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Is there a scent that triggers childhood Nintendo memories?


Argitoth
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Hey people,

Just wanted to ask, is it just me or is there a certain scent that triggers Nintendo childhood memories? Does the NES give off a certain scent? It goes like this for me: I smell that certain scent which cannot be named nor described nor does it smell like anything in particular, and then I think "Woah... I was playing Mario Bros years ago at someone's house with someone I used to know."

Am I unique or are there others like me?

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The smell of rubbing alcohol.

Every single time, memories of cleaning out those cartridges come flooding back without fail.

At least you knew to use alchohol. I had no such knowledge back then!
Yeah, I get that. The NES had a certain plastic smell, and you were almost always exposed to it because you were sticking your nose in cartridges or the console itself to blow shit out of it.
Actually, if I remember correctly, the NES would heat up and give off a plastic smell. That's probably what triggers memories for me, but I think there was also a certain smell of the room I played in that also triggers those memories.
Sort of relevant. There's this kind of dusty smell that reminds me of Windows 95.
very relevant.
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I was just thinking about this the other day. When I was about five, I went up to a window to smell the fresh summer air. I still do that once in a while, and something about the combination of smells of fresh air and window screens brings me back to Super Mario RPG.

Also the smell from certain types of books remind me of this player's guide I had for Super Mario World.

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The smell of baking bread reminds me of the Christmas my brother and I got Pokémon. When unboxing a brand new electronic device and catching a whiff, I recall opening my GameCube for the first time (the first console I bought entirely on my own.) The scent of a new house brings back memories of playing Final Fantasy XI.

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The smell of old wood paneling and the crap adhesive that glues it to the walls, because that's what my grandparents had in their place when I was more or less stuck inside and unable to ride bikes/swim/climb trees/use swings/play alone when I was epileptic and thus banned from doing fun things in summer. That was the year that I got my NES, so an awful lot of Zelda happened.

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It's not so much that smell is linked to memory, it's that if you associate something to a smell you encounter infrequently, that could well be the only association that smell has, so if you smell it again that thing will be a prominent association.

A particular mixture of must and cedar -> The Empire Strikes Back (atari).

Take that and mix in freshly cut grass and the feeling of bright sunlight -> Rampage (NES).

Dust, candles -> Pole Position II (atari)

Also, some other odd associations:

Aquariums -> Zelda 2

Benjamin Britten War Requiem, Sanctus, 2:00 mark -> FF1 - the swamps west of Melmond.

The Stan Freberg parody of The Whole Wide World is Waiting For the Sunrise -> Mega Man 2 boss rush level

The feel of cold linoleum on my skin -> collecting a truly ridiculous number of shells in Jaws (and cutting paper doilies with childrens' safety scissors)

There being a huge number of people arguing in a tiny room -> Combat and Enduro (atari)

A particularly gloomy brightness of cloudy twilight -> Snoopy and The Red Baron (atari) (along with 3-2-1 Contact)

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It's not so much that smell is linked to memory, it's that if you associate something to a smell you encounter infrequently, that could well be the only association that smell has, so if you smell it again that thing will be a prominent association.

Here is something really stupid, I used to play games next to a fireplace. Really really close to a fireplace when I was kid. So close you could taste it you know? So now, since i don't have a fireplace, before a nostalgic gaming binge I get some split pea and ham soup and load it with liquid smoke. Just for the nostalgia.

It's hell on your colon but it's heaven to the soul you know what i mean?

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In a similar vein, my brother and I often associate games with the snacks or foods we eat or ate while playing. Super Smash Brothers: Melee and Jack in the Box, Metal Gear Solid and Chex cereal; Metal Slug and Steak 'n' Shake with sparkling grape juice. My sister associates Resident Evil with Peanut Butter M&M's.

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