It's been said that the sense most closely associated to memory is scent. I don't know if it's true for everyone, but it's certainly true for me.
In fact, one of the things I loved most about my partner was that he always smelled like the beach - a scent I have loved my whole life and always reminds me of being a kid collecting shells with my grandpa. My parents and grandmother worked a lot, so it was typically just he and I hanging out being the cool kids.
When he passed (penniless as he had always been - a refugee from Cuba who taught himself to read and write) he left me a big box of those shells. Opening the box, the first thing that hits you is that smell. Even a decade later, it's heavy in there.
I had no idea that when 5 year-old me handed my grandpa these that he was keeping them. All of them. They were important to him; cherished little treasures from his tiny partner in crime.
Those shells, and the scent of the beach, make me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. The memory still warms my tiny cold xennial heart.
Reddit user sunriseoverseas asked other users to talk about their favorite scents, and it looks like I'm not the only one out here chasing a childhood memory bloodhound style by following a scent.
The amount of adorable (and awkward, people love some really unusual scents lol) in here is kind of amazing.
Either Or
GiphyThat one smell that hits you randomly and your brain kicks into this "oh my that smell is the exact same as in fall 2004 when you where on your way to your friends yaddayadda" And you just stand there like......
Either that or coconut , calms me down.
Grandma's House
My first Christmas Eve with my husband's family we spent the night and the guest room smelled EXACTLY like my grandma's house. We lost her in 2006 and then my cousin let the house go into foreclosure so I hadn't smelled that in over a decade. I cried happy tears.
I take it as a sign that I picked the right guy :)
Smell The Savings
Payless shoe store. I'd walk in, sniff and leave. Cashier probably thought I was weird. I don't give a F what you think cashier. Yeah, maybe I am fckin weird. So what?!
A Firey Christmas
That smell when you blow out a match or a birthday candle.
- -eDgAR-
That's the smell of Christmas for me, specifically going to Christmas Eve service at church, then when it's ended and everyone is putting on their coat to go home because Christmas has officially begun and they wish each other happy Christmas, the church attendants begin blowing out the candles, and THAT smell for me is Christmas.
Fresh Water
Fresh rain. inhales deeply
Humans are hyper sensitive to it as a way to find fresh water. That's probably why we like it so much
Puppyfeet
My dog's paws. My wife thinks it's disgusting but I just like the way they smell!
You are not alone, friend. It's a Bugles/corn chip smell that is actually closer to pandan, if you've ever smelled that.
A lot of people sniff the dog paw.
Fun fact: it's caused by bacteria and when dogs dig their paws into the ground, they are doing so to transmit their odor.
Motocross
Ever since I was a kid I loved the smell of gasoline. Also if you've ever been to a motocross event, or like X Games etc with dirt bikes, the smell of motorbikes and dirt is borderline sexual.
Trying Not To Judge This One
GiphyUrinal cake, because it reminds me of those primitive bathroom facilities that they have at campgrounds, which I associate with camping, which I enjoy.
Chlorine
Chlorine. Toward the end of my pregnancy I craved that scent so bad. I obviously didn't inhale it or anything but I remember sitting in the pool a few weeks before giving birth and the smell was so strong and sooo good. I told my husband about it and he thought I was weird AF.
Even now I love it.
Charlotte
Once a week on a Tuesday I work until 7pm so get a later bus and on the same bus was a girl who was travelling to the hospital for treatment for cancer. One evening we started talking and then for about 6 months we would sit next to each other and talk. We'd tell each other what music we were currently into or what book we were reading or what video game we were playing. She smelled of mangoes and strawberry. I ended up finding out where she got it and buying my daughter some for her birthday. (The body shop)
I haven't seen her on the bus now for 3 months. I hope she is okay but I don't think so as she had stage four lung cancer.
Every time I smell mangoes and Strawberries I think of Charlotte and her big smile when I introduced her to a new band or told her about a book.
Feels Because Of Felt
My grandma passed away the week I graduated high school, back in 2005. One of the things my dad gave me that belonged to her was a jewelry box...covered in seashells, but lined with felt. The first time I opened it, I immediately began to bawl. The felt lining had grabbed that perfect scent of grandma's house/perfume. I don't use the jewelry box at all. In fact, I keep it closed as often as possible. But a few times a year, especially when I'm missing her, I open the jewelry box just a crack, and stick my nose in there just to smell her again. And once a year, usually around the holidays, I take it to my parents' house so my dad can smell it and be flooded with memories of his mom.
15 years later, and it still smells like her.
Life is full of shock and surprise.
Apparently, that is part of the fun.
Who hasn't been left stunned by life events?
We always think we're immune to way too many things.
Anything and everything is possible.
