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:
Dec '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Judith Levy:
5. The inside of my guitar ยท 4 hours ago
Funny thing, each of my guitars smells different. My favorite is my maple Tacoma. (She's worth looking at, too.)
For some really odd reason the case of my semi-hollow body Ibanez smells like chocolate when I open it. Strangest thing ever.
Mar '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
5. The smell of a tomato plant
4. Kiwi shoe polish
3. An igniting friction match
2. Remy VSOP
1. And , of course, a baby's head.
Apr '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
1) Burning Diesel on a frozen winter morning (Memories of a boy with his Dad)
2) Her - My better half
3) The air just after a rain on the high plains (forever from Wyoming)
4) Glenlivet Scotch (24 years sober)
5) Old Books (collector and used book seller
Apr '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
Ooooh, good one, Dale! I might have to add that to my list.
Apr '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
Some aromas make me want to stop and revel in deep breaths. Some are a kick when I get a quick whiff.
Freshly brewed, medium-roast coffee. Air- & sun-dried bed linens. Freshly lit Camel cigarette. Fresh manure pile as I drive past. Tabu.
Feb '11
Re: The Five Best Smells
1. The combination of smells at old Comiskey Park - not all of them what you'd call appealing when taken on their own. But as a young child closer to the ground I found the combination to be fascinating and the very essence of being out in the great wide world.
2. Second hand smoke. I was raised at the very end of the era when smoking anywhere and everywhere was acceptable. Without cigarette smoke and cheap coffee burning away in a large urn there is no way a group of adults could come together and make a plan for their organization - certainly no scout group.
3. The smells of camping, especially a canvas tent, a campfire, and the aroma of cobbler escaping the dutch oven indicating that it's just about done and ready to eat.
4. The house filled with the scents of special foods cooking on various holidays: ham, kielbasa, and hoska for Easter. Turkey and stuffing (especially the part where the onions and bacon are sauteed in butter) for Thanksgiving. Shrimp, fish, pierogies, and sauerkraut soup for Christmas Eve.
5. The breeze on the first warmish days of the year. Say, anything above 45 or 50.
May '10
Re: The Five Best Smells
Ocean air, marinated steaks on the grill, fresh tobacco, watermelon, firewood.