People Break Down Which Things Shouldn't Smell Good But Actually Do

The nose is constantly being attacked by odors of the world.

Going through one day without having to hold my breath during a certain point, is a miracle.

Of course, I'm a New Yorker, so I maybe exaggerating for people in the countryside.

What's funnier is odors that are pleasant, that shouldn't be.

Have you ever looked and something and thought... "yuck."

But then you smelled it and it was like... "oh lovely,"

RedditorHappQueuewanted to know what aromas are arousing to the senses that may come as a surprise to many. They asked:

"What smells good but shouldn't?"

For some odd reason I love the things burning. Anything, food, pots, pans. You name it. Weird.

Blow

fire burning GIFGiphy

"Matches/candles on a birthday cake. I remember lighting matches as a kid purely to blow them out and inhale that sweet match-y smell."

semispooked

"guilty good"

"I work at a Chemical plant. We make a highly acidic product that is dark blue, viscus, highly corrosive, and smells exactly like Fruit Loops. It is incredibly disturbing."

Turin082

"Organic chemistry has many 'guilty good' smells. Thiophosgene (sulfur derivative of a chemical weapon used extensively in WW1) apparently smells like meat. Phosgene is used to make polycarbonate, thiophosgene is used to make some sulfur-containing molecules which eventually end up in therapeutic drugs."

HammerTh_1701

I can't huff it...

"Paint, specifically house paint. I love the smell. But anytime I hear that anyone is painting a room or their house, I volunteer. I just love sitting on the floor in a room that's been freshly painted, closing my eyes and just inhaling that slightly chemically, slightly creamy aroma."

Neowza

A Hint of French...

"A fish and chips shop burnt down as couple blocks from work a few years ago. The whole neighborhood smelled amazing for days. Just the slight hint of French fries. Nothing overpowering. It was so awesome. Until I found out someone was trapped in the fire and died."

stevey_frac

Drag

Drag Racing Vegas GIF by Don Schumacher RacingGiphy

"Race fuel. Instantly puts me in a good mood as it reminds me of going to the drag races with my dad when I was young."

garfnodie

Fuel and matches get me too. And they sort of go together. Interesting.

Just like the Movie...

Johnny Depp Drinking GIFGiphy

"The water from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Mmm, bromine."

Stalkerslovemy

"This is one of my favorite scents of all time, and Disney is very aware that people enjoy it. Evidently it’s a lot harder to recreate than just adding bromine to water."

cash4panties

"black widow".

"There's a chicken wing restaurant near my house that has a challenge sauce called "black widow." The owner claims it to be around 500,000 scovilles. A few years back some buddies and I decided to try them, the sauce was a dark molasses color and smelled almost like a BBQ sauce, no hint of the danger that lurked at all. We each grabbed one wing and it went terribly. I don't know how something so spicy could smell so innocent."

Final-Chapter

Endless Weekend

"Hotel/rented rooms whenever you go on vacation. There's this particular smell that just says 'you are on vacation,' especially on a beach/swimming trips/out-of-the-town vacays."

Yummy_Llama

"Bath and Body Works has a plug-in scent called Endless Weekend that replicates that scent (to my humble nose)."

Exxcentrica

"oh no..."

"Someone you are attracted to's body odors. Anyone else who is slightly unhygienic smells repulsive."

Mini_gunslinger

"I remember back in high school a girl leaned over, sniffed me, told me that I smelled really good, and asked me what cologne I was wearing. I asked if she was joking, and she's like, no, you smell really good. When I told her I had just gotten done with gym class, she gets a small 'oh no...' look on her face and turns away. I think we both had a revelation that day."

user deleted

That Smell

Smell It Season 6 GIF by This Is UsGiphy

"The smell inflatable things give off. I have no idea how to describe it, but it’s… nostalgic? to me."

crestfxllen

Fresh...

"Pretty bummed no one has said a fresh can of tennis balls."

zeroimpulsecontrol

"While pregnant I was OBSESSED with this smell. Anytime I was in a target or Walmart I’d divert to the sports section and huff tennis balls. I even once stopped by a Big 5 sporting goods store for the sole purpose of smelling tennis balls. Thank you for bringing this memory back to me."

rhapsodyinrainbow

Cozy

"Tires... from bikes or cars. When you enter a shop with bicycles from one end to the other!"

funny-lady-dk

"Grew up in the family business. Auto repair garage. Walking into any garage or greasey/oily environment is like walking into my grandma's living room. It feels cozy."

