).

The smell of newborns always brings me back to when my girls were babies and stirs up all kinds of maternal stuff.

Cow poo reminds me of a good farmer I know.

This thread is bringing back all kinds of interesting memories!


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## Sammilynn (Dec 28, 2013)

I love this post. So often a smell can bring back memories. My favorite is a combination of leather and trident gum (yes I know, it's weird). I was partially raised by my grandmother who always had the gum in her purse or coat pocket. I can remember the smell of opening her purse or slipping on her jacket. Always makes me smile and reminds me that I'm never really alone.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Heating Oil

My grammy heated her home, with heating oil, and though I didn't go there often, when I smell heating oil, I can tell you the entire floor plan of that tiny little home, along with where every piece of furniture was situated.

Poison

It was perfume that I wore, for special occasions, because when the right amount of heat was applied, the scent consumed the air.
He was not 'mate for life' material, but he was good at one thing....and the smell of this perfume makes my back arch to this day.

Dirt

As a kid, when I smelled dirt in the air I knew it was almost spring. Being a city kid...that was a big deal, smellin dirt.
I love the smell of fresh turned dirt. It's very comforting to me.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

GREAT topic, Swampy! The aroma of bread baking invariably takes me back to my childhood. I learned the art of baking at my Mama's knee.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

Sammilynn said:


> I love this post. So often a smell can bring back memories. My favorite is a combination of leather and trident gum (yes I know, it's weird). I was partially raised by my grandmother who always had the gum in her purse or coat pocket. I can remember the smell of opening her purse or slipping on her jacket. Always makes me smile and reminds me that I'm never really alone.


 Doesn't sound weirder than any other olfactory association.  That's kinda' what I'm getting at....things that jump out as as individuals. I am reminded of Grandma and going to the office with her every time I smell or taste grape soda. She was voted "Miss Tennessee" years back, was quite a looker, and landed a job at one of the local TV stations. She'd take me to work for the day, and I'd get to hang out with the meteorologist lady, and the sportscaster, who would take me to their break room and get me a sandwich and a grape Nehi out of the vending machines. To me, I was hanging out with celebrities and havin' lunch with them.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

Fowler said:


> Old spice, tricks my trigger...LOL


 THAT is when a smoke was a smoke....a gallon jug of stankpurdy for five bucks. Now, it costs an arm and a leg and a testicle for a wee little squirt of cologne.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

smell and sounds makes me see all kinds of memories in my minds eye.

pine needles takes me 100's of places....mainly the PNW

fir pitch ,wet dirty sweaty earth covered clothes,wet shoe leather coupled with the sound of truck heater blower,grunts and groans mixed with smell of international coffees and lunch bags rattling as the crew and i rode in from a day in the woods soaking wet and ready to get home for a hot shower and all the chitter chatter till they got settled down for the last half of ride home....with windows all fogged up from all the body heat.

i use to hang my dog leads on a hook in bed of truck....when i hit a bump they would make this light ***** ***** sound....coupled with whimpering sounds coming from dog box i knew me and my dogs were headed out for an adventure.

an old denim jacket lined with fleece that my papaw wore.....he died in 1986...i took that jacket and put in a plastic clothes bag so i could save his smell that was locked in it from years of being worn.when i missed him i would get it out and bury my face in it and pretend he was there and cry because i missed him so much...the smell lasted for years.heck i never missed a human as much as i miss him.....even now.


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

Great Thread Swamp man*, The smell of sulfur ,takes me back to the city I was born in, Youngstown ,Ohio-It was a steel mill town, and when ever we would return to visit, When we came close to the Mahoning Valley, we would pinch our noses, and say PU!
Two cycle fuel, burnin' in my chainsaw/weedeater , takes me back to the days when I rode motocross bikes, my old 76 Honda Elsinore ,the old RM's. Man that was fun.

Rubber burning, takes me back to my drag racing/muscle car days-doing burnouts , bleech boxin' , smokeshow!

