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Old smells, that immeditately transport you back in time?

Peacoat

*
Bartender
Messages
6,463
Location
South of Nashville
The smell of burning jet fuel (JP-4) transports me to a time long ago and a land far away. Many pleasant memories, and some not so pleasant. But it is all part of my past.

De Oppresso Liber.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
The smell of burning jet fuel (JP-4) transports me to a time long ago and a land far away. Many pleasant memories, and some not so pleasant. But it is all part of my past.

De Oppresso Liber.

Cotton candy takes me back to carnival times as a kid.
Popcorn to Saturday movie matinees.
Gardenias transports me to my grandmother’s garden when I was four.
Jet fuel reminds me of B-52 bombers @ Guam in ’69.
And “Old Spice” I think of my father.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
I hear ya, for my dad it was Skin Bracer by Mennon (can't you hear the tag line, "By Mennon!"). He said he used it his entire adult life. You had to get close to him, but if you did, you'd pick up a faint whiff of it.

My uncle used Vitalis tonic.
A very distinct odor! I
1950-60s-vitalis-barber-bottle-hair-tonic_1_81890e17d13ff2530989654025172568.jpg
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,763
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
The vinegar scent of decomposing acetate film takes me back to a projection booth I used to work in, where they disposed of old trailers by stuffing them into holes in the walls. God only knows what kind of chemical horrors were going on in there.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
the smell of old military surplus reminds me of the old school Army Navy Surplus stores, the smell of old canvas, web gear, tents, packs, ponchos, old worn combat boots, surplus rifles / bayonets soaked in cosmoline preservative

You reminded me of the time when my cousin dressed in military
green fatigues & preparing to go active duty during the
Korean conflict.

I remember him packing his olive-drab Army duffel bag.
At the time he was in the reserves prior to going active.

In my teen years I would visit the Army & Navy Surplus stores.
The whole place reeked of military. I loved it.
The used military leather jackets were very affordable.
One of my favorite items were the olive drab canvas tennis shoes.
Canvas.jpg
Old and worn-out but very comfortable.
I love the look of olive-drab canvas.
Would wear them all the time in the summer
until they fell apart.
At two dollars a pair I would buy several.
 
Last edited:

green papaya

One Too Many
Messages
1,261
Location
California, usa
You reminded me of the time when my cousin dressed in military
green fatigues & preparing to go active duty during the
Korean conflict.

I remember him packing his olive-drab Army duffel bag.
At the time he was in the reserves prior to going active.

In my teen years I would visit the Army & Navy Surplus stores.
The whole place reeked of military. I loved it.
The used military leather jackets were very affordable.
One of my favorite items were the olive drab canvas tennis shoes.
View attachment 136635
Old and worn-out but very comfortable.
I love the look of olive-drab canvas.
Would wear them all the time in the summer
until they fell apart.
At two dollars a pair I would buy several.

I think those are USN UDT Corral Shoes? they would wear divers fins over these, and when they needed to go ashore they wore these green tennis shoe style shoes to walk on corral, rocks, sandy beaches.
 

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green papaya

One Too Many
Messages
1,261
Location
California, usa
the smell of the restroom back in elementary school, the soap dispenser had some type of powdered soap kind of looked like AJAX, and urinal had a "white hocky puck" type air freshener that kind of smelled like moth balls.
 

Old Mariner

One of the Regulars
Messages
260
Vanilla
Lilac
Rose
Honeysuckle

A somewhat musty smell from old buildings. My apartment is in an old building, and the hallway has had two drop ceilings put in, then another modern drop ceiling. When I have the windows open, the ceiling tiles get pushed aside due to the air current being strong enough. From the opening comes a scent that is musty, but not in a horrible way. (Usually antique shops have this smell.) It always reminds me of such places.
 

SteveFord

A-List Customer
Messages
481
90 weight hypoid gear oil is the one for me.
Norton Commando, Triumph Bonneville, Moto Guzzi LeMans - memories.
 

Bugguy

Practically Family
Messages
570
Location
Nashville, TN
Formaldehyde... dissecting the dogfish in high school biology.

Gin... propped between the storm door and the front door by fraternity brothers before they rang the bell at my parents house.

7 Mile Fair south of Milwaukee... reminded me of one bad night in Tijuana.
 

The1940sHousewife

New in Town
Messages
22
Location
Michigan
My grandma used to soak her dentures in Listerine the original yellow formula. So she would always smell like original Listerine. I use it today to remind me of her.
 

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