Discussion What's the worst thing you've ever smelled? / Which smells do you hate?

[littlelungs]

This question was inspired by two rotten potatoes I discovered in the potato bag earlier. Obviously not the worst smell in the world, but disgusting nonetheless. Rotten anything smells bad, but as far as food goes, rotten potatoes are definitely up there.

I hate cheese in general, but just the smell of orange cheddar cheese makes me gag every time I smell it, without fail. Blue cheese is particularly bad... smells like butane-roasted asshole, feet and dead ants.

Also, when I was younger I worked at fast food restaurant, and at one point there was a festival going on nearby (so, more people than usual in this pretty small town, and LOTS of drunk people). I got to work one day and went out back for a breather before the restaurant opened, and was hit with this awful smell of garbage, grease and shit. Someone had apparently tried to (somehow) take a shit into the dumpster, but they missed so there was just this massive plop of crap right beside the dumpster. It was summer and super hot out which made the whole thing smell so much worse. The manager dealt with it – I LITERALLY did not get paid enough to deal with that shit.

So, what about you? What's the worst thing you've ever smelled, or which smells do you just generally hate?

 

[FuneralCry]

I am very sensitive to smells. I just like the smell of nothing, personally. I really dislike scented candles, certain air fresheners and perfumes. It just gives me headaches. There are many food smells that I dislike, family members make these vegetable meals which smell very strong and I cannot stand it. Also the smell of alcohol. That is the worst for me.

 

[summers]

The smell of rotting carcases in the summer in AZ. When it's 110°f+ during the day, and there's a dead cat or something. The smell is horrid. They always have tons of maggots in them, and you can see them squirming inside the body. It's straight out of a horror movie.

 

[ClownMe]

Cant stand the smell of vinegar and women's perfume.

 

[OrcWitch]

When my dad was in his vegetarian phase and was eating beans all the time, he started using seasoning like crazy because his beans were very bland. The living room/kitchen area would just reek of this intense garlic inferno and I would actually have to cover my nose and mouth to make it through. He would sit there sweating it out in front of the tv, but he was ingesting it over and over so it was a permanent thing. He would be confused why I kept trying to ventilate the house. I like garlic in cooking but that was so disgusting, absolute worst odor of my life. He once came near me within a couple feet and I could not breathe, he smelled like this rancid body odor+garlic+onions homeless man.

Someone had apparently tried to (somehow) take a shit into the dumpster, but they missed so there was just this massive plop of crap right beside the dumpster. It was summer and super hot out which made the whole thing smell so much worse. The manager dealt with it – I LITERALLY did not get paid enough to deal with that shit.

Good. If you are American this is by OSHA standards against your labor rights if someone ever tries to make you clean human fluids(urine, poop, vomit, bood) when you are not specifically trained to do so such as being a janitor or hospital staff. Never let a manager force this kind of thing on you as it is illegal. I once had a manager try to make me clean up pee when I worked retail and I refused. I am sure this is a labor law in many other countries but I wouldn't know all their names.

 

[littlelungs]

When my dad was in his vegetarian phase and was eating beans all the time, he started using seasoning like crazy because his beans were very bland. The living room/kitchen area would just reek of this intense garlic inferno and I would actually have to cover my nose and mouth to make it through. He would sit there sweating it out in front of the tv, but he was ingesting it over and over so it was a permanent thing. He would be confused why I kept trying to ventilate the house. I like garlic in cooking but that was so disgusting, absolute worst odor of my life. He once came near me within a couple feet and I could not breathe, he smelled like this rancid body odor+garlic+onions homeless man.

Oh, YIKES. My eyes started watering just imagining the smell.

If you are American this is by OSHA standards against your labor rights if someone ever tries to make you clean human fluids(urine, poop, vomit, bood) when you are not specifically trained to do so such as being a janitor or hospital staff. Never let a manager force this kind of thing on you as it is illegal. I once had a manager try to make me clean up pee when I worked retail and I refused. I am sure this is a labor law in many other countries but I wouldn't know all their names.

This was in Canada. I was young, it was my first job and I was still unfortunately pretty unfamiliar with my rights as an employee – I didn't even know that I was legally entitled to a break, so for a couple months my employer just let me work for 8 hours without telling me. I started to feel like that wasn't right at all and did some quick research, and... yeah, that was illegal. My manager got pissy when I'd ask for a break, but that's not my problem. Thankfully the poop incident happened after I'd educated myself a bit, otherwise it might have been me who had to clean up that literal biohazard. Fuck that. Always take the time to learn your rights.