FixedLoad

Sniff Around

"Sawed wood."

leegunter

"So, story time. As an adult I wanted to cut down my own Christmas tree and just had to have one that smelled right. So I'm at a tree farm with my girlfriend, sniffing (uncut) trees. It took me probably a half hour to figure out that the smell I was looking for was the smell of sawed wood."

LoboRoo

Sulfur Forever

"Fireworks."

Klaydunn

"Yes! My birthday is the 5th after July 4th. And fireworks have always been my favorite and very nostalgic for me. One Fourth of July, my little sister collected all the little fireworks littered on the ground from being fired and put them all inside a glass bottle. She knew I loved the smell so she did that so I’d have them to smell forever. I fucking love sulfur."

stupidmacaroni

Forbidden

happy sponge cake GIF by GottalottaGiphy

"Fire lighters they are these weird flammable spongy grey bricks used to get fires started. They smell good enough to eat it's like forbidden sponge cake."

Chimera22

Frozen

"Cold air. It smells different than warm air I swear."

TheBloodPhantom0

"I think it’s not all cold air. But there is this amazing smell when it’s a slightly moist, super cold day with snow all around you. This feels like the cleanest Air you can breathe."

"-30 degrees Celsius and lower it imo starts to smell stale and somehow dangerous though (or maybe it’s my nose reacting to the cold). The freshness certainly goes away. Yes I forgot the e for breathe… please, 1 comment about that is enough…"

Seienchin88

Bark Love

"Wood burning smells good gotta be one of those evolution things."

soysssauce

"Some woods contain certain oils that are released through burning."

"Some pines famously smell like citrus and are used to smoke sushi ingredients.(Now they use restaurant-level blowtorch) Apples, oak, hickory, they're used for smoking meats for a good reason. Ordinary wood may still have traces of sap, resin or tannins that can be constructed by your brain to smell good."

EpilepticMushrooms

YES!

Donald Trump Sharpie GIFGiphy

"Sharpies and dry erase markers."

BortLicensePlate22

Evil Smells

"Vanilla essence. It tastes like the devil."

Ursa_Rabia

"I remember in Kindergarten, our teacher brought vanilla extract to class and gave us all a little bit to teach us that we shouldn't eat stuff just because it smells good."

cat-meg

"That’s because it’s got hella alcohol in it. As a stupid middle schooler I used to drink it to try getting drunk. Makes me wanna vomit just thinking about it."

urmammafedmebacon

I do love the smell of plastics and inflatables. Ahh....

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

Employees At Fancy Hotels Divulge Their Best Secrets

Reddit user akumamatata8080 asked: 'People who work at super fancy hotels, what kind of stuff happens that management doesn’t want people to know about?'

Gold chandeliers at hotel
Photo by Rodrigo Curi on Unsplash

Most of us who have not worked in hospitality have dreamed of having a nice getaway for a weekend, or staying in a top-rated hotel, and relaxing in one of its best suites.

But those who have worked in hospitality are ready to point out some of the unexpected features and oddities that circulate around these fancier accommodations.

Keep reading...Show less
Collection of maps and atlases
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

While we may not all enjoy studying history, we all have certain types of stories that interest us, and one that seems to catch everyone's attention are the hard-to-believe, almost far-fetched tales.

Interestingly enough, history is full of these stories, leaving many to believe that reality is truly stranger than fiction.

Keep reading...Show less
Man looking out window
Hamish Duncan/Unsplash

Anyone raising children can attest to the difficult challenges involved with being a parent.

And despite every intention of getting it right by doing the best job they can, not everyone is a perfect at being mom or dad.

Hopefully, people will be able to look back on their childhood and recognize that everything their folks did for them was all out of love.

If only that was the case.

Unfortunately, there are those who were never meant to be parents and have scarred their children with bad memories.

Keep reading...Show less

Be it for clothes, household appliances, or food, sometimes you know you can be one hundred percent confident with certain brands or companies when shopping that you will be getting a quality product.

Unfortunately, this goes both ways.

Some companies have a reputation for exclusively selling and manufacturing low-quality products.

One would think that these companies might reflect on poor sales and bad customer feedback, and attempt to improve their brand with each passing year.

Unfortunately, even if they still get items on the shelf, reviews on Amazon and elsewhere still seem to remain at two stars or less.

Keep reading...Show less