The Five Best Smells
Ben Domenech ·
April 21, 2012 at 11:05pm
I had the odd distinction of creating a hashtag the other day which became the number one trending hashtag in the world - in this case, #5bestsmells - which was chosen by all sorts of folks on Twitter as a spawning point for offering a public version of closely held sentiment. I view it as a sort of Proustian memory indicator of happiness and pleasure - my own #5bestsmells are, as follows: charcoal grill firing up, salt of the ocean, fresh cut grass, Light Blue on a woman, and bacon.
What's your own #5bestsmells, and what scents inspire various memories for you?
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Comments:
May '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
#1 - fresh air, replete with higher oxygen content, brought onboard a submarine after weeks of recycling/producing internally. Talk about synapses.
Then grass, onions and garlic in a saute pan, bread baking, an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature.
Dec '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Bacon, bread baking, wood fire smoking meat, freshly mowed golf course, pipe smoke.
Brian, agree on the fresh air. There is something about the way Pearl Harbor smells when you first come out of the hatch that is quite unique.
Mar '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
Speaking strictly for myself, there's nothing like walking into my Krispy Kreme shop at 2 AM and smelling the doughnuts that are coming off the production line, along with the fresh KK coffee being brewed. I gotta have both when I smell that.
A close second would be the smell coming out of my local steakhouse. Oh man, the smell of steak cooking.
Nov '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Don't know about "top five," but absolutely the first thing that comes to mind as "the greatest smell" is from my visit to Croatia three summers ago: arrival at the island of Hvar, followed shortly thereafter by a leisurely hike in the hills above the town at sunset. The aroma of wild growing lavender...the experience was something close to Heaven.
Re: The Five Best Smells
Brian: #1 - fresh air, replete with higher oxygen content, brought onboard a submarine after weeks of recycling/producing internally. Talk about synapses.
Then grass, onions and garlic in a saute pan, bread baking, an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature. · 5 minutes ago
Arturo Fuente FTW.
Jul '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
1) Napalm in the morning.2) The facial sweat of face palms over Tommy's last article.3) Ted Kennedy's glioblastoma multiforme.4) Eric Holder's fear laden gas as he is cuffed and led to jail.5) Obama's cigarette smoke being wafted by the rolled up newspaper his hen pecking wife hits him with while she degrades his manhood.
Jan '12
Re: The Five Best Smells
I saw this question before it had a hashtag, much less before that hashtag trended #1 globally.
My very manly 5: fire, 2-cycle engine exhaust, the woods, black powder smoke, Hoppes No. 9
The wife's: honeysuckle, banana bread, fresh-mowed grass, coffee beans, babies
Aug '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
You've already hit some of mine.
1. Bacon
2. Freshly cleaned sheets hanging on the line
3. Woodsmoke fire/BBQ
4. A Baby, just after bath time
5. Wild onions
Edited on April 22, 2012 at 12:26amApr '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
Lilacs, chocolate chip cookies baking, meat on the grill, Christmas trees, rain on hot asphalt, fresh snow.
Dec '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
All this talk of meat on the grill and the sun is shining...brb.
Aug '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Cinnamon
Re: The Five Best Smells
A surprising number of women cited cigar smoke, steak, and fresh cut grass. LEARN from this, men!
Nov '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Ben Domenech
Brian: #1 - fresh air, replete with higher oxygen content, brought onboard a submarine after weeks of recycling/producing internally. Talk about synapses.
Then grass, onions and garlic in a saute pan, bread baking, an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature. · 5 minutes ago
Arturo Fuente FTW. · 9 minutes ago
Arturo Fuente Royal Salute is my personal fave.
Dec '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
I still prefer my pipe smoke to cigar smoke though.
Aug '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
1. Bacon. 2. Fresh-cut grass.3. The sea.4. Classic Old Spice.5. That smell just before it rains.
Re: The Five Best Smells
Wow, Ben. I had no idea you were the instigator of that.1.freshly ground coffee2.heads of babies3.the Pacific Ocean4.the woods after a rain5.meat on a grill
Jan '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
My wife is from Baltimore. When we were first married, we'd go to the in-law's for Thanksgiving. They had a tradition of kielbasa and sauerkraut along with turkey, and the combination of smells is just wonderful. You'd just open the door to their house and stand there, loving life.
My grandmother lived in Margate, New Jersey. She lived a two-minute's walk to the beach. The ocean air still puts me right to sleep.
The fast food chains have driven out a lot of what we used to call "hamburger joints." You can still find them at the shore along the boardwalk, and yes, I know that the smell is from the terribly unhealthy grease - - but that smell carries a lot of memories.
Incense at a cathedral during Christmas midnight mass. When the whole church is dark, except for the candles.
Finally, imagine a bar near the ocean, out on the deck. Late afternoon, when the summer sky is streaked with orange and purple. When you're just hanging out, after the beach but before dinner. The smell? The first waft from a glass of Irish whiskey.
Who dares not believe in God?
Re: The Five Best Smells
Wow. Apparently a Promoted Tweet (the advertisement above the top trend) is worth $120,000 a day. Too bad you didn't start a "#BestRicochetSmells" hashtag.
Feb '12
Re: The Five Best Smells
1. the candle "Angel Whispers"
2. burning leaves
3. fresh cut grass
4. "Wash a Bye" baby wipes. (Weird...I know)
5. Brut cologne
Re: The Five Best Smells
Also it didn't hurt that yesterday was 4/20. I bet there were a lot of tweets talking about cookies, brownies, and other baked goods smelling good. Not to mention the subject of the holiday itself.
Wait a second. Diane- heads of babies? You decapitate newborn children just to enjoy their scent? This is almost worse than Puppygate. Almost.
Edited on April 22, 2012 at 12:11am