Smell induced nostalgia

Akratus

Akratus

Bleep bloop.
There's this thing scientists found out, that your nose has a direct link to your memories. We all have those smells that remind us of maybe, playing a certain game, or it reminds us of a certain song. Those specific smells like car smells, or the smell of your grandparents' house. These connections can get weirdly specific. For example, what is probably weirder than any of you can come up with I'm guessing, is that the smell of a warm radiator, for me, I kid you not, it reminds me of playing Command and Conquer when I was young. The first one, Tiberian Dawn, specifically. I guess I first got the game during a cold winter. I just smelled that, which prompted me to make this thread because it was so weird and specific and extremely strong a connection.

So anyway, do any of you have any to share?
 
Well... That this was known decades ago... But it is really neat now just as it was.

Funny though ~about games and smells.... In the late 90's [possibly 2000] somebody supposedly made a USB device that could programmatically mix scents from base fragrances. The idea was that a developer could fill the user's desktops with smells ~like cinnamon~ish or whatever was desired... And at the time, I couldn't help but wonder at the idea of using that machine in Baldur's Gate; and what the sewer levels would have been like. rofl1_zpsbkxnfmbd[1].gif

*Had that been so, I don't doubt that open sewers would have forever after reminded me of Baldur's Gate.
 
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Whenever I smell fish, I think of pussy. And whenever I smell pussy, I have to think of fish. Does that one count? 'Cause I don't really get nostalgic when this happens, more like nauseous or seasick and ready to retch.

This one time, it was Summer and I was in bed, all warm and sweaty, and all of a sudden my butt started to itch, so I scratched it, I scratched my itchy sweaty butt, and then, for some reason, I smelled my fingers and my fingers smelled exactly like Cheetos.

:roll:

In all honesty: if there was a scent that would somehow send me back to my childhood, I would bathe in that shit. I would brush my teeth with that scent and inhale its fumes as if my life depended on it. So, in an odd way, I'm glad I don't experience this. I'd be addicted for the rest of my life.

I do get nostalgiac listening to certain songs, but that's a popular one, I guess. Apart from that I have my eyes on the future, always.
 
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alec said:
This one time, it was Summer and I was in bed, all warm and sweaty, and all of a sudden my butt started to itch, so I scratched it, I scratched my itchy sweaty butt, and then, for some reason, I smelled my fingers and my fingers smelled exactly like Cheetos.

:roll:
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You ever have one of those itches where your ass itches, but the itch is inside of your butthole so you can't scratch it unless you stick your fingers up your ass?

Anyways, I've never had any smells that remind me of anything, to stay on topic. I knew this existed, but I've just never smelt something and went "hey, this reminds me of that one time I did this!"

But I do get nostalgia for a lot of things. Like when I play Fallout 1, I get huge nostalgia and suddenly miss the 90's a lot (that was my era). I almost even bought a Windows 98 at the flee market one time for fifty bucks.

My dad used to love what's now called "classic rock", bands like Rush, Queen, old-school Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, etc. So whenever I hear a song like that, especially if it's Rush, I get extremely sad.
 
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BigBoss said:
You ever have one of those itches where your ass itches, but the itch is inside of your butthole so you can't scratch it unless you stick your fingers up your ass?
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 I was going to make a cup of chai tea for myself, but I've since lost my appetite.

The scent of crayons and disinfectant remind me a lot of my childhood on account of that being what my kindergarten basically smelled of (and still does, I imagine). When my parents separated, my dad's new house had a giant lavender bush beside the front door; the smell of lavender always reminds me of that place. The taste of chocolate thickshakes from McDonald's gives me a strong feeling of déjà vu, too; as a kid, my dad would always take me to a nearby McDonald's, while my brother went to his weekly football training sessions. When we drove back to the football field to pick him up, I loved the smell of the upturned dirt and grass, as well.

Ha. There was one time while my brother was training, when me and my dad went out to the neighbouring rugby field and stole all of the kicking holders for the balls. I miss those days, sometimes.
 
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Well, While I have many, I'll have to say that the smell of rain reminds me of Demon's souls. Because for one, my first day of playing that beautiful work of art was pouring hardcore, and secondly because of just how "Doom & Gloom" that game is, it really does strike the feeling of loneliness and opposition into your heart.
 
