Smell Club sniffs out world's best and worst odours

guardian.co.uk ^ | January 12, 2009 | Justin McCurry

[Free ThinkerNY]

Worried that a trip to Japan might be ruined by the stench of feline halitosis? Convinced that a weekend break in Paris will be all the more memorable for a sniff of herbal soap? Time, then, to consider membership of the Smell Club.

The club's website (Japanese language), is the brainchild of a Japanese firm with an overdeveloped interest in all things nasal, and tags different odours around the world, pinpointing them on a map.

Since its launch last month, the site has gathered more than 160 odours in 68 locations, submitted by 200 members who call themselves "smellists".

The smells submitted so far range from the decidedly fetid – cow dung and old socks – to the quirky, including freshly aired futons and the steam from a rice cooker.

[Fido969]

Rules of Smell Club

1. You do not talk about ‘Smell Club’.
2. You do not talk about ‘Smell Club’.
3. When someone yells “Stop” or goes limp, or taps out, the smell is over.
4. Only two guys to a smell.
5. One smell at a time.
6. No shirts, no shoes.
7. Smells go on as long as they have to.
8. If this is your first night at ‘Smell Club’, you have to smell.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Excellent.

[pnut22]

Favorite smells? Ocean breezes. New car. Least favorite? At my house the kids call it patootie patootie.. the smell of the unwashed. And the smell that brings back memories.. the smell of an open lunch box always takes me back to second grade.

[weegee]

Convinced that a weekend break in Paris will be all the more memorable for a sniff of herbal soap?

If you find someone in Paris who's using soap, it'll be memorable...

[weegee]

[weegee]

[weegee]

For Smellers/Lovers Only

[weegee]

All users have to do is click on a balloon tag on the map or enter a keyword to reveal vital data, such as when best to inhale – or avoid – a particular smell and where to encounter it. The smells are ranked in order of pungency, from light to extra bold... Also best avoided is nearby Kamakura, Japan's ancient capital, where the aroma of temple incense now apparently mingles with that of the bad breath of cats.

"...your father smelled of elderberries"

[weegee]

PING!

[Revolting cat!]

[weegee]

"All that is missing on the web is a smelling function," the spokeswoman Kayo Matsubara told the Associated Press. "That's our next challenge."

You'll need internet tubes for that.

[Revolting cat!]

[weegee]

“Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer...” - Obama gaffe, 2008

[Kickass Conservative]

Worst smell?

Obama in the morning, according to his Daughter.

For me, Obama’s policies have a stench to them. The stench of Fascism.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

The smells submitted so far range from the decidedly fetid – cow dung and old liberals.....fixed it

[dainbramaged]

Cow Pies? That’s perfume compared to a deer repellent spray I used on some shrubs yesterday. It’s main ingredient is something called “putrescent egg solids” and it’s potent.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Oui-oui on the French.

[weegee]

Yes I Can-Can

[weegee]

Silly PING

[LibertyRocks]

I have a recommendation for an entry in the “worst smell” category...

The grandfathered-in Paper Factory in Mosinee, WI. You can literally smell it and KNOW it’s bad for you to be breathing it in... I doubt people who have lived near it for any length of time realize how bad it really is though - from what I’ve heard it’s possible to actually get used to it.

As for Cow Dung being in a list of bad smells... While I agree that it can be overwhelming at times (particularly during a hot summer), for me personally it isn’t a bad smell. I guess that has to do with my fond memories of visiting relatives when I was a child though - as soon as you smelled the cows you KNEW you were very close to celebratory cake and ice cream (as long as we weren’t showing up unannounced! LOL).

[Daffynition]

HAHAHA!

[TruthWillWin]

One of the worse smells for 2008 would be the ACORN voter registration drive.

[weegee]

Stinky escape: Mafia boss flees into sewer (Google/AP January 13, 2009 Nicole Winfield)

[JoeProBono]

[eastforker]

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[TheConservativeParty]

Worst smelling city in Germany is Munich. On the streets you get diesel fumes from the buses and smoke from the huge population of smokers there. It was weird. I was there 2 days in October and Munich absolutely stinks on ice!

[ViLaLuz]

New Orleans smells bad, too.

[BruceysMom]

THE best smell on earth.......Puppy breath! Jessica McClintock perfume is a close second.

[allmendream]

Orangs are so cool.

They are solitary animals by nature and necessity, but when put together in captivity they loves each other!!!