What's your favorite smell in the world? Is it fresh coffee in the morning? The smell of a garden after rain? The unique scent of a loved one?
We all have smells that fill us with feelings of comfort and joy, but have you ever smelled something and been instantly transported back to another time?
We don't tend to think of our sense of smell as being very important. We usually imagine smell to be the realm of dogs, whose senses of smell are vastly more keen than ours, to the point where they can even detect dangers long before humans are aware of it.
But it turns out that smell is huge for humans, too, and actually affects us on a deeply emotional level.
It's often believed that smell is linked the most to memory, and that's why catching a whiff of perfume, or the smell of someone's house, can flood us with memories. It's pretty neat, actually!
But as times change, so do the things we smell. We've collected a list of things you just don't smell anymore due to changes in technology and culture. You probably haven't even thought about these things in quite some time, but see if you can remember how they smelled.
Check out the list, and let us know your favorite scents from a bygone era!
[H/T: Mental Floss]
Old-Fashioned Smell #1: Burning Leaves
The autumn used to be punctuated with the smell of burning leaves as people raked their lawns and built bonfires out of the fallen leaves.
It gave the newly chilly air a cozy, smoky smell, and hinted at winters around the fireplace to come.
Today, burning leaves isn't done, and in many places is even banned due to pollution concerns. Breathing in burning plant matter isn't particularly healthy for you, either.
Still, the tangy smoke brings back memories for a lot of people.
Old-Fashioned Smell #2: Chalk Dust
The smell of chalk dust used to be a schooltime staple.
The mineral scent was in every classroom, and maybe you remember going outside to bang the extra dust off the erasers.
And how much fun was it when you actually got to write on the board? Thrilling!
Today, many schools opt for white boards instead, which come with markers and their own unique smell (not as nice). Some schools even have interactive "smart" boards that can show all kinds of media.
Cool, but not as fun as that ceramic-y chalk tap and dusty smell.
Old-Fashioned Smell #3: Spirit Duplicators
Speaking of school, you might also remember these.
These purple-printed "ditto" worksheets were what happened in the days before Xerox.
They came with a distinct smell that millions of schoolkids growing up in the mid-1900s remember well. Maybe you even got to use the mimeograph if you were the very responsible sort.
The scent was actually a mix of methanol and isopropanol, so probably something you shouldn't have breathed in too deeply.
The stuff is still made, but thanks to Xerox machines and paperless options, it's nowhere near as popular as it once was.
Old-Fashioned Smell #4: Magic Markers
You probably remember the strong, strident smell of permanent markers that, depending on your age and ability to keep it off your clothes, you may or may not have been allowed to use as a child.
If you're a bit younger, you might also remember the scented markers that were all the rage in the early 1990s. You could always tell who'd used them by the rainbow dots on their noses.
And of course, breathing these too deeply was also great for killing brain cells. Today, markers are generally made with gentler ingredients that don't make you dizzy.
Old-Fashioned Smell #5: The Phone Book
Way back in the days before Google, you had to look up phone numbers and addresses in a thick, yellow-paged tome with everyone's information listed alphabetically.
A new phone book also came with a distinct newsprint smell, too, and there was that satisfying pop in the spine when you first opened it.
Old-Fashioned Smell #6: Polaroid Film
They don't even make this anymore!
Old instant film used to feature a peel-away layer that exposed the emulsion and allowed the photo to develop. It was sticky, and also allowed for some cool effects on the film if you were crafty.
It also has a sweetish chemical smell that budding photographers would associate with the anticipation of watching a new photo develop.
The downside, though, was that all those chemicals, plus the plastic and metal cartridge, were kind of wasteful, and so instant film slowly declined.
Old-Fashioned Smell #7: Vacuum Tubes
Before LCDs, radios and TVs were filled with tubes.
They'd heat up, and emit a warm, toasty smell the longer they ran. In an era of digital everything, the mechanical heat and smell is all but gone from our screens.
You might also remember how the smell would get decidedly more burning if you forgot to clean the dust off the tubes for a while!
Old-Fashioned Smell #8: Cap Guns
Cap guns were a staple for a lot of kids in a time when lawsuits weren't so popular.
They fired off nothing but noise and a puff of smoke, leaving a sharp, sulfur smell, kind of like a tiny firework, in the air.
Cap guns are still made today, but are much more regulated than they used to be. However, they're huge collectors' items.
Old-Fashioned Smell #9: Bubblegum Cards
Gum was always a big deal for kids (especially if it were banned in school), and it was better if it came with a collectible card, like the ones put out by the Topps Company.
Many kids didn't even care about the gum, and slowly, the included stick of gum was phased out. But with it went the distinctive sugary smell that came with each new card.
Old-Fashioned Smell #10: Diesel
The heavy, gritty smell of diesel fuel burning used to be much more popular, and you can still sometimes catch a whiff of it on the highway from trucks or from diesel trains. If you had a car in the 1970s, it might have had a diesel engine.
But while diesel fuel is actually efficient, it's dirty. Today, fuel is cleaner, even for trucks, and advances in rail are cutting down on diesel trains, too.
And where there is still diesel, it's different, with a lower sulfur content.
Old-Fashioned Smell #11: The New Car Smell
If you or your family got a new car, you were always sure to breathe deep to take in that new car smell.
But if you've bought a car recently, you might notice that the new car smell has changed over time.
That's because the chemicals and materials that go into making car interiors have also changed, so the new car smell for someone growing up now is totally different from the one you might remember!
What's your favorite old-fashioned scent? Did we miss any?
Let us know in the comments, and bring your friends on a stroll down memory lane by SHARING this list!