It's important to be ready.
Redditor Bob_the_peasant wanted to hear about the things that have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What 'That can’t happen to me' thing happened to you?'"
I haven't been left that shocked that often.
I'm always expecting the worst, so I'm prepared.
But you never know.
I'm Dead
Snakes Imacelebau GIF by I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! AustraliaGiphy"A snake fell out of a tree and bit me on the head."
"ETA: I have always been more scared of snakes than anyone I know, so it’s just so ironic that this happened to me of all people."
amanitachill
Crash Into Me
"A car crashed through my kitchen last year."
aster636
"I woke up to a truck parking in my bathtub 2 weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I watched my sink roll past my bedroom door followed by a hubcap. The driver managed to cross a median, 3-lane road, up an embankment, through an iron fence and between trees. He'd been involved in an altercation nearby and was fleeing the scene."
anjie59k
Hot Air
Swinging Hot Air Balloon GIF by Red BullGiphy"My family and I were in a hot air balloon crash."
GymDoll2000
"My friend had one crash into her pool when she was a kid."
Environmental-Car481
This is why hot air balloons and skydiving are just a HELL no for me.
Always have. Always will.
Tragic
Cat No GIF by Looney TunesGiphy"My wife cheated on me with my best friend. They’re moving in together next month. I’m in a new city thousands of miles away. I found out a month ago."
Tssodie
Bad Penguin
"Everyone else’s stories are very sad so here’s something a bit lighter. I’ve mentioned this story before but I got bitten on the neck by a penguin."
"I was at an event where the local zoo had a penguin and owl sitting on tables with handlers so you could take a picture next to them. The penguin went for my glass of wine, I moved the wine, and it bit me on the neck hard enough to bruise. They removed the penguin after that. 😂."
archaeologistbarbie
All Gone
"Our house burned in a wildfire, we lost absolutely everything we owned and only salvaged a single coffee 3 cup."
"On the good side: There was a boy I crushed on all through high school. We went to summer camp together and I adored him. We ended up getting together in our 20s after reconnecting, and have now been together more than 20 years, married almost 17. We’re as madly in love as ever."
toomuchisjustenough
Good Luck
"Homelessness. It came swiftly and out of nowhere. had no savings and the landlord sold the house I was in. couldn’t afford a new place so lived in my car with my dog for a few months. ended up finding community assistance and got into an apartment."
jumbospicyslimjim
"I can’t even imagine being in that situation. Hopefully, this is just the start of things turning around for you. Sending you good energy!"
frappbarqueen
Early Michael Myers
"About 10 years ago, I was stabbed in the arm with a flathead screwdriver. It was a coworker whom I had previously gotten along well with. He had stopped taking benzos and smoking weed a few days before and was on a hair trigger. I said something sarcastic, and he just snapped."
Mr_Spaghetti_Hands
Bad Landing
Bad Day Seagull GIF by Sound FXGiphy"I was lying on the beach and a seagull flying very high took a poop and it went straight in my mouth."
Competitive_Show6205
This is why I say... "Never trust a seagull!"
They are minions of the devil.
Companies and products rebrand for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes they want to revitalize a dying brand.
Or stay fresh and modern.
Other times they're trying to put a negative public image in their rear view mirror.
And sometimes, someone somewhere in a company has low impulse control.
Anyway...
Reddit user PulakHasan asked:
"What's the Weirdest Rebranding of all time?"
Weight Watchers
"Weight Watchers abbreviated their name down to 'WW' and in doing so, increased the syllables needed to pronounce their new company name."
~ hambone10
"You burn more calories uttering the extra syllables."
~ jungl3j1m
waitr
"Waitr was an extremely successful delivery service here. They had full time employees and you could get food delivered in 30-45 minutes."
"Then, they made everybody an independent contractor and started calling themselves ASAP."
"'As slow as possible' caught on and they lost the majority market share within a month."
~ bravesgeek
GiphyHBO
"I still don’t understand HBO dropping probably the most prestigious name in cable tv/streaming."
~ stoneman9284
"Right?! Also it literally means Home Box Office - that’s the best name for a streaming service????"
~ oreos_in_milk
Nordic Choice Hotels
"Nordic Choice Hotels rebranded to 'Strawberry'."
"They have to mention their old name all the time, because Strawberry could be absolutely anything."
"If only it were 'Strawberry Hotels' but it's not. It's just Strawberry."
"They removed the part that explains what kind of business it is."
"Madness."
~ WoodSheepClayWheat
GiphyUSWest
"USWest-->Qwest-->CenturyLink-->Lumen I don’t care what your name is."
"Can I have more than 10mbps DSL at my address?"
