Please help me with smells

Jan74 · Oct 16, 2017

Roxxsmom said:
You're right. I think they treat the wood on the railroad ties with the stuff.

I've never found the ocean out here stinky. It smells salty, fresh and invigorating to me. Though it can smell fishy or have that mudflat stink in bays or estuaries, especially when the tide is low. It may be a function of where your husband smelled it, or maybe you and he perceive these smells differently. I've never been to Florida, so I can't say if I think the ocean smells different there. The water is warmer, so it may well have a different aroma. We do have a lot of kelp on our beaches out here, and it has a sort of iodine smell. It can get stronger if it's been sitting out for a while during low tide. I grew up in a town by the coast, though, and I never realize how much I miss the smell of the ocean until I visit the coast.

Good to know thanks! I assumed it was more where he was on the island, I couldn't see all those people in California flocking to the beach if it stunk

My best friends mother loves the smell of skunk...go figure! yuck! Oh and bears....they stink....really bad.....like garbage and god knows what else, but black bears are gross smelling.

cornflake · Oct 16, 2017

Have also been on west coast beaches (Vancouver and California) and they smell lovely and salty and beachy, just like the east coast beaches -- though I've never been to Florida.

I like the smell of skunk, just not super, super strong.

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 16, 2017

sunandshadow said:
I also love the smell of roses. It's generally agreed on that roses, or at least most types of roses, smell similar to citrus fruits (especially lemon)whuh...? no, they smell of roses - turkish delight and perfume and grandmas potpourri and handcream.... Earl Grey tea also smells similar, though more like oranges than lemons. This smell most likely comes from citric acid. eh? earl grey smells like bergamot - a piquant, herbal aroma. It only smells of lemons if you put lemon in it

Honeysuckle is named that because it smells like honey. Green tea and sweet bean paste (the asian kind) also smell similar to honey. dunno about bean paste, but green tea smells like match heads just after they've been struck.

Cabbage juice and vinegar smell similar, probably due to having a similar type of acid in both. Vinegar is acetic acid, though I dunno about cabbage. i like vinegar on cabbage

Caramel and butterscotch are similar smelling, though butterscotch is a bit sharper. butterscotch is more... buttery

Caraway and fennel are similar smelling and tasting to the point that people regularly substitute one for the other.

Horses tend to smell like hay, buy that's because they eat hay and also have straw bedding. Hay and straw (e.g. in straw hats) also smell similar to beeswax, as used in candles and wax sculpture beeswax smells like honey, not straw! straw smells like the top of my bunnies' heads . Other types of wax don't smell like this; they have very little smell unless they are scented candles.

Feet smell like popcorn, except not as tasty. Now I know you're crazy

Jan74 said:
So reading this thread brought back a few funny memories for me.

When I was 18 I was doing a co-op placement(for school credit) with the O.P.P in the I-Unit(identification unit). I went to an autopsy with the officer and it is a very unique smell that I will never ever forget. The woman had died of old age and but it really really stunk. It smelled like burning hair and flesh. Anyways....after the autopsy it was lunch time and I went home(lived with my boyfriend) he made me clam chowder and grilled cheese. I couldn't eat it....in fact I lost my appetite for a few days....that smell took forever for me to numb it.

Interesting... I have a scene in my novel where the character visits an embalming house (it's set in ancient Egypt) and he says he can't get the smell out of his hair or his nostrils for days. Glad I wasn't over exaggerating! He doesn't have an appetite that night, but I didn't expicitly link the two. I can imagine that smell would definitely put you off food though, gross. I don't know how anyone could work in that environment. I'd be retching my guts up.

Jan74 said:
Oh and bears....they stink....really bad.....like garbage and god knows what else, but black bears are gross smelling.

Awww, I never would have thought bears stink! They look so adorable! I guess the same goes for raccoons, as they rummage round in dustbins. The equivalent urban pest over here is the fox - and they really do hum. When I lived in Bearwood (ironic!) they used to roam the streets like gangs, and as my house was a Victoria terrace my window was very close to the road - I couldn't leave my bedroom window open because the stink when they gathered in the street used to wake me up! It's like the smell of a split rubbish bag full of rotting flesh smothered in shit. Horrible beasts.

