What smell or taste triggers something in your memory ?

1. 81

   sallybeaposted 11 years ago

   What smell or taste triggers something in your memory ?
   
   There is a curious emotional connection between taste and smell and sometimes one of these two senses can be triggered without any prompting.
   
   

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2. 66

   Mathewsonposted 11 years ago

   This my sound strange but her goes : Cooked Snails. The first time I was in France a met a very nice old couple on the ferry and we sat down chatted and ate snails. We swapped e-mails and have been in contact with them for the last 10 years and managed to visit them in Holland just 6 months ago... It was an amazing and heart warming experience for me. Great Question.. it made me happy, Thanks.

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      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is lovely - imagine - cooked snails being responsible for bringing people together and forming a friendship which has been so long lasting.  Thank you so much for sharing your story Mathewson.

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3. 60

   Canscorpionposted 11 years ago

   Smell of freshly bought new book ...it reminds me of my earliest memory when my dad took me to a book shop. we were out in the city because of some of my medical tests ...and we were waiting for the resuklts. so my dad took us siblings to some eatout. It was my birthday and my dad too her bookworm to buy a new book out of her own choice. Miss those days of innocence oblivion... Your question reminded me of such a beautiful moment!

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   1. 81

      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Oh yes, Canscorpion, I can almost smell the pages here - nothing more pleasurable than a fresh book - especially when it is given as a treat.  I recall my choice of comic arriving weekly in the post - wonderful, thank you for reminding me of that.

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4. 0

   Motown2Chitownposted 11 years ago

   Three smells bring my childhood to mind instantly.  One is the smell of extinguished candles.  The next is the smell of fresh strawberries being cleaned and prepared to turn into strawberry freezer jam.  The last is an odd one:  I spent my earliest years in a poor neighborhood in the city of Detroit, where many abandoned homes were burned down.  The smell of a pile of wreckage from a burned down house makes me think of being a kid.

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      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      These are all such powerful memories in their own right and they appear to be so deeply embedded in childhood.  I find this so interesting..  Thank you for your comment.

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5. 78

   daughtersonposted 11 years ago

   The smell of Dove soap.  When I was about eight years old my mother on a tight budget had one luxury -- Dove soap.  We were very poor at that time and our shower was in the basement.  The smell of the Dove soap may showering very special.  Today whenever I smell Dove soap I see our little apartment and the basement shower so clearly its like I am there.  It is a really nice memory.
   
   
   
   
   http://sallybea.hubpages.com/question/2 … r-memory-#

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   1. 81

      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Fancy and what a testimony it is to Dove soap.  This isstill a soap which is still much revered and much loved by many.   I have a visual in my mind of the pleasure this small luxury invoked for you.  Thank you for sharing this story daughterson,

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6. 0

   richard alburoposted 11 years ago

   The smell of fresh grass and the taste of freshly pick vegetables on your own backyard.I used to plant vegetables and raise chicken in our back yard when i was young.I miss that moment in my life so much.

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   1. 81

      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It sounds exactly like our back yard, except I remember how the grass made us itch when we rolled on the freshly mowed lawn - Ha - thank you haring your memory and for for reminding me of my own childhood memory.

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7. 60

   Darren Owensposted 11 years ago

   My wife got this candle as a gift, and when she lit it, it smelled like my grandparents house for some reason. My grandparents died awhile back, and I haven't been in that house for over 8 years, but they didn't burn any candles. I burn the candle from time to time, and it makes me think about the memories I have when I visited my grandparents.

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      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      How lovely that the simple smell of a candle can bring back a memory of  your grandparents.    Something to treasure.   Thank you for sharing your story Darren Owens.