The smell of dead fish,takes me back to beachcombing , with my friends , on the beaches of Lake Erie, as a child (1960's). The Lake was really polluted then,and there were always dead fish on the beach* PU

The smell of my dogs breath ,reminds me of the great friends ,and companions that I've been blessed to share. 

The smell of a skunk reminds me of weeds, that I have smelled before*

Since I have stopped smoking cigs,several years ago, my sense of smell has improve greatly. But when I smell a smoke,it still smells good to me,and does not bother me?
The scent of a Woman, reminds me of the Ladies I have had the privilege of being close to, Loving ,and Knowing.
The smell of fresh cut green grass , reminds me of Spring-I can't wait.
I could go on,and on-but I need to come up for air! Thanks Swampman*


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

One day, long time ago, I received a phone call from an ex-BF. We had parted. I was married and so was he.

He called to say that he walked by a woman who was wearing my cologne and a hundred memories returned. He just wanted to say hello and see how I was doing!


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Did you guys know they make air fresheners with the Hoppes #9 cleaner smell, honest they really do. 

Yes, smells take me away. I enjoy a light smelling woman's perfume on my extra pillow. :bouncy:


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Great subject Swampie! I love these kinds of threads. 

Hickory burning always takes me back to my grandma's because that's all she burned in her wood stove. It especially reminds me of Christmas at her house. Those were the best days of my life. Elk, your post sounds a lot like me. She died in 1984, and I still miss her every day. Just reading your post made me tear up!

Juicy Fruit gum brings back memories of going to the Baptist church with my grandma as a child. I wore my best clothes, hat, gloves, patent leather shoes and purse. I had a hankie (no lady should be without one!), a pack of Juicy Fruit to keep me occupied and a quarter for the collection plate.

British Sterling cologne, lol. I know, cheap stuff, but it's what the love of my life wore back in the 70s and 80s. Just one whiff of that when I'm in a store or other public place and my heart stops, I get butterflies in my stomach, I start shaking, and I get short of breath. Then I slowly turn around...and it's not him. Bittersweet happiness. :sigh:

Patchouli always reminds me of Woodstock, patched and embroidered jeans, "The Free Store", and Woodward Park, both local hippy hangouts for frisbee, kite flying, free music, dancing, and lengthy existential and philosophical discussions (with or without the addition of certain "enhancements", lol).

Cocoa butter brings back lazy days of swimming at "our" secluded cove at the lake and making love by the bonfire at night under a full moon with a billion stars overhead and thinking I could die right now and be perfectly content.

The first spring rain and the smell of damp earth reminds me of walking and playing in the rain, then making out in the car until all the windows were so fogged up you couldn't see out, lol.

The smell of the ocean reminds me of California, going to the beach every chance I got, almost drowning while trying to learn to surf, grunion runs at midnight to 2 a.m., and of course sailing.

Well worn leather and oil always, always remind me of riding, especially pillion with my legs wrapped around him and his hair blowing in my face as I leaned in to say something, to hug him or to get a little frisky, lol. It also makes me think of my first solo Harley ride at 14, on a chopped, raked and extended '57 shovelhead with apehanger handlebars. It was love at first solo ride! Definitely had to have my own bike after that, though I did kind of miss riding pillion when I finally got it.

I've always been a very olfactory person. I could name a hundred more, but these are my best ones. I've also been told that my "scent" is unforgettable by numerous past boyfriends (in a good way, no being mean, lol), but I won't name what it is, it's my secret!


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## L.A. (Nov 15, 2007)

**Sniff** Hmmm, I'm reminded of something,,,,,,:sing:


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Laura l love Poison! I called it my "Do me now" perfume back in college. That scent is beyond sexy!!!


