Old Smells that Make Your Nose Wrinkle

[tonyb]

The smell of a mixture of burning diesel oil and human waste. At a boy scout camp in the late 1960s, a daily chore was to pull the two halved oil drums full of ordure out of the plywood seat box, douse them with diesel oil, light the mixture, and stand there stirring it with a long stick until it was burned up. You then went and jumped in the lake wearing the clothes you had on.

Sounds disgusting. And I like to think I'm not easily disgusted.

 

[tonyb]

I know of no odor emanating from a living human to rival that of a heavy case of "jock itch" (aka "crotch rot"). You don't know how foul a person can smell until you've been in close proximity to a man afflicted with that fungal condition who has neither bathed nor changed clothes in several days.

 

[2jakes]

I can tolerate and at times am attracted
to the natural scent from women only.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"TELLING BORO WOMEN THEY NEED BATH LANDS JERSEYITE IN COURT

His advice to women on a trolley at Nassau and Metropolitan Aves. last night that they should take baths resulted in Roy Wells, 36, of 114 Ogden Street, Jersey City, being arraigned in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court on a disorderly conduct charge.

Wells, arrested by patrolman William Schafrick of the Ralph Ave. station, who said the defendant called him vile names, pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting that he had had a few drinks.

'You can't come over here from Jersey and talk to our women and policemen that way,' warned Magistrate Mason in sentencing Wells to ten days in jail."

-- Brooklyn Eagle, 4/22/1944.

 

[tonyb]

I can tolerate and at times am attracted
to the natural scent from women only.

Kinda brings out the caveman in me, too.

 

[HadleyH1]

Vintage suggestions when all else fails.

 

[ChiTownScion]

"TELLING BORO WOMEN THEY NEED BATH LANDS JERSEYITE IN COURT

His advice to women on a trolley at Nassau and Metropolitan Aves. last night that they should take baths resulted in Roy Wells, 36, of 114 Ogden Street, Jersey City, being arraigned in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court on a disorderly conduct charge.

Wells, arrested by patrolman William Schafrick of the Ralph Ave. station, who said the defendant called him vile names, pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting that he had had a few drinks.

'You can't come over here from Jersey and talk to our women and policemen that way,' warned Magistrate Mason in sentencing Wells to ten days in jail."

-- Brooklyn Eagle, 4/22/1944.

Never enter a plea of guilty unless you have an agreed to disposition with the prosecutor, and a judge who will go along with a reasonable agreement.

And ten days on a simple disorderly? In my state, a cop's "peace" cannot be breached. And as to those Brooklyn women.... if they came to court smelling as sweet as the rose collection at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, conducting the cross examination regarding their bathing habits ( before court and on the date in question) would be more fun than an afternoon at Coney riding the Cyclone. I could put 12 in the box, lose, and still do better than ten days. (Well, after thirty years as a public defender, I would sure hope so!)

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I can vouch for that!
View attachment 91165

He's on to me!

 

[green papaya]

the smell of getting sprayed by a skunk at close range, I was walking my dog at night near some tall grass and my dog pulls towards something in the grass and he gets a direct hit right under his chin / muzzle area with me right behind him holding the leash.

as I was walking back to my car I passed a local bar and some people just came out , you should have seen their reaction from the skunk smell, they gagged and ran to their cars and started the engines and took off as fast as they could to get away

it took at least two weeks for the smell to go away and it never really went away, you could still smell it , it was so strong it got into my nose , throat, I could taste it, it was awful!

I have been sprayed by skunks numerous times, one time I didnt realize the smell was still on me and went into a restaurant to order the special of the day and they could smell the skunks odor and they said "SORRY WE ARE SOLD OUT" and it was still during lunch hour.

 

[2jakes]

the smell of getting sprayed by a skunk at close range, I was walking my dog at night near some tall grass and my dog pulls towards something in the grass and he gets a direct hit right under his chin / muzzle area with me right behind him holding the leash.

as I was walking back to my car I passed a local bar and some people just came out , you should have seen their reaction from the skunk smell, they gagged and ran to their cars and started the engines and took off as fast as they could to get away

it took at least two weeks for the smell to go away and it never really went away, you could still smell it , it was so strong it got into my nose , throat, I could taste it, it was awful!

I have been sprayed by skunks numerous times, one time I didnt realize the smell was still on me and went into a restaurant to order the special of the day and they could smell the skunks odor and they said "SORRY WE ARE SOLD OUT" and it was still during lunch hour.

