15 evocative smells that instantly transport you back to the past
We’re very cultured here at The Poke. We’ve read our Marcel Proust. Okay, we’re read the summary of Proust. Okay, we saw some of his writing as an Instagram quote.
Anyway. In Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the smell of a madeleine cake is enough to trigger a long nostalgic memory for the writer.
Now, over to the the modern day equivalent of Proust, Reddit, where user @Focusaur asked:
What kind of smell instantly takes you back to the past?
People had some very evocative replies.
1.
“The rubbery smell of the inside of a Halloween mask.”
-j54t
2.
“This is a little odd, so bear with me. I install flooring, and sometimes when I open up a new roll of vinyl, the smell instantly reminds me of the old plastic Halloween masks we wore in the 70’s. Specifically for me, from the Spider-Man costume I wore when I was 5 years old. It is the exact same odor, and I know it even though it was almost 50 years ago that I smelled it. It’s a good memory, and I don’t want to think too hard about what kind of toxic fumes we might have been exposed to as children.”
-Poopingisasignipoop
3.
“A smell of a perfume I used to love.. so bright and full of dreams.”
-Your-Goth-Queen
4.
“The smell of a chilly summer morning- before the sun is fully up. Reminds me of roadtrips with my family.”
-JessLuca_ZeroOne
5.
“Freshly baked bread.”
-the_Onl1point_twent3
6.
“I don’t even know what the smell was but I once walked into a shop in Florence and I was instantly transported back to my grandmother’s house back in the early 80s. She wasn’t Italian, never been to Italy, so I have no idea what it was in that shop, but it was pure nostalgia. Was probably just because everything in the shop was old.”
-Eborys
7.
“Drinking water from an outdoor hose. The plastic and water smell, is like an instant portal to my childhood.”
-turboyabby
8.
“The smell of fresh-cut grass always takes me back to summer days as a kid. It’s like a time machine that brings back memories of playing outside with friends.”
-nauticaloutfield
9.
“Combine crayon smell with the smell of a new coloring book, and bam! Instant time travel.”
-sheeprancher594
10.
“Lynx Africa, tobacco pre burn, new book smell, new video game smell.”
-Overall-Stay4809
11.
“The smell of another country that you’re fond of and haven’t been to in a while. I don’t know why but each country smells significantly different.”
-Indomie_At_3am
12.
“A freshly lit Marlboro red.”
-Own-Park5939
13.
“Chlorine. Being a kid swimming laps or just floating around for hours.”
-Corkas_
14.
“Natural Christmas tree smell.”
-anxietydude112
15.
“Bananas in paper bags. Primary school coat rack smell.”
-tenorboyo
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People have been sharing the worst smells they’ve ever experienced and it’s a fetid delight!