They Say That Smells Can Trigger Memories. What Smell Reminds You Of Your Childhood?
Written By: The Grindylow on October 25, 2009
40 Comments
I’m not certain that it is a myth – what is it called?
Oatmeal cooking in the morning reminds me of childhood…and of course, a turkey baking in the oven reminds me of Thanksgiving and the smell of cinnamon reminds me of Christmas.
Cigar smoke. It reminds me of roadtrips with my parents. My dad would always light up a cigar and would make up all these silly songs to make the time pass. Gosh, I really miss the both of them now!
The smell of hay and alphalpha ^-^ When I was growing up, my mom worked almost every day of the week, and me and my cousins were left on my grandparents farm when not in school. The scent of hay and alphalpha was sooo strong no matter where we were at! Anytime I am driving through the country and catch these smells, my childhood memories come rushing back in full.
There are often smells I come across that start triggering memories I can’t quite get to come out, I am assuming there are very early memories, perhaps from when I was a baby or very young toddler. It always drives me crazy trying to place them. Me and my sister both have a very keen sense of smell, and we both also have a very sharp memory.
Karvol vapouriser.. My mum would put it on in my bedroom when I had a cold. There was a little night light in it, so not only did it smell nice it was really comforting as well
This is really weird, but here it goes.
Remember those mint candy cigarettes. (nice message for young ones huh?)
but those used to be my favorite candy. My parents have a shower cleaner that smells like those candy’s. Everytime I clean the shower I remember my old house, and mimicking my mom and her habbits.
It’s no wonder I’m a smoker now.
This is such an awesome question. Scent is a very strong trigger for memory and emotions. The smells that remind me of my childhood are: potatos frying, pine needles, bubble gum, Aquamarine shampoo, and burning leaves.
crayola crayons and sometimes old batteries. and my little pony plastic.
smell of tree leaves after raining hard…..that reminds me of childhood ,,,,,,and how peaceful it is….
wood smoke, the smell takes me back to all the camping trips we made as i was growing up.the smell of fresh cut hay will send me back the old days with barns full of hay and horses. so yes smells will bring you to remember things that you have done.
the smell of freshly mowed grass totally makes me think of playing “it” with my sisters around outside in the courtyard.
Lemon cake. My neighbor who was like a grandma to me made me Lemon cake every year for my birthday. Still doesn’t feel like my birthday unless I have a slice.
smell of rain ……smell of white diamonds my aunt wears……smell of fall..reminds me of going back to school
Oh hell ya– I have a one smell its a sausage gravey when i smell it i go strait back to my great grandma making biskits and gravey on sunday mornings when i was little.soooooooo nice !!!!!!! Or some times i smell something outside reminds me of camping as a kid.
Musty basements make me think of my childhood.
My parents always hung out in the basement my father built up. We always wanted to be treated like big kids, and allowed down there.
There is a certain kind of talcum powder that smells like flowers. It reminds me of my grandmother.
burning leaves, lavender, Dr Pepper, A&W root beer, new cut hay, Pine trees, model glue
The scent of homemade apple butter, my grandma used to make the best apple butter, and the smell of rain, it reminds me of all the fun times I had playing in the rain without inhibitions about how ppl viewed me, or getting sick. I rea;;y miss it sometimes. Great question. It took me back for a minute.
The smell of a big ‘ol pile of maple tree leaves, ready for me to dive into! And the smell of clothes dried on the line (’cause us kids did all the laundry hanging and taking down from the line) FYI, this smell is like sunshine and fresh rain.
Perhaps too the smell of mud, from all those years spend weeding the gardens, and engine grease from helping my step-dad with repairs. Freshly-split wood, from our fireplace too.
Fresh cut grass, to this day I can’t get enough of that smell
pepperment always reminds me of my grandpas tobacco pipe
The smell of snickerdoodles baking in the oven reminds me of Brownies- I mean small Girl Scouts.
ragu spagetti sauce!
Pine-Sol, that’s what my mom used to mop our floors. When me and my sisters were little, we didn’t have a lot of carpets in our house. I noticed just the other day when the janitor was mopping the lobby where I work.
sweets baking in the oven, my mom used to bake all the time when i was a kid, for our school lunches and snacks. the taste of canned cherries reminds me of my Nan, every Christmas, she would make cherry tarts and use canned cherries. Yum!
Brandy reminds me of early childhood, my fauther was an alcoholic
A dry fresh Autumn morning reminds me of when I was living in New Deal, Texas and would walk to school.
banana bread or apple pie baking
Spaghetti and garlic bread…..freshly mowed grass
My father was an auto mechanic. And the smell of car oil or something in a garage always reminds me of him. I’m not sure what it is but sometimes I catch a whiff of it and can almost see my father.
The smell of rain on the sidewalk, concord grapes (we had a huge grapevine in the fall the smell of the concord grapes was so sweet & strong) now a days I love to drive through Chattaqua county NY in Oct-Nov for a whiff of the grapes.Fresh mown hay reminds me of summers on the farm. Turkey roasting reminds me of my grandmas house.
Not sure what it is called, BUT it sure is true
Fresh cut grass reminds me of my grandma’s house..we only saw her for 10 days out of the year…she died when I was 10.
Vicks vaporub. Sad but true. I was raised by my great grandparents, and every night my grandma would rub vicks under my nose to keep it from getting stuffed up during the night. The smell of vicks reminds me of her and the house we lived in. I can even feel the cold if I close my eyes. They were the only elderly people in the world that kept the house Ice Cold. I love the memory.
No i dont think this is just myth i know there certainly are things that remind me of my childhood and yes a few smells do remind me of the good old days