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

Anyone who camps in mosquito country will recognize this one... Deet (insect repellent) takes on a different smell once the tent has been packed away and stored for a bit. It ain't bad, just different. All the camping gear, which I keep in a couple of gunny sacks take on the aroma. When I pull the gunny sacks out if the closet, it's the smell of.....adventure and freedom. I can recall that same smell when I was a pup going through my grandpa's camping/hunting stuff that was stored in grandma's basement, as my grandpa passed away while ma was pregnant with me. The NEED for the outdoors skipped Mom's generation in the family, my dad left when I was very young, so I got raised by the women. I didn't get to meet my grandpa, but the stories made me want to romp outdoors, and I couldn't hardly be dragged indoors. Every time I smell that distinct "camping equiptment" smell, I feel a connection with the grandpa I never got to meet, but wants me to take his rifle and spend some time in the trees. My dog knows the scent and goes bananas when I pull out those gunny sacks.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

doingitmyself said:


> Did you guys know they make air fresheners with the Hoppes #9 cleaner smell, honest they really do.
> 
> Yes, smells take me away. I enjoy a light smelling woman's perfume on my extra pillow. :bouncy:


Ya' know (and I cannot confirm), I read a while back that when the formula for Hoppes #9 got changed, so many Hoppes fans complained over the difference in smell that they changed the formula again to bring back the aroma. :buds:


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Hoppes #9 should be on the 'natural aphrodisiac' list along with chocolate......


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Good one Nick. Yes, I remember the sweet smell of just raked alfalfa. I found a load of it at the sale I go to, and sacked a sack ful of the loose stuff and brought it in the house. Wasn't long I had gotten used to it, but I started having allergys and had to give it to the chickens.

Burnt oil. Reminds me of Steam thrashing shows.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

When Poison came out, it was a while before I figure out that there had not been a huge increase in people with roach problems at home. lol It's true. I couldn't believe women actually wanted to smell like that. I have fond memories of Charley 
Skunks remind me of summer nights in WV and sleeping with the window open. Same thing for Honeysuckle and SC.
Two cycle fumes=outboard motors and the river/swamp.
Hickory smoke = pig pick'ns.
Burned bread reminds me of my second wife. HAHAHA! She was a great cook, but could burn the bread better than anyone I ever knew. 
Cinnamon = sweet potato pie


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

^^^ And burnt gun powder^^^:dance:


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## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

The smell of fresh laundry dried in the sun always reminds me of my Granny. I used to bury my face in those white cotton sheets when we take them in from the line and she'd laugh at me. I loved to hear her laugh.


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Good post Calli!!!


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## kentuckyhippie (May 29, 2004)

fresh cut clover hay and I'm instantly back at the beef cattle farm in Illinois that I accidentally got a job at and stayed for years.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

I love this topic.

Mine is the smell of leather and sweaty horses. Since I have never gotten over my love of horses. I still love the smell on a hot summer day. I rarely ride my mule but just love to put my arms round her neck and feel her velvet nose. 

I am also love the smell of one air freshner by Glade. It is apple and cinnamon cider and they only sell it at Christmas. After Christmas I scored on 50 percent off. Not the spray stuff this is for the plug in warmers


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Yup, The smell of horses and leather bring back good times also JJ. BUT Its been so long since I got anywhere the 2 that I had forgot about it.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Horse smell takes me back to my first pony when I was 5, sitting in the barn just watching him be a pony, the scent of the hay and horse poop and all that together.

Calf starter mix - I just love that smell for some reason and it brings me back to my uncle's dairy barn, feeding the calves in the calf pen, milking cows, spent many a wonderful day in that barn growing up

Aluminum paint, not sure what it is called, but you used to paint aluminum roofs with it. When I smell that, Im right back at 4 years old, my mom is up on a ladder painting the garage roof with that, and she fell off the ladder, right in front of my brother and I. Got stitches on the back of her head, she was lucky. But its a certain type of paint, you rarely smell any of it anymore

Palmolive soap - my grandma, being squashed into her chest when she hugged me, her laugh, her smile. I miss her a lot

Mimeograph ink, I wish I could smell that again lol There were probably hallucinogenics in it or something, but I dont think Ive ever met anyone that didnt like that scent!


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## RubyRed (Sep 24, 2011)

Awesome thread Swampman!