AW Admin · Oct 16, 2017

Jan74 said:
Good to know thanks! I assumed it was more where he was on the island, I couldn't see all those people in California flocking to the beach if it stunk ng.

He was likely there when there'd been a massive fish kill/die off. That happens all over the world.

cornflake · Oct 16, 2017

I've not been that close to a bear, but a friend of mine went out with a scientist one winter and went in an actual den (they didn't disturb the bears, they were counting or something science-y all proper and to not harm or disturb or leave human traces) and said bears are seriously stinky.

Marissa D · Oct 16, 2017

Bergamot used to flavor Earl Grey tea is a type of orange. I overdosed on Earl Grey during an all-nighter back in college, and decades later I still can't drink it.

indianroads · Oct 16, 2017

Marissa D said:
Bergamot used to flavor Earl Grey tea is a type of orange. I overdosed on Earl Grey during an all-nighter back in college, and decades later I still can't drink it.

I did that with Red Mountain Burgundy... but that's another story.

Different people have a different experience with scents/smells. For example, my wife loves Bath and Body Works stores and I can't even stand being in one. When were at the mall and she goes in, I wait outside. To me, it's like someone shoved a stick of incense up my nose and lit it.

Roxxsmom · Oct 16, 2017

indianroads said:
I did that with Red Mountain Burgundy... but that's another story.

Different people have a different experience with scents/smells. For example, my wife loves Bath and Body Works stores and I can't even stand being in one. When were at the mall and she goes in, I wait outside. To me, it's like someone shoved a stick of incense up my nose and lit it.

I find those places pretty overwhelming too. And I have to give the perfume counters in department stores a wide berth.

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 16, 2017

Marissa D said:
Bergamot used to flavor Earl Grey tea is a type of orange. I overdosed on Earl Grey during an all-nighter back in college, and decades later I still can't drink it.

It is??

Mind. Blown.

I always thought bergamot was a type of herb, something akin to bayleaves or basil perhaps.

Excuse me, I gotta go smoke a whole load of bayleaves...

Marissa D · Oct 16, 2017

There is a bergamot that's a member of the mint family, but the bergamot in Earl Grey is the citrus fruit. So you're not totally off. Might want to hold off on the bay leaves...

jjdebenedictis · Oct 16, 2017

One thing that's interesting in my family is that some of the women can't smell skunk. At all. As in, everyone else can be gagging because Pepe le Pew is wandering by the window, and they're going, "So...what does it smell like, anyway?" (And how do you answer that question? It smells a bit like burning tires, but mostly like skunk.)

It seems prone to skipping a generation. My sister and I can both smell skunk; my mom and her sister can't. Also, it can go through the male line, because one of my grandfather's sisters also couldn't smell skunk. As far as I know, all the skunk-immune ladies have a pretty normal sense of smell otherwise.

Tazlima · Oct 16, 2017

jjdebenedictis said:
One thing that's interesting in my family is that some of the women can't smell skunk. At all. As in, everyone else can be gagging because Pepe le Pew is wandering by the window, and they're going, "So...what does it smell like, anyway?" (And how do you answer that question? It smells a bit like burning tires, but mostly like skunk.)

It seems prone to skipping a generation. My sister and I can both smell skunk; my mom and her sister can't. Also, it can go through the male line, because one of my grandfather's sisters also couldn't smell skunk. As far as I know, all the skunk-immune ladies have a pretty normal sense of smell otherwise.

Javalina smell like skunk. Same exact scent, but not quite as strong.

Cinnamon · Oct 16, 2017

Thank you thank you thank you. This whole thread is like a smell thesaurus for someone like me. It's amazing, and all of those specific, unique perceptions of smell are especially great. I knew this can be subjective, but not to such an extent. It offers a lot of food for thought, and is inspiring for any future writing.

(And so evocative, like the ideas of scents caught in the bottles. Simply rereading your descriptions makes me so inspired, even the "gross" things like stinky feet).

