The things you find

Dear users, dear authors,
I was out shopping and saw dish soap with a “radish” flavor and scent, and it made me think—there are some things that really shouldn’t exist. :-)

Have you seen anything unusual, too?

I just happen to have some radishes here, and I find that they smell kind of bland.

Not unusual, but I always wonder what a real sea breeze actually smells like.

Who on earth comes up with something like that??? I have to think about the last time I shook my head in disbelief. Nah, I’ve got something practical for you. I’ll write a short forum post about it in a minute. It’s something useful for the modern homemaker.

Best regards, Ina

No, I haven’t come across a radish-scented dish soap yet, but this has actually become an issue for us. After accompanying all our parents through countless hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices, I’m not allowed to use any cleaning products or dish soap with a lemon or orange scent at home—my husband completely freaks out, because all of that took such a toll on him back then, and those places always had that lovely citrusy scent.
So I choose apple, mountain spring, and sea breeze (though no ocean I’ve ever been to has actually smelled like that :-)))).

Oh, Veronika, I know exactly what you’re talking about with your husband. I also have an “aversion to the scent of lemon.” And I did some research to find out why that is. In situations that are emotionally stressful for us, our brain records everything very intensely and precisely: light, smells, sounds, food. These perceptions then remain forever linked in our minds to that emotionally stressful situation or event. I think that’s really mean, because then you can never again find the scent of lemon pleasant.

But our brain does the same thing with positive events, too. Even today, when we think of certain emotionally moving events, we can still smell a particular perfume, or we know exactly what we were wearing that day, or recall other details. Our brain links these things together and stores them as a unit. Whenever something moves us deeply, our brain records everything in detail as a precaution—like a flight recorder on an airplane. Perhaps the body needs this stored knowledge to identify a dangerous situation more quickly later on.

In my case, I’ve unlearned that association with the lemon. But once you reach a certain age or if the event was particularly intense, that’s no longer possible. It’s good that my loved ones know this and can avoid it.

Love, Ina

My daughter (11) went shopping in town with a friend the other day. She came back with a “water spray”!!
It’s basically a spray can you use on yourself, meant to be refreshing :o.

I was really taken aback! Of course, I don’t think much of things like that—just look at all the unnecessary trash they create! And then I have an aversion to those kinds of spray cans, even if they don’t contain CFCs anymore. But try explaining that to an 11-year-old!!

Well. There are some things that are really unnecessary! Above all, I think that before you buy something like that, you’d be better off buying a sewing pattern—you’ll get so much more out of it...

Oh well.

It just occurred to me.

Best regards,
Sonja

Perfume appeals to me about as much as the smell of onions or what’s generally called “country air.”
I avoid fragrances whenever possible.
What I really love to smell: elderflower, cinnamon, coffee, sawdust, and—among other things—grass right after it’s rained.