Favorite "smell" experiences at BM?

[lemur]

So.. i think we need one of these

this one time at burning man working in the kitchen i found that a bag of potatoes had went off..

REALLY off.

and im a big wimp when it comes to bad smells... i almost made it a lot worse by almost blowing chunks..

20 pounds of potatoes all turned into wet stinky snot.. like wet all over..

i had to walk away like 15 feet away and i had to ask someone else to clean it up.. explaining that i couldnt handle it without feelin like i was gonna be sick.


they walked up with no issue and cleaned er up real good..


man i wish i could do that...

(there are a few other incidents in the kitchen where the smell got to me.. in good ways, (yummie!) and bad (eww) but.. i guess we could save those)

what are your favorite smell experiences at burning man?

[maryanimal]

I love the smell of the dust! Since it's been raining here, then I turn on my car hearter, I get a whif of wet playa! It's heavenly! I love the different whiffs of food being made in and around the playa. I adore the aroma of coffee brewing in the morning! Ilove the fresh air I brought into my lungs.

I didn't like the smell of people who smelled like they badn't bathed at least 3 months before the burn, trying to hug me, but I bit the bullet a time or one.

Anyone know what old ass smells like?

[Jackass]

Anyone know what old ass smells like?

50% of the hippies in center camp?

The dust, nothing smells sweeter..

[Bob]

Trench foot a week after getting stuck in the rainstorm after the '98 burn.

The cat-pee aroma of barbecued mountain lion.

The nutty perfume of a Great Basin Ichthyosaur IPA growler.

Cow patties from the frisky heifers at the last roundup on Fly Ranch.

Burning couches. A smell not unlike victory.

[jella]

Haven't thought about this until now and it's so hard still for me to differentiate one from another..all blended up in french bakery meets grilled salmon... except maybe for Espresso dudes triple Espresso that was a smell and a buzz I won't soon forget

[Dustdevil]

The Great Canadian Beaver Eating Contest! Wonderful fragrances!

[knowmad]

propane, ethane, butane, methane; in in given order!

not so: The smell on Sunday when all the jerks are burning thier garbage cause they don't want to will not pack it out.

[mgb327]

I was in the entrance line, with the AC on.....finally came to the "stop" and got out...that's it, right there. The smell of the playa, the dust. I brought a small bag home and sometimes open it and just fall back into the playa....oh, and bacon.

[junglesmacks]

The smell of champagne, whippets and playa dust in the morning. Gets me every time.



(you know.. the dog.. )

[Bob]

Oh, and the bloom of Valley Fever fungus spores when the rain hits dry ground.

[theCryptofishist]

The weird burbing slop in that scary tank in '06...

[One-Eye]

The smell of the dry climate and playa dust! Mmmm

[Eric]

Playa dust on a lovely boy curled up in my lap.

[havoc]

i am vegetarian (and even if i wasn't, i find bologna disgusting), but DAMN if i wasn't camped right across the street from Kentucky Fried Camp last year...their fried bologna in the morning smelled HEAVENLY!

[ZaphodBurner]

Napalm in the morning.


...okay, the playa in the morning, when the dust is still sleeping and the air is crisp and perfectly clean.

[moonrise]

Unavaoidable, Zephyrs of the aroma of bacon cooking, mmm mmmm...

The Dust.

The Smoke.

The Coffee.

[Bob]

Durian fruit and fish sauce left out for a week... mmm...

[Shambala]

Walking into a crowded center camp later in the week and smelling patuli and the pungent humanity that is so prominent in BRC. I am home!

[AntiM]

Durian fruit and fish sauce left out for a week... mmm...

Dead Hooker Camp?

[Drawingablank]

Being a smoker for 43 years my sense of smell is almost nil, so I really didn't notice much other than the general smell of the playa.

When I got home and unpacked my coat though, that playa aroma was overwhelming and quite welcome. It was months before I could bring myself to wash it.

Now that I've quit smoking I'm guessing I will be assailed by odors at the next burn.

[ranger magnum]

The rain monday morning in '10. I pulled an all nighter driving, and finally got to bed around 5 am. The rain hitting the roof of the rv woke me up. I went out to see it and I was hit with that wonderfull smell....

[vangran]

The smell of fry bread at a roadside stand at midnight as I was driving home after the burn.
And of course playa dust, any where, any time.

[Savannah]

Being a smoker for 43 years my sense of smell is almost nil, so I really didn't notice much other than the general smell of the playa.

When I got home and unpacked my coat though, that playa aroma was overwhelming and quite welcome. It was months before I could bring myself to wash it.

I've done that . . . delayed the wash. Just for one or two items.

*sigh*

[robbidobbs]

Porta-potties blue schmoo: you either love it or hate it. I find it delightful. Call me fucked up.
Now the urinal boxes - CRIPES! That makes my eyes water. What the fuck are you guys doing in there? You need to get hydrated!

[pizzamancer]

Anyone notice that the playa smells different every year? In 2010, I helped unpack a shade structure, and the smell hit me. Brought me right back to 2009.

Bringing home a bit pf playa and putting it in your coffee occasionally triggers the same memories as well.

[neonbutterfly]

Smell of the porta potties never smell good, but the PP stickers inside made it all more better. The quotes and poems made me laugh.

[illy dilly]

Smell of the porta potties never smell good, but the PP stickers inside made it all more better. The quotes and poems made me laugh.

I completely agree!!!

But there is something interesting about the BRC porta potty smell.
It might be that its often mixed with some type of exhaust, playa dust, and far away bacon, but when you're walking down the street, around 3 in the afternoon, and that porta potty smell wofts through the air, you know you're in BRC!
I wouldn't say its a good smell, but it definitely is part of the Burning Man experience.

[vargaso]

Being a smoker for 43 years my sense of smell is almost nil, so I really didn't notice much other than the general smell of the playa.

When I got home and unpacked my coat though, that playa aroma was overwhelming and quite welcome. It was months before I could bring myself to wash it.

Now that I've quit smoking I'm guessing I will be assailed by odors at the next burn.

Yep, the playa smell is it, especially in the morning, first thing that hits you. Objectively, it ain't anything to write home about, it's the association with the event. And I, too, leave a couple items unwashed. Just boots, mostly, nothing nasty.

[48_love]

What is it like when you realize that fascinating and unnameable olfactory hallucination that you are experiencing is actually the porta-potties? lol

[moonrise]

What is it like when you realize that fascinating and unnameable olfactory hallucination that you are experiencing is actually the porta-potties? lol

Hopefully you're not camped downwind, lol.

If you're hung over in the morning it could be a disaster. Might want to bring an emergency plastic bag in your backpack (along with pee bottles,lol) if you're sensitive to that sort of shit. Please don't puke in the urinals (not that you would). Nuff said, aye?