So many thoughts and memories come from certain scents. I love to hear how your friend, Redearth touched your life so much...

Scents that trigger memories are;

Gunpowder - I love to shoot guns, started at a very young age with my dad. My hands literally sweat when I smell this, along with Hoppes. 

Leather - Saddles, saddle bags, reins, anything to do with a horse!!

Horse sweat - Same as above...

Those three are aphrodisiacs, to me. 

A certain musty smell brings back an incredibly challenging, but a wonderful time in my life. An earthy smell is like arms wrapping around me, protecting me. 

I think all of us associate smell with events, subconsciously.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

Shygal said:


> Horse smell takes me back to my first pony when I was 5, sitting in the barn just watching him be a pony, the scent of the hay and horse poop and all that together.
> 
> Calf starter mix - I just love that smell for some reason and it brings me back to my uncle's dairy barn, feeding the calves in the calf pen, milking cows, spent many a wonderful day in that barn growing up
> 
> ...


That roof paint is aluma-kote or cool-seal, and yep, by the time you're done stirring five gallons of it, it makes for a memory. if you still have one, that is.

Mimeoghraph....is that the purple ink-shooter that we used to call the "ditto machine"?


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Mown and raked alfalfa hay. I love the smell. I was at the sale I go to and saw a load of it in square bales. I scraped a couple handfuls in my handkerchief and brought it home and put it in the house. After a week I started having allergys and gave it to the chickens.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Ditto machine, yup mimeograph, who doesn't think of high school and sniffing those freshly minted pages? LOL

Coffee and cigarettes always reminds me of my late brother. Boy was a coffee-chugging, chain-smoking fool. God I miss him. 

Decaying leaves and pine takes me back to those mountain rides on the horse. 

Now here's an interesting theory....do these smells only bring back memories of people or times that we miss? Hmmmm. Gonna be thinking on this a while. Thanks Swampie.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

swamp man said:


> That roof paint is aluma-kote or cool-seal, and yep, by the time you're done stirring five gallons of it, it makes for a memory. if you still have one, that is.
> 
> Mimeoghraph....is that the purple ink-shooter that we used to call the "ditto machine"?


LOL maybe thats why she fell off the roof! :cowboy:


and yeah, ditto machine is the same thing


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

Oh the smell of a Sun warmed horse brings back childhood memories. Also elm trees in the spring takes me back to long walks In and along creek banks exploring my world. 

I think I have a nose for pot. 70's child. LOL I can smell in cars going by etc. Sometimes holding my feet back takes some effort.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

doingitmyself said:


> Good post Calli!!!


Why thank you very much! I know I always go on too long, but that's just me, always been a blabbermouth, lol. I also never meet a stranger.  I'm loving everyone's posts! (except for the butt one LA posted, ha!) Peeuuuwww!

Echoes, you talking about pot reminded me...there's a spot on the two-lane highway I pass when going from my little town to the next, slightly bigger town over. Sometimes when I pass by this hollow there will be just a cloud of smoke hanging over the highway that you could get a contact high from (and I have on occasion!). 

It reminds me of Woodstock too, and I always wonder just how many people are smoking or how much they're smoking in that hollow, lol! I'm amazed they don't get busted because the local cops and the county sheriffs patrol through there constantly. Or maybe they just drop in for a "visit" and hang out a while, ROFL!


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

The scent of Magnolias and Nightblooming Jasmine flowers remind me of my childhood in New Orleans.

The scent of the swamps remind me of my preteen and teen years, and of all the fun me and my daddy and brother had... 

The scent of cafe au lait and beignets on Sundays, and Red Beans and Rice on Mondays makes me homesick and almost too weak-kneed to stand properly.

The scent of an honest-to-goodness crawfish boil and beer makes me wanna cry happy tears.

The scent of the Mississippi River at night...aww man... (Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?) I looked for a YouTube of that song, and found this. 

I am a transplanted (long way from home) and very homesick seventh-generation New Orleanian/ old swamp girl. Seeing and hearing this video brought back many fine memories (I have set foot in every place in the vid, except for two). Now I am blubbering like a fool...