And to answer some questions that were in the beginning of the thread: no, it is not so much a recent fad I am following, or even a writerly advice to use more scents in my descriptions to "spice it up". It is mostly my concern that a lot of characters probably will have to notice smells first when they come to a new location, for example. Or it is just useful to describe things that might be in contrast to other qualities, like if something is pretty and very polished looking, but smelling foul underneath. That kind of thing. Of course I am not asking this to abuse it in my writing. I know how to dose stuff (I hope ^^).
Also, for preciseness. Sometimes a two word description that just "hits it" is far more useful than a whole paragraph of "nearly there" writing, so I am looking toward the ways to enlarge this side of my vocabulary, and this thread helps tremendously.

I have never been exposed to such a multitude of opinions before. I had maybe three people want to share with me this kind of information, so this is all very wonderful. Especially since in my home country we don't even have skunks, for instance, so anyone I know personally enough to ask, still say they have never even saw one.

Roxxsmom · Oct 16, 2017

Tazlima said:
Javalina smell like skunk. Same exact scent, but not quite as strong.

Male raccoons can be rather skunky too.

I've noticed that skunks can vary in odor too. Some are more garlic like than others. Others more clearly sulfurous. But there's always that piercing or crisp pungency associated with them. As stinks go, it's a rather "clean" smell. It burns the nose and eyes, but it has a very different character than things like body odor or rot.

Interesting not being able to smell it. I'm guessing that a blast of skunk spray at short range, as opposed to having one pass close by without "spraying" might be a different matter, even for the non detectors. When dogs get hit in the face by a skunk, it tends to make them rather ill, and it burns the eyes and nose.

Friends whose dogs have actually been skunked say the difference odor between their pet right after and the smell one gets when driving by a dead skunk on the road is as the difference between a torrential downpour that leads to massive flooding and a sprinkle.

I'm lucky (so far). Although skunks clearly pass through our yard at night sometimes, none of my dogs has (yet) cornered one and been sprayed.

JDlugosz · Oct 16, 2017

Kallithrix said:
Interesting... I have a scene in my novel where the character visits an embalming house (it's set in ancient Egypt) and he says he can't get the smell out of his hair or his nostrils for days.

The Egyptians at that time shaved their heads for cleanlyness. Then they wore fancy wigs. Your guy won’t have the problem you state; instead he will have to air out that wig for days.

As for the smell, it depends on the day. A fresh corpse starts to stink faster than most people realize. But once the gut it and start the drying, the place will smell like jerky if anything. The dessicant also absorbs odors pretty well, and the drying body is completely burried in it.

BethS · Oct 17, 2017

sunandshadow said:
I also love the smell of roses. It's generally agreed on that roses, or at least most types of roses, smell similar to citrus fruits (especially lemon).

Wha??? Who has agreed to this? :greenie

They smell nothing like citrus fruits.

Earl Grey smells like bergamot, which is a very perfumy oil derived from a variety of orange. Doesn't smell like an orange, though.

Green tea leaves, depending on the type, smell like black tea leaves, only less intense. Very fragrant. Some have a slight spinach-y odor. Nothing like honey, though.

It's all subjective, of course.

SciSarahTops · Oct 17, 2017

Marissa D said:
There is a bergamot that's a member of the mint family, but the bergamot in Earl Grey is the citrus fruit. So you're not totally off. Might want to hold off on the bay leaves...

I always thought bergamot is orange leaf, or orange blossom but apprently not.
"Bergamot orange - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergamot_orange
Citrus bergamia, the bergamot orange (pronounced /ˈbɜːrɡəˌmɒt/), is a fragrant citrus fruit the size of an orange, with a green color similar to a lime."

Sonsofthepharaohs · Oct 17, 2017

JDlugosz said:
The Egyptians at that time shaved their heads for cleanlyness. Then they wore fancy wigs. Your guy won’t have the problem you state; instead he will have to air out that wig for days.

Oh, I'm quite well aware. There are in-story reasons why he doesn't shave his head. And this practice wasn't universal anyway - commoners certainly didn't follow it. Nor did those of other ethnicities, such as Nubians or Hebrews (hence in-story reason why he has hair).

