Jump to content
Jambands.ca

intoxicating chemical smells........


Calamity Jane

Recommended Posts

are some of us hard wired, more than others, to like the smell of brain-wasting chemicals????

One of those, "But there for the grace of God go I" head-scratchers is that I frikken LOVE the smell of certain chemicals and solvents....

gasoline,

permanent marker,

white out,

certain glues....

I REALLY have to watch myself, b/c I find these scents so compelling. There are times I wonder what past life (karma) has prevented me from being a Rideau Street (insert local sketch-alley here) junkie, huffing glue/hairspray out of a brown paper bag.

I also realize the power of narrative....always recalling a story my father would relate about one of his childhood friends being found dead leaning over a big barrel of gasoline...he'd huffed himself to death apparently. That story scared the bejesus outta me and is the reason I only ever intentionally spill a little gas on my jeans at the pumps so I can enjoy the smell on the ride home! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I might, too. My guess is that it goes back to when I was a kid, and used to mow the lawns (our lot was 50' wide and 200' deep). Getting all grimy as a I prepped the mower, filling it with gas, maybe spilling a bit, has the smell associated with honest manual labour and childhood chores.

Here's another one: cigarette smoke, but only in the car in summer as we drove off on vacation. With the windows slightly open, having my Dad light up in the car smelled different from the smoke in other situations.

Interesting fact: the sense most closely associated with memory is smell. If you want to be taken back in time to a particular place and situation, get the smell of it.

Aloha,

Brad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I might, too. My guess is that it goes back to when I was a kid, and used to mow the lawns (our lot was 50' wide and 200' deep). Getting all grimy as a I prepped the mower, filling it with gas, maybe spilling a bit, has the smell associated with honest manual labour and childhood chores.

that's EXACTLY what I was getting at in the post below (from the hated band-name thread) and why I started this thread.

... Diesel Dog is a bad band name. I like their music a whole lot but ...Good tunes but the name sounds ugly.

**sorry to edit Bok...

I actually like it! Rather than "ugly"' date=' I'd say "dirty" in that great "dirty sense" of hard work, grease and grime and the intoxicating fumes of diesel gas!!

in fact, I'm gonna start a new thread about "intoxicating" smells....[/quote']

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and Boiler Rat, doesn't 'sour gas' have something intentionally added to it, to make the smell so unpleasant? I think the same thing is done to paint nowadays....can't stand the smell npw, yet I remember liking it as a kid.

I don't know why some solvents smell more preferable to me than others...like "gas = yum" and "nail polish remover = gag".......maybe bradm is partly right that it's connected to memories? really dunno!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and Boiler Rat, doesn't 'sour gas' have something intentionally added to it, to make the smell so unpleasant? I think the same thing is done to paint nowadays....can't stand the smell npw, yet I remember liking it as a kid.

CJ, he was referring to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is nasty/sour smelling. Awful stuff.

Not sure why your perception of gasoline would have changed. I don't think there is anything added to it to make it intentionally unpleasant smelling (someone please correct me though, if there is). Smells are added to things like propane, because otherwise you might not know that there was a leak and you were breathing it in. But gasoline already has a distinct smell of its own, so that danger isn't a concern. Maybe it has to do with a change in the formula over the years (addition of ethanol and whatever else), or maybe your "taste" for the smell (yeah, that is awkwardly worded) has changed.

Anyways, t'aint good for ya.

[edit:] oops, you moved from gasses to paint and I just talked on about gasses. Ah well.

dirt bike exhaust.....mmmmmmmm...sweet, sweet smell.

Hell yeah. Sunshine, you used to dirt bike alot, right? But no more? Pourquoi?

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also realize the power of narrative....always recalling a story my father would relate about one of his childhood friends being found dead leaning over a big barrel of gasoline...he'd huffed himself to death apparently. That story scared the bejesus outta me and is the reason I only ever intentionally spill a little gas on my jeans at the pumps so I can enjoy the smell on the ride home!

I had a friend who passed out with a bag of ... (geezus, was it glue? lighter fluid? not sure anymore) on his face. I swear to God he was never the same.

If it isn't already the law, I think you should have to be 18+ to buy any of that sort of thing, and parents who have any of it around the house should be careful to keep it locked up with the liquor. (which should also be locked up ...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dirt bike exhaust.....mmmmmmmm...sweet, sweet smell.

Hell yeah. Sunshine, you used to dirt bike alot, right? But no more? Pourquoi?

Right before I moved to Ottawa all my gear was stolen from my truck, so at that point I sold my bike to my friend, and then shortly after that moved to Ottawa.

It sure was a lot of fun while it lasted.

I'll never forget the feeling when I first sat on my bike and started it up.... ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the way Sensi Bloom A & B smell when mixed.

Mmmmmmm, urea and sulphates :laugh:

I'll never forget the feeling when I first sat on my bike and started it up....

Awesome, ain't it? I've never had a bike of my own, but there was a period where I kicked around and earned my keep working on farms. For awhile, I had access to a dirt bike and a track and it was fuckin' heaven.

Sorry to hear about your gear. That must've been one hell of a piss off.

I think bikes are in the blood, though. Half my family are 'bikers' (many of the organized gang variety, some of the innocent just-like-to-ride-a-motorcycle variety). I want one badly, but one of my childhood friends is now quadriplegic after meeting the mean side of a truck through no fault of his own. Stopped abruptly in front of him on the 401 and he slid right under.

Gawd, though, I miss tearing up the fields.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...