~ Trickycoolj
"In Europe, and it's now Level3--> Centurylink--> Lumen--> Colt."
"I'm sure they rename in the hope people forget the incompetence."
~ ConsciousValence
"My mom has worked for them since 1977 when they were Northwestern Bell."
"She's been through a billion name changes."
~ CorporalBB
Circuit City IQ Crew
"Circuit City rebranding their PC technician division from IQ Crew (which predated Geek Squad, by the way) to..."
"Firedog."
"I worked at a Circuit City from 2005-2008 and we all thought it was a prank when we saw the announcement."
"'The intensity of fire with the loyalty of man's best friend'."
"I sh*t you not—that was the marketing."
~ Tiberius_Jim
GiphyBritish Petroleum
"When after a major oil spill, BP changed their branding to Beyond Petroleum for an ad campaign showing how they were investing in renewables."
"Logo change too."
~ RandomAmuserNew
"An oil spilled followed by a huge effort to cover it up, including dumping Corexit into the water to mix with the oil and make it sink."
"So it was no longer visible from aerial shots, but it did far, far more damage mixed with a dangerous chemical and sitting on the sea floor than slowly evaporating or being soaked up on the surface."
~ LurkerOrHydralisk
Amoco
"When BP purchased Amoco, they quickly rebranded all the stations to BP."
"Not sure if it is everywhere but Amoco had a lot of brand recognition in the Midwest and a lot of people just didn’t like BP."
"Eventually, they started rebranding some of their stations back to Amoco to cash in on nostalgia."
"I always thought it was dumb but never realized that so many people hated it until after I worked for BP (very briefly) and was told the story of how much pushback they got."
~ anitabelle
British Petroleum (BP Oil)/Paul Sableman
Overstock.com
"Overstock.com I think qualifies for weird rebrand."
"Bed Bath and Beyond went out of business and was bought out by Overstock and then Overstock just rebranded everything to Bed Bath and Beyond."
"If you go to overstock.com it’s just BBB."
~ WhatsABuckland
Snoop Dogg
"When Snoop Dogg (temporarily) changed his name to Snoop Lion to make a reggae album."
~ RomanOnARiver
"Snoop’s original name on Death Row was 'Snoop Doggy Dogg'. When he left Death Row and went to No Limit, he had to alter his name (which might have been his original name) to 'Snoop Dogg'."
~ GotMoFans
"Snoop’s mother used to call him Snoopy as a nickname which is the origin."
~ OpanaMan
"The Charles Schulz people would have had a field day."
~ GotMoFans
GiphyBooks-A-Million
"Books-A-Million to 'BAM'."
"I was in a parking lot with one and had no idea it was a bookstore, as I was a bit too far out to see more than 'BAM' from where I was parked."
~ lynnyfox
KIA
"Everytime I see the new KIA logo I assume its a NIN [Nine Inch Nails] fan."
~ vinyalwhl
"I thought it was KN for an embarrassingly long time."
~ VulfSki
"KIA changed their logo on their cars and Google showed an uptick in the searches for 'K N cars' because people liked the look of them but didn’t realise it was a KIA."
~ User_Deleted_Content
Mark Chan on Unsplash
Royal Mail
"Royal Mail deciding Consignia was the way to go forwards."
~ PonITdude
"They wanted to go international but they lost so much money that year they had to stay national and reversed the name back."
~ ShinyHead0
"Twitter to X."
~ sandiercy
"And then everyone still refers to it as Twitter."
~ Safety_Drance
"'A user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted…'.”
~ tommyk1210
"Rather like to see 'A user on Twitter, erroneously known as X, posted...'."
~ SagittaryX
"'A user on twitter, largely unknown as X, posted...'."
~ Pinksters
"A few days ago, I saw an article that said 'Twitter, which Elon Musk incorrectly thinks is called X for some reason...'."
"That was pretty funny."
~ temalyen
GiphyCity Landmarks
"In Chicago we still call it the Sears Tower [renamed Willis Tower in 2009]."
~ baccus83
"And in Pittsburgh, it’s still Heinz Field [renamed Acrisure Stadium in 2022]."
~ NoVaBurgher
"And in Toronto, it’s still the Skydome [renamed Rogers Centre in 2005]."
~ nonanarchist
"And in New York when you take 287 across the Hudson it's still the Tappan Zee Bridge [renamed Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in 2017]. "
~ keytarin
"A lot of LA people still call it Staples Center [renamed Crypto.com Arena in 2021]."
~ New_Simple_4531
"In Denver we will always say Mile High Stadium [renamed Empower Field at Mile High in 2019]."
~ SheBrokeHerCoccyx
Some rebrandings make perfect sense to the public.
Others are utterly baffling.
What would you add to this list?