 

[ClairyFairy]

I work in a supermarket and there was a smashed jar of gherkins on the palette. Oh my god it smelled like the dirtiest woman's undercarriage I've ever smelled. It smelled worse than death

 

[littlelungs]

I am very sensitive to smells. I just like the smell of nothing, personally. I really dislike scented candles, certain air fresheners and perfumes. It just gives me headaches. There are many food smells that I dislike, family members make these vegetable meals which smell very strong and I cannot stand it. Also the smell of alcohol. That is the worst for me.

Cant stand the smell of vinegar and women's perfume.

YES. I'm also very sensitive to smells (as well as light, sound and touch), which is largely due to my illness... but I was also just born irritated, lol. My MIL always wears perfume whenever she comes by, and it makes the entire hallway absolutely REEK. Instant headache – I always have to open the window and take paracetamol. Both my husband and I have asked her numerous times to please refrain from wearing perfume when she plans to come by, but she genuinely just seems to not care, or think that it's not a big deal... just no real perspective or self-reflection. I don't know what more I can do, because we're both very ill and need her help with grocery shopping, and have nobody else we can ask. Of course I appreciate the help, but god damn, the smell...

Department stores are also super bad for these kinds of smells. I don't know how people can manage to work with that constant smell of perfume all around them.

 

[Lostandlooking]

I used to work at a post-office. One guy I worked with smelled like old sweat all of the time. I don't know what was up with him, maybe he never washed his clothes? If you stood within 2 mtrs of him you would be overwhelmed with this pungent sour smell. The post-office had a number of characters, lots of people had something going on, though no-one really talked about this. There was one guy who was already retired but he just kept coming in to work and they let him. It was all he knew I guess. It was a sad place really, but I have worked at worse places.

 

[Sprite_Geist]

Vinegar, prawn cocktail flavoured crisps/chips and strong artificial sweet scents - to name a few.

There is a town that I live near. When you visit there is always that greasy or "fatty" smell that usually comes from takeout shops, and it mixes with the smell of rotten trash in overfilled dumpsters. It is especially bad when it is present in a narrow road with tall buildings, so the awful smell just lingers.

 

[ClairyFairy]

Vinegar,

No way one of my favourites. Makes me really hungry just thinking of salt and vinegar

 

[UseItOrLoseIt]

I'm sure ketchup was invented by Nazi scientist to hide the smell of burnt bodies.

 

[Fish Face]

Oily fish makes my face green and just makes me feel so sick, something which my parents punished me for. I cannot stand any fish or seafood smells now. Oily tuna from a can is the worst.

 

[Makko]

The smell of tenants.

Sometimes when the tenant is too scary/antisocial and the landlord doesn't dare to show up for the eviction, I went instead. It's really impressive what some people can do with their living space. The most interesting one was when an apartment was completely covered in black mold. By "covered" I mean you couldn't tell the color of the wallpaper or the ceiling. It was like a post-apocalyptic alien invasion. I sent the pictures from an earlier inspection to the bailiffs, they didn't comment on it at the time but on eviction day they showed up in biohazard suits (black mold is highly toxic). In this ~70 sqm apartment lived 12 people. They deliberately plugged up the ventilation (I still don't know why some people do that) which naturally causes the mold to spread, in this case until it covered every surface of the apartment, including furniture.

I was standing in the stairwell two stories below the apartment when the bailiffs forced the door and started dragging out the tenants and their stuff. When the vapors hit my nose I had to immediately flee the building and text the bailiffs to meet me later for the new keys etc.

It was the sort of smell that makes you go "hmm"

 

[BitterlyAlive_]

E. Coli poo, from what I remember - and that's probably because it's more recent.

Long side note… Someone here mentioned carcasses. I remember I used to investigate them as a kid. One vague…uh, event (?) that stands out was over a couple weeks in the spring or summer as a kid. I just kept coming back to a dead squirrel or something to see how its body would decompose. I kinda remember moving its body around, ignoring the maggots, and the ground was wet underneath? Maybe? But I don't recall any smell.

 

[tiredplant777]

Canned tripe. I got some for my dog at the pet store because they said it was good for their digestion. They warned me it smelled bad, but I was like whatever it can't be that bad. It was that bad, it was awful. I had to put it outside after I opened it. I gave it to my dog and he ate it outside and he loved it lol.

 

[sadbadpsychogirl]

i can deal with most smells but vomit makes me vomit. i can't even be near it even my own is unbearable.

 

[MeltedJello]

Worse thing I smelled was the inside of a very old compost bin. I can't ever forget that nasty stench. I also hate the smell of a dirty public washroom. Disgusting.