The Worst Random Smells in Daily Life

The other night I was sitting at my desk in the basement of my house when my wife dropped a stink bomb in my lap, so to speak. This stink bomb wasn't some device or prank, it was my son's mittens.

"Take a whiff," she said.

I complied and could not quite describe the smell that hit my olfactory receptors. It was mostly reminiscent of foot odor, but that didn't quite explain it. There were also notes of wet dishrag and rotten meat. The only thing I could say for certain about this smell was that it was from a stale wet cloth of some kind.

While talking about it on the air this morning we got a lot of texts from people about the worst random everyday stench they have encountered.

The trashcans in the stalls of womens bathrooms.

I couldn't speak to that, but Tash didn't dispute it.

Minnows forgotten in the live well

Rotten fish is one of the nastiest odors and is distinct as chicken manure.

When I was in about six grade my church confirmation group took a trip to a funeral home and I will never forget the smell of the embalming fluids

I've never had the pleasure. I probably will someday, but won't be aware of it.

Found a pile of my sons wet pull ups hidden in his closet

While we've had the pile of wet pullups in the garbage can in our house, they were never hidden in a closet. Guh!

I work in the surgery department and the smell of cauterizing (burning) flesh is a smell you will never forget

I only know that smell because of an accident. Not me. Nevermind.

The smell of my sons football gear in the back of his vehicle along with his and friends cleats. Then add the many food wrappers and leftover starbucks.

Baking in the greenhouse of a vehicle would likely activate the deeply rooted stink in shoulder pads. But I recall mine in high school and college were amazingly not awful.

Hockey gear. Worst thing ever.

We got this response over and over from multiple people and I believe it. I'm not intimately familiar with a hockey uniform and pads, but I know they wear more soft padding than a football player does and that sucks up sweat and sweat makes for awful smells.