[YOUTUBE]Jhc1tAGUqJ8[/YOUTUBE]


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

The smells of my old haunts cannot be described properly in the English language, but here's what it looks like. (Imagine what THAT smells like, lol)

[YOUTUBE]vKH9JEdZREc[/YOUTUBE]


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I know it and can hear the gar rolling and the blue herons croaking.

One night when while in the service, living far from home in Utah, I passed some honeysuckle growing in someone's yard and smelled them in passing. I back tracked till I found them and slept there for the night.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

My all time favorite smell is when my husband comes home after a couple of days hunting. Unshaven and unshowered....delicious!


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

CajunSunshine said:


> The scent of Magnolias and Nightblooming Jasmine flowers remind me of my childhood in New Orleans.
> 
> The scent of the swamps remind me of my preteen and teen years, and of all the fun me and my daddy and brother had...
> 
> ...


 Gosh, that makes me Miss home. New Orleans is pure magic, and anyone who ain't spent time there hasn't tasted all of America yet. I am reminded of so many nights on bourbon st. when I get lazy and boil a hot dog....I could smell a "lucky dog" cart a mile away, and the " 'gator on a stick" in Jackson Square all the way from Mississippi.
A coupla' Lucky Dogs and a hand grenade or two would sure hit the spot right now.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

The aroma of strawberry often remind me of the old rock crusher quarry swimming hole we all hanged out at decades ago.


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## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

And the smell of reed wax reminds me of chilly fall nights, football games and wearing some boy's jacket.....


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

shanzone2001 said:


> My all time favorite smell is when my husband comes home after a couple of days hunting. Unshaven and unshowered....delicious!


 Good one Shan...a REAL hunter may show up a little worse for wear, but with something that feeds the family...and, I'll let you in on a "man secret"...hunting is way more fun than shaving.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

It is definitely better when he brings home some meat!


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

The hay smell and the smell of the saw dust from a fresh cut log are some of my favorites. I also like the dirt/oil smell of an old garage. Some of the oil from the wells around here smells like that.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

We had a cabin at Kentucky Lake when I was kid. It would get a musty smell to it from being closed up for the winter. Anytime I smell a closed up musty smell I think of the cabin. Good times there.


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## sustainabilly (Jun 20, 2012)

Sometimes, for me it works the opposite, too. Thinking of times past will often make me swear I smell a certain scent. It's like that with the first girl I ever loved. Thinking of her makes me smell lemon scented perfume. I catch myself looking around for the source, sometimes. And, smelling lemon perfume always makes me think of her.

Breakfast smells. Coming downstairs into my Great Aunt Emma's kitchen early in the morning. We stayed at her farm in IN, during family reunions. 

Hay. Belly crawling to the edge of a huge pile of bales in the loft to look down at the mean bull they warned us to stay away from. And, my cousins' dairy barn in WI. The cows filing in to take their usual spots. The calves and heifers in their stalls munching their feed. And, a girl I met one summer while visiting there. See, I got a Dear John letter from my girl back home, but she and the hayloft helped me to forget all about it.

Baby wipes. I keep them in a pack and use them to clean my hands after field dressing my kills when I hunt. They always remind me of my baptism into fatherhood. You've got to learn to duck quickly with the boy babies.

Engine oil. My '71 Chevelle. First car I ever tore the engine down in.

Tequila. A very memorable weekend in the Poconos during the late '70's. Scotch. Drinking it neat or only with water all night long and proving the theory that "You won't get a hangover". Morning breath that would make a wino proud, but no hangover.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

a few things I can think of; pipe tobacco- my dad.
my gramma owned a farm in early 60s. She loved her animals, worked hard, was illiterate, (could read the seed packets) but churned butter, kept bees, all sorts of stuff---certain aroma always reminded me of her. Could never identify it until the first time ever I had chickens in my first home (well, the barn) in Virginia....yep, Gramma would walk all through the henhouse and come inside her farmhouse with chicken poop on her shoes. First night I had chickens, I said 'Gramma!'.....chicken poop/grandma.
The last scent was the smell on the pillow of my husband. I kept it beside me in bed for a long time. A few months later, cleaning out some chest of drawers, gave a couple of his old Army t-shirts to my oldest dd. The first thing she did was bury her face in the shirt, trying to re- capture her dad.


