Funny How Smells Take You Back

[Less]

There I was in my usual position (semi conscious) when in came a group of lads they sat at a table near me.

I got a strong smell, extremely sweet, and also stickily sour.

It took me back immediately to my junior school classroom of the late 50's, back then although there were antibiotics they weren't being used for 'ordinary' illnesses.
So if someone got an ear infection it didn't take long before everyone seemed to get one.
The cure? A piece of cotton wool to catch the puss with a dab of germoline on it.
The smell came back to my memory instantly and on observing the group of lads, I noticed one had a piece of cotton wool in his ear.

I wonder, considering how powerful and accurate our sense of smell is, what memories have come back to you?

Hopefully they will be better than the above.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Less

There I was in my usual position (semi conscious) when in came a group of lads they sat at a table near me.

I got a strong smell, extremely sweet, and also stickily sour.

It took me back immediately to my junior school classroom of the late 50's, back then although there were antibiotics they weren't being used for 'ordinary' illnesses.
So if someone got an ear infection it didn't take long before everyone seemed to get one.
The cure? A piece of cotton wool to catch the puss with a dab of germoline on it.
The smell came back to my memory instantly and on observing the group of lads, I noticed one had a piece of cotton wool in his ear.

I wonder, considering how powerful and accurate our sense of smell is, what memories have come back to you?

Hopefully they will be better than the above.

Germoline definitely rings a bell with me, although not in the same way thankfully! I was reminded of it when I first tried a pop drink called Root Beer here in Canada. There's nothing 'beer'-like about it, it's the colour of a pop I used to enjoy back in Accy - Dandelion and Burdock, but has the sweet medicinal aroma of our beloved pink ointment. Strange to tell, I grew to like Root Beer - it's still a favourite after all these years.

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by Turtle

Germoline definitely rings a bell with me, although not in the same way thankfully! I was reminded of it when I first tried a pop drink called Root Beer here in Canada. There's nothing 'beer'-like about it, it's the colour of a pop I used to enjoy back in Accy - Dandelion and Burdock, but has the sweet medicinal aroma of our beloved pink ointment. Strange to tell, I grew to like Root Beer - it's still a favourite after all these years.

I have just looked up Wikipedia for Germoline and it says it contains wintergreen.
So I then looked up 'root beer' in Wiki and it shows that some root beers use wintergreen as a flavouring.

[gpick24]

Euthymol toothpaste tastes like germoline.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Hyacinths make me think of a trip to Amsterdam when I was newly married, but it also brought back memeories of landing at Manchester and himself nipping off to the loo because the loo on the plane had been occupied for most of the flight.
When he came out of the toilets he was hauled away by burly customs officers for a body cavity search......so the smell of hyacinths brings back that memory too...though it wasn't anywhere near as traumatic for me as it was for him .

[Less]

Originally Posted by gpick24

Euthymol toothpaste tastes like germoline.

I've never eaten Germoline, are you sure it tastes like it, or perhaps as the topic is about smells being strong, you just think it does?

Typical reply from Mags by the way, she must have been disappointed that she didn't find anything world threatening in her search.

[jaysay]

I can remember back in the fifties the smell of DDT anywhere in the New Lane area of Ossy, you could taste it, until it was outlawed, even then it took many years for the smell to disperse

[Less]

Originally Posted by jaysay

I can remember back in the fifties the smell of DDT anywhere in the New Lane area of Ossy, you could taste it, until it was outlawed, even then it took many years for the smell to disperse

Let's be honest, back then that was the early version of deodorant or antiperspirant.

God! when you consider hygiene, bathing once a week, wearing the same clothes, several days on the trot, it's a wonder that we could stand near each other!

[Sunflower49]

Smells definitely take me back, the one instance I recall is one xmas when I was just kind of growing up a bit (11ish) I got a present of some perfume , and a ladybird-shaped hairbrush, the perfume isn't around any longer but whatever scents it was comprised of still remind me of xmas-they crop up every now and again.

Germoline reminds me of school definitely-although I'm not sure It's the scent or the sight/presence of the product. I hate the stuff

[Turtle]

Devon Violet Perfume just came to mind. Haven't been near any since I was a kid, but I can still recall the scent.

[egg&chips]

Walking through Newark last year, I got a whiff of something which took me back to Blackburn 45 years ago. There must have been a local brewery working as the smell reminded me f getting off the bus and barely being able to breathe due to the smell emanating from M. Brown or D Thwaites. It used to make me baulk.

[Mog]

47.11 toilet water from Woolworths . Now that brings back memories.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I know that after himself was released by the customs chaps(we had nothing more than we were allowed) he was told that he had made the customs men suspicious by going straight to the toilet.
I just said I hoped they had searched his mouth before they poked their fingers into his bottom end.
He was like Victoria...not amused!

[davemac]

Originally Posted by Less

Let's be honest, back then that was the early version of deodorant or antiperspirant.

God! when you consider hygiene, bathing once a week, wearing the same clothes, several days on the trot, it's a wonder that we could stand near each other!

Are you saying it doesn't happen now, and why do people not stand close to me.

[gpick24]

Originally Posted by davemac

Are you saying it doesn't happen now, and why do people not stand close to me.

At least your gusset gets a regular clean Dave.