I live in Norway. I have family in Spain, and a nostalgia trigger I can experience often, is whenever I get a combination of:
Sewage + Carbondioxide + heavy perfume = Smell of urban Spain. I am immediately taken to Valencia, when I smell a combined whiff of poopage, carbondioxide and perfume. The combo is rare, for obvious reasons, but an open sewage, a bus roaming past me, quite close, as well as a perfume-douced person walking past me, might trigger the nostalgia moment.

Also, not really "nostalgia" per se - but every year has THAT MOMENT - where you "smell the frost"
Anyone else recognize this?

Also, Norway smells like pine-needles. I live here all the time, so I am immune to it. Spain smells like dust and perfume. What you do is - be concious of it, and the moment you step off the airplane, take a deep lung-ful, and examine what you smell, as a first impression of what the country smells like. I mean, if perfume scents hit the airplane runway, it means the atmosphere - at least the "city dome" is ripe with it (which it IS!)

Getting off the plane home in Norway, I remembered, took a deep sniff, and realized the whole area reeks of pine tree! Not shockingly, but I simply never realized.
 
Nostalgia-the best drug ever.

In all seriousness, I still remember when cartoons were actually quality and not full of fart jokes and other nonsensical BS.

Also, when people use the word to counter someone's else argument just because they loved a certain old piece of entertainment, they never succeed.
 
Yeah, some long-unopened books and comics will have a little whiff of nostalgia

it never lasts tho
ever tried to make it last? :D
Like, litterally rubbing my face in the book, like a perv "SNIFFFF! nooo its gone D:"
 
Books have been mentioned. I can pinpoint several books in my collection just by their smell alone. I guess I love it. When I read them, where I read them... Weird.
As far as video games go, yeah, there's this sort of snack which I used to chew on a lot while playing FO2. Specifically, it reminds me of New Reno. I guess, however, that's more of a taste induced nostalgia, and it's not real nostalgia either, just few simple memories. No real emotional attachment, even though I love FO2.
Smell of video game boxes is of particular interest. Most of the video games I own came in those generic plastic DVD cases. Strangely enough, I remember the smell of some of these boxes when opened, as well as the CDs/manuals within. This is especially true for Warcraft III Reign of Chaos. Always brings me back. The Culling of Stratholme. The discovery of Frostmourne. Horde voyaging westward to Kalimdor. Burning Legion under the burning sky. Battle at Mt. Hyjal. Not sure if I got all the names right, it's been years since I've played the game, but I loved it. There are several more instances - I've had one with CnC games too - but I guess nothing beats the smell of WCIII. That box does have a pretty strong odor.
Smell of glue and paint brings me back to those sweet, rare moments when I could devote myself to modelling, but those moments, although few, are scattered throughout the past years, so I cannot pinpoint a specific time or a model which I assembled.

I won't go into details with various "general" smells - freshly cut grass, summer rain, frozen winter nights and days of sunbathed snow with their fresh, chilly breeze in nostrils, ozone after a thunderstorm, heavy mountain air, various trees in various forests, earth and mud, the odor of some animals and plants, smell of certain tasty dishes and drinks, gasoline and machine oil and so on. Some of the smells are not so "nice" - smell of rotten flesh, human or animal, can bring back some unpleasant, or in the former case, even pleasant memories. I guess that sounds weird.
Several perfumes, deodorants etc. reminding me of past relationships, certain moments or just periods in life where I/a person close to me used them.
All of these trigger various memory/emotion responses for me linked with many images of my past. Sometimes specific, sometimes general. I guess that happens with most of the people tho.

There are many, many other memories which I can associate with smell, but it's hardly ever the smell alone.
 
I can only think of one circumstance of this being applicable to me, but it's very true.

My friends house while I was in high school was filled with potpourri of many different kinds and in many different spots. The smell was intense and constant. However I only ever noticed it when walking in the door for a moment as I got used to it.

Many years later and having moved to the opposite side of the country. I received a letter in the mail from my friend. It must have sat around that house a long time before he sent it, because it carried the scent. When I opened it to read the letter my sense suddenly told me I was there. Back in the house. For a few seconds I was literally stunned while I consciously new it wasn't possible. Then the feeling passed. It was surreal.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
Byzantine said:
I was going to make a cup of chai tea for myself, but I've since lost my appetite.
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Does it mean you usually eat the cup? :smile:
 
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