I remember the smell of dead skunk on the roads when the family traveled
out of town when there was no freeways.

The trip consisted of driving mostly along a two lane highway, stopping at
a favorite local diner or Dairy Queen.
Mostly ma would fix baloney or cheese sandwiches at home.
When my dad bought soda water, it was Hippo size soda water.

Hippo drink came in a huge glass soda bottles with various flavors and colors
which we would share.
I wasn’t that fond of the sweet colored water, but did not complain,
it was better than nothing.

I recall ma using empty Hippo bottles, adding milk, attaching a rubber
pacifier and feeding my baby sister when we went to the movies downtown.

The McDonalds, Wendy’s and other chain food stops were not available.
I enjoyed reading the Burma Shave signs along the roads but had to b
careful.

Looking out the side window for a long spell, I would get carsick.
I had to face front in the direction the car was heading.
My sister had no problem. She could fall asleep in the rear window
space area.
Anyone remembers when vehicles had rear window compartment?

 

[TimeWarpWife]

My dad had a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda, similar to the one in the photo, and I always rode in the back when we went on trips. I don't think it's what 2jakes was referring to, but I have fond memories of getting warmed by the sun and falling asleep when I'd ride back there. It was also the car I drove for the driving test to get my license in 1977.

 

[2jakes]

View attachment 91342 My dad had 1965 Plymouth Barracuda and I rode in the back of the car. I'd always climb back there when we'd go on trips and I'd get warm and sleepy with the sun shining through the back glass and I'd usually nap until we got to our destination. The photo isn't my dad's car just using it for a reference. I wasn't sure if this is the rear window compartment 2jakes was referring to.

That’s the type of rear window compartment I was talking about.

By age six, I was too tall to fit up there.

How the heck were you able not to get carsick ?
Even the exhaust of fumes from those cars made me sick.
I was a lousy traveler, But I never complained.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The inside of a Halloween bag.

Wet corduroy.

Eraser shavings.

Dead mouse in a damp cellar.

Cruciferous vegetables boiling in a closed kitchen.

Congealed soda syrup.

A shorted power transformer.

The inside of a pencil cup.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Lizzie, you have a gift.
I can definitely close my eyes and relive your numbers 1 and 3 and also the final two. Takes me back to about age ten. Regarding the power transformer, I can also smell the hot cars of my big brother’s model railroad after he has been running it in the den for hours.

 

[2jakes]

The seafood restaurant dumpster at the coast.

The trunk of my dad’s Buick Skylark that had a can of seashells, starfish and stuff from the beach which I had collected but forgot.

Gas station restroom toilets which had not been flushed.

Urine on the floor and cigarrette butts inside the urinals.

The stench of vomit, beer, cigarrette smoke, sweat & urine at saloons when
I was a kid.
I worked on weekends when I was going
to school.
My job consisted of separating and collecting the empty bottles and placing them in wood crates. It was in the
mornings when the bars were closed.

I don’t recall ever being in a bar later
in life, except when I have to do a press conference for an upcoming boxing event that are held in casinos or saloons
sometimes.

 

[green papaya]

the smell of cow pastures in the evening, the air is thick with the smell or urine, moist cow patties, manure and the stench of cattle swarming with flies.

If you ever lived near a dairy farm or cattle ranch you cant miss it, the smell is in the air

the smell of rotting fish on the river banks , the same stuff a dog loves to roll around in for the scent

 

[2jakes]

the smell of cow pastures in the evening, the air is thick with the smell or urine, moist cow patties, manure and the stench of cattle swarming with flies.

If you ever lived near a dairy farm or cattle ranch you cant miss it, the smell is in the air

the smell of rotting fish on the river banks , the same stuff a dog loves to roll around in for the scent

When I ride my bicycle by the sandlot and back alleys in the neighborhood, some of those smells take me
back to my time I spent with my grandmother. There was an arroyo nearby.

Call me weird, but I miss some of those odors from my youth!

 

[green papaya]

When I ride my bicycle by the sandlot and back alleys in the neighborhood, some of those smells take me

back to my time I spent with my grandmother. There was an arroyo nearby.

Call me weird, but I miss some of those odors from my youth!

sometimes old smells can bring back pleasant memories of your childhood, like going back home.

 

[ChrisB]

The smell of exhaust from a rusted VW heater box. This could also be had in a Corvair, my father owned one that we called the “stinkmobile”.

The sickly-sweet smell from the NECCO factory in Cambridge MA.

Both gone but not forgotten.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Vintage suggestions when all else fails.