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8. 94

   Gabriel Wilsonposted 11 years ago

   Wet sheep wool. Yep! that brings memories like a flood. I was 18, just had a shower and was getting ready to go out with friends. My Dad rang down from the farm saying he needed help up the land; I said tough I'm going out. He said tough who's driving ya!
   Long story, short cut; I ended up kicking a sheep in the bum (they were lined up for a dip) and she didn't want to go. She turned around with speed I've never seen in a sheep. She butted me in the stomach; I flew through the air and landed in mounds of sheep shit. I tell you, I lay there a while in shock. The scent of wet sheep wool lingering in the air almost covered the shit smell but not quite.
   I never made it out that night and I walked home to be told to undress outside, no way was I coming in. Yep, what a memory, one that my family love to talk about. And funny enough I remember it with love too. I sat with my Dad that night and watched a movie. It was fun, and because of that sheep, I often stayed in with Dad and watched a movie. I reckon that sheep made a strong bond, one I still have today

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      sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is such a delightful story, a real treasure - who would have thought that a bit of Wet Wool and a bit of Shit could bond together two people.  That must be a first.   I so enjoyed your tale Gabriel(  Wilson) so glad your shared it with all of us

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   LillyGrillzitposted 11 years ago

   Scents triggering memories, also carry me back to the early 1970's.  An age of aquarius included scents, sounds and events to fill all of the senses. Incense and patchouli remain with me. read more

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10. 68

    susanzhengposted 11 years ago

    The taste and/or smell of Chinese home made Sauerkraut always triggers my precious memory of Mom's love.  When I was young, my mom made a lot of sauercraut to preserve vegetables, mainly napa cabbage, for the long winters. During the winter times, in the northeastern part of P. R. China, the most popular side dish is the nationwide well-known "Pork and sauerkraut cooked with starch noddles".  I like this dish very much.  If I was away from home for college for a long time, whenever I came home, Mom alway asked me "What do you want me to cook for you, pork and sauerkraut cooked with starch noddles?"  I would say "Oh, yes, I like it!"
    
    Now, I am in the US.  But I still make sauerkraut at home without any preservatives.  Whoever tasted/or ate my "Pork and sauerkraut cooked with starch noddle like this dish very much.  My daughter likes it too.  So, whenever she comes home, I just like to ask her as my mom asked me "What do you want me to cook for you, pork and sauerkraut cooked with starch noodles?"  She would say "Oh, yes, I like it, please!"

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       How nice to bable to continue with this family tradition susanzheng.  I expect that in time to come your daughter too will make it for her children and they will all reminisce about Grandma's pork sauerkraut.  Thank you for sharing your memory.

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11. 81

    peachpurpleposted 11 years ago

    whenever I smell raw garlic, my memory trigger back when i was in my 1st pregnancy period. Had a hard time searching for food that doesn't involve with garlic.

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       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Strange time, pregnancy peachpurple, my memory of it is of Rennies tablets for heartburn.  I can never think about pregnancy without remembering that chalky taste of Rennies.  Thank you for sharing your memory.

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12. 89

    ThelmaCposted 11 years ago

    The smell of chalk brings back fond memories of first grade for me.  Since I was "teacher's pet" I always got to take the black board erasers outside to knock the chalk dust off of them.  That was good for about 10 minutes out of the classroom on a pretty day outside.  Unless it was cold weather - then the mean old boys had to do it in the cold!

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       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting ThelmaC that most of the people who have commented here associate good things with smell or taste.  Thank you for your comments, they are much appreciated.

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13. 93

    eugbugposted 11 years ago

    Burning grass and branches reminds me of the bonfires we used to have in the garden when I was a kid. I remember once smelling this in the heart of the city when I was in college and it was so atypical amongst all the concrete streets and buildings, that it brought me back home in my mind.
    One brand of soap always reminds me of my aunties as does toilet air fresheners.
    The smell of chalk dust and modeling clay reminds me of my early days in school.
    When I was about 7, a kid brought this pink, car shaped eraser to school. It had this obnoxious sickly sweet perfumed smell which I can't quite remember.
    Heres another question in answer to your question. Can we recreate smells in our memory? If for example someone says "chocolate", I can't conjure up the smell in my head in the same way as I can have a memory of something visual.

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       How strange eubug, I thought I had responded to your comment - must have forgotten to push the send button.  I don't think we can create the taste of chocolate by thinking of it - wish we could though, I love chocolate.   Thanks for your comment.

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14. 64

    MKayoposted 11 years ago

    Gasoline and Borkum Riff pipe tobacco. As a very young child of just 6 years old, my father worked driving a gasoline truck making local gasoline deliveries for Texaco. Every day when he came through the door around 6pm, he would kneel down and I would run into his arms as he snugly embraced me. I was completely enveloped in the mingled aroma of those two scents. To this day, if I smell either of those two scents, I am immediately taken back to the warm and loving embrace of my father. He has been gone for almost 20 years and those aromas keep this strong emotional connection strong and alive in my mind. It is a good memory that I will always treasure.