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## swamp man (Dec 25, 2005)

tambo said:


> We had a cabin at Kentucky Lake when I was kid. It would get a musty smell to it from being closed up for the winter. Anytime I smell a closed up musty smell I think of the cabin. Good times there.


 ironic that you brought that one up! My family has a cabin on Douglas lake, forty miles or so east of Knoxville. I totally remember the smell of the cabin being opened up and aired out for the spring.


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

Coffee brewin', bacon fryin' and the smell of Winston cigarette smoke reminds me of Saturday mornings when I was a kid. Mom would be cookin' breakfast, while Dad enjoyed coffee and a cigarette and they talked about whatever.


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## SimplerTimez (Jan 20, 2008)

Coffee on an open fire with beef bacon frying - reminds me of camping from when I was a kid.

There is a certain building here in FL that we spent a lot of time in for concerts and such, that I'm pretty sure I could identify blindfolded, by scent alone. Couldn't tell you the scent though.

Banana pudding cooking from scratch, reminds me of my late Grandmother.

Chanel # 5, the scent my mom always wore before she went on stage, reminds me of her even though she doesn't wear it anymore. 

Baby oil or coconut - remind me of my misspent youth on the beaches.

Fresh cut hay, fresh cut wood, wood smoke and old leather smell - oy vey. Not sure where those 'woo-woo' scents originate in my brain, but mercy mercy, rock my world. 

As to Tommyice's question - scents solidify memories, make them concrete by association. Scent connects to portions of the brain that trigger/associate memories. It is a fascinating topic, as one who loves neurology 

~ST


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

Sherry's post of his husband's pillow reminded me of a flannel shirt I kept of a man I had know 5 years and he passed away. I kept that shirt in my closet for over 2 years and whenever the memories came back I would bury my nose in that shirt and let the tears flow.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

shanzone2001 said:


> It is definitely better when he brings home some meat!



I'm totally surprised and disappointed in people here that they didn't pick up this post and run with it :cowboy:


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## L.A. (Nov 15, 2007)

Hard to run,,,,when your pack'n meat,,,,


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

SimplerTimez said:


> Not sure where those 'woo-woo' scents originate in my brain, but mercy mercy, rock my world.


I just had to say, I loved this line, lol! I know that feeling very well! 

Shy, you've been coming up with some real corkers lately, ROFL! 

LA, I'm just ignoring you, ha! 

I don't want to derail a great thread, but will say that there are bad smell associations too. Winston cigarette smoke and Canadian Mist whiskey remind me of my abusive mother and her too-friendly boyfriends. 

Back on topic, there used to be this big old Victorian style house where all the hippies used to hang out. There must have been at least 20 people living there at any given time, and it was nothing for there to be 50 or more on weekends. 

There was always sandalwood and jasmine incense burning (along with patchouli and other more "recreational" scents of course, lol). The place was painted with psychadelic colors of every design on the walls, floors and ceiling, black lights and posters everywhere, beaded curtains, paper lanterns and of course all kinds of groovy music. The smell of either sandalwood or jasmine bring me right back to that place and all the great times I had there.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

Shygal said:


> I'm totally surprised and disappointed in people here that they didn't pick up this post and run with it :cowboy:


Perhaps FBB has gotten tire of getting spanked.

I myself never even thought of anything else regarding that post cough cough


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Hey, l tried!!! lol


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

*Turpentine* â Never fails to remind me of when I was a little kid, perched on my Dadâs lap and watching avidly while he cut and polished opals and other stones in his miniscule work room. He had packed a ton of equipment and stones into this tiny space in our basement â and it seemed tiny, even to a 5-year old! On weekends, he would indulge his passion of stonecutting with me always up on one knee, trying to learn everything I could. I must have driven him crazy with all my questions and (Iâm sure) non-stop squirming, but he never complained. It was very special time with him. He is an incredibly accomplished jeweler, still cuts his own stones and designs his own settings at age 82.