JDlugosz said:
As for the smell, it depends on the day. A fresh corpse starts to stink faster than most people realize. But once the gut it and start the drying, the place will smell like jerky if anything. The dessicant also absorbs odors pretty well, and the drying body is completely burried in it.

Well, the embalmer is carrying out an autopsy on a fresh(ish) corpse (of a horse). Yes, it's a crime novel

Cinnamon said:
in my home country we don't even have skunks, for instance, so anyone I know personally enough to ask, still say they have never even saw one.

Yeah, we don't have them here either - I always feel kinda deprived whenever someone goes on about how much they stink, that I have no first hand experience to draw on

EMaree · Oct 17, 2017

Kallithrix said:
Yeah, we don't have them here either - I always feel kinda deprived whenever someone goes on about how much they stink, that I have no first hand experience to draw on

Omg I've had this exact same thought. I'm so curious what's so ungodly stinky about them, but I also don't want to find out.

Can't I just... be magically able to write about it without ever having to sniff it? No? Drat.

blacbird · Oct 17, 2017

What is ungodly stinky about skunks is that they have developed powerful glands to spray an acidic, sulfuric mix of stuff as a defense mechanism. You can smell a skunk at a long distance if one is around. Skunks are members of the weasel family, and virtually all weasels have a distinctive aroma, but skunks have developed it to an art form.

caw

indianroads · Oct 17, 2017

blacbird said:
What is ungodly stinky about skunks is that they have developed powerful glands to spray an acidic, sulfuric mix of stuff as a defense mechanism. You can smell a skunk at a long distance if one is around. Skunks are members of the weasel family, and virtually all weasels have a distinctive aroma, but skunks have developed it to an art form.

caw

Yeah - we used to have ferrets... great little creatures and REALLY smart, but they definitely have an aroma that eventually pervades the entire house.

Tazlima · Oct 17, 2017

It's a stink that keeps on stinking, too. I've only ever had a dog get skunked once in my life, unfortunately, it was when I was living in a tiny apartment. No yard, so no temporary banishment of pupster to give us some relief, and it wasn't the kind of stink that you can get used to and eventually not notice. You know how a fire alarm that needs its battery changed will chirp every few minutes, until you're ready to go mad and have no choice but to drag out a ladder and change the stupid battery? It was the stink version of that... if the alarm were strapped to your face. Every few minutes, it would hit you anew, only there was no way to fix it. We gave the dog countless baths, but they didn't have any discernable impact on the issue.

As the days passed, the smell weakened bit by bit, but it was a full two weeks before the stench was completely gone and we could have company over again.

Thankfully, the dog wasn't an idiot. There were lots of skunks around the area, but he gave them a wide berth from then on.

Roxxsmom · Oct 17, 2017

EMaree said:
Omg I've had this exact same thought. I'm so curious what's so ungodly stinky about them, but I also don't want to find out.

Can't I just... be magically able to write about it without ever having to sniff it? No? Drat.

The smell associated with ferrets, weasels, stoats and so on is similar, but not nearly as strong, and skunks have an adaptation that allows them to propel the contents of the anal glands for several feet as a form of chemical warfare.

There's an African critter called a zorilla (sometimes called a striped polecat) that is reputed to be even stinkier than a skunk. They look like skunks too--black with white stripes, and unlike skunks, are currently thought to be true members of the weasel family (when I was in school, they taught us that skunks were mustelids too, but that's been turned on its head by more recent discoveries).

ElaineA · Oct 17, 2017

Apparently you UKers have been blessed with someone bringing back American skunk cabbage to your shores. It's apparently an invasive species there. If you walk in boglands, you might have seen/smelled it. It's not AS strong as a real skunk, but the odor is pretty similar. (I also think it's similar to the smell of pot, which is very skunk-y to me.) Here's a link. See if you recognize it.

Snowstorm · Oct 17, 2017

Cinnamon said:
I have never been exposed to such a multitude of opinions before.

Well, welcome to AW! We're a great bunch.

Please help me with smells

practical experience, FTW

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