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       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Said so beautifully MKay and who can [possibly resist the embrace of a Dad engulfed in the scent of gasoline and Riff pipe tobacco!  I  have this lovely visual imprinted on my mind  forever,  thank you so much fMKayo

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15. 78

    Beata Stasakposted 11 years ago

    The smell of overriped apples we used to pick up with my Granny at the end of summer to make strudle. It was a pretty long process, took all day with making the pastry, stretching it over the whole table...it took forever, Granny never rushed, can't see her surviving in our busy world, but her time was different...the smell of Granny's strudle stayed with me...when I go to Austria I still smell her there....

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Who could forget something like that Beata  (Stasak) that is definitely something to remember. Thank you for sharing your memory with us.

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    ParadigmEnactedposted 11 years ago

    The smell of cleaning supplies and deep fryers reminds me off a bygone summer of discontent. Cologne and blistering heat reminds me of world travels.

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       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       A contract in senses and smells ParadigmEnacted - the smell of Cologne and the warmth of sunny lands sounds to me a far preferable option.  I love travel and I love warmth, both make me feel alive and are eminently content.

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17. 0

    Kathleen Kerswigposted 11 years ago

    The smell of freshly mowed grass reminds me of summers in MA, visiting my family. I spent a lot of time outside when we were staying at my Nana's house and that smell surrounded me most days. Someone was always mowing their lawn at some point. I love those memories. Your question brought them back again. Thank you.
    
    Kathleen

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       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       The smell of cut grass really is something special.  I am so glad that this question brought back some happy memories.  It is gratifying to realize that the question has invoked far more happy memories than bad ones.
       Thank you for your visit Kathleen

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    Kathryn Stratfordposted 11 years ago

    The scents of honeysuckle and peanut butter both remind me of my maternal grandparent's house. They had lots of honeysuckle bushes In their backyard, and when I went outside it was such a strong scent. My grandma loved peanut butter, and would let me have a spoonful once in a while.
    What reminds me of my paternal grandparent's house years ago is the smell of a wood-burning furnace. They had one on their porch.
    It's amazing how smells trigger memories.

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Yes it does appear that our childhood olfactory memories are deeply connected to our long-term memory.  We never seem to lose the connection.  I find it fascinating to read the replies written here by fellow Hubbers.  Thanks Kathryn(Stratford)

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19. 87

    tsmogposted 11 years ago

    Popcorn. I am referring to homemade in a 5 or 6 qt pot with cover. Butter is used and not oil. The seeds share a delightful sound plummeting downward to the bottom. Then, anxiety fills the room, eyeballs glance back and forth, soon the rat-a-tat-tat of popping occurs. Some moments pass by, silence, and then abruptly as each wear as smile grinning from ear to ear dad says, "who wants popcorn!"
    
    The ritual of not peeking in the kitchen while dad had the simple pleasure of providing a delight for his children offers today fond memories. The Wonderful World of Color about to broadcast with Walt and Mickey conversing before the movie was presented was accompanied with little hands diving into a large bowl of popcorn. The only thing that would spoil that would be knocking over your plastic cup of Kool-aid mixed with Tang just right and one ice cube each.

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       How delightful, you make me feel as if I were there.  I just wonder if you eat your popcorn sweet or with salt - the latter being my favorite!  Thank your for sharing your memory with us.

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       tsmogposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hello Sallybea. Thank You I use to pop Jiffy Pop. The one that grows in the foil. That offered so many sensations with memories. I even had an air popper offering a better value with $$$. Today, like many it is Orville - light butter. M'm, M'm

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20. 59

    LensMan999posted 11 years ago

    when I was about six or seven my grandmother used to prepare a special dish for me using jackfruit. The smell of that dish still reminds me of the holidays I used to spend with my grandparents. Though making that dish is quite difficult I stll try making it whenever I get a jackfruit.

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    1. 81

       sallybeaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       An extraordinary fruit - I have seen these in Africa.  I never had the courage to taste one but I do recall the amazing fruity smell it had.  Thanks for sharing your experience with us LensMan999

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