*Freshly-harvested wheat* â Involuntarily transports me to a time spent playing on mountains of harvested wheat at my Motherâs family farm up in Montana. Wheat was stored for months, sometimes years, until prices were good, so there were always several huge quonset huts full. We kids could amuse ourselves all day messing with that stuff. I remember the dead crickets that were always mixed in, too.

*Fried scones* â Takes me instantly back to ice skating at the local rink. My mother, having grown up in Montana, was quite a good skater. She took us regularly starting when we were very young. I always loved it. After we had skated until our legs turned to cooked macaroni, weâd clomp on our skates over to the little food stand for hot chocolate and a fried scone with honey â which you had to smell cooking the whole time you were skating, because they sold a lot of them. Torture! Always the perfect ending to a skating outing. Smelling them also reminds me of the song, Hey, Jude, because the skating rink seemed to play it endlessly. 

*Sun-warmed skin or open fresh water* â Always makes me think of water skiing during my middle/late teens. I did a lot of it, some of the most memorable fun times of my life. What summers those were!


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

elkhound said:


> smell and sounds makes me see all kinds of memories in my minds eye.
> 
> pine needles takes me 100's of places....mainly the PNW
> 
> ...


wet fallen alder leaves, spring nettles, fresh split cedar, doug fir pitch, kelp whips, glacier milk, bar oil, two weeks' worth wood smoke in yer hair


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

wyld thang said:


> wet fallen alder leaves, spring nettles, fresh split cedar, doug fir pitch, kelp whips, glacier milk, bar oil, two weeks' worth wood smoke in yer hair



i love it when you talk dirty to me....pure erotica....if its alder smoke you get a bonus.i know exactly how you smell....lol....delicious....woods wench says i...!!!!


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## gilpnh1 (Nov 11, 2013)

The smell of a blacktop road after a fresh spring rain reminds me of a wonderful summer trip up Palomar Mountain as a kid

Getting in an elevator after a little old lady that has been wearing Emeraude. I just want to follow her because she smells like my late grandma.

Puppy Chow--we bred, raised, showed Dobermans in SoCal when I was a kid. My job was to feed, then bathe the puppies after they ate, including leaving school at lunch time to walk home and do it. Puppy Chow in particular makes me giggle when I smell it.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Love's Baby Soft: first day of school way back in the 80's


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Shygal said:


> I'm totally surprised and disappointed in people here that they didn't pick up this post and run with it :cowboy:


It took every thing that have. Thanks.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> Love's Baby Soft: first day of school way back in the 80's


I remember this! I wore it in junior high for a little while. 

Also Heaven Scent perfume, which I think was made by the same manufacturer. It had kind of a heart shaped pale blue bottle with angel wings on the lid. The commercial for it had Donovan singing "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", lol. I wore that for a while when I was about 20. 

I worked as a courier driver, and one day just before getting back to the "shop" I dropped the bottle in the car and it spilled everywhere. That car reeked of the stuff, and another (male) driver was due to take it as soon as I got in. I was so embarrassed and apologized to him when he got the keys from me. He just smiled shyly (he was a very quiet guy but very nice looking) and said "Don't apologize, I love the days when I get your car after you"! One of my favorite memories.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

here's another thing that I remembered- (sometimes, though, it is sounds that bring back memories.)
The smell of shoe polish- in the barracks, everyone getting ready for inspection, or work. 
The smell of shoe polish that had been set on fire; because they LOVED the way the boot took the hot polish......(they thought spit shine was too laborious)


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## Laura (May 10, 2002)

I told a man I liked the smell of cedar sawdust, chainsaw gas and bar oil, he didn't need to shower and change before going out in the woods with me. Whoops, no Old Spice------Funky!


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