Comments On: On Navigating Stink by David Schmader

Re: On Navigating Stink

KingofQueenAnne — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:28:38 -0800

Lived in impoverished areas of Santiago chile for two years. Yes, you suck it up and get used to it.
Posted by KingofQueenAnne

Re: On Navigating Stink

PaulBarwick — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:56:17 -0800

Posted by PaulBarwick

Re: On Navigating Stink

Cascadian Bacon — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:24:50 -0800

@23
IIRC Easy Off is lye, pretty much the most hazardous household shit there is, and causes instant irreversable blindness. I use goggles and a resperator, or a gas mask for that shit.
Posted by Cascadian Bacon

Re: On Navigating Stink

Mister G — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:02:01 -0800

#27, are you also gluten intolerant?
Posted by Mister G

Re: On Navigating Stink

sirkowski — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:56:21 -0800

Lighter fluid and fire.
Posted by sirkowski

Re: On Navigating Stink

Salutati — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:53:42 -0800

Military learnin' the hard way:

1. cigarette butts up the nostrils. Used butts for the worst smells
2. stay so busy you can't think about it
3. pure real vanilla can eliminate some of the worst smells out there including mortuary stink (don't even ask ...)
Posted by Salutati

Re: On Navigating Stink

keshmeshi — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:53:21 -0800

I don't buy that it's not harmful. Someone's personal stink from not bathing? That's not harmful. The smell of mold from... mold? That is harmful; I know for a fact that I've gotten fungal infections from mold in the past, which is why I'm extremely careful about it now.

I've also had a lot of experiences like #23's where chemical smells caused me physical pain that lasted well after I distanced myself from the smell or aired out the room.
Posted by keshmeshi

Re: On Navigating Stink

Mister G — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:53:15 -0800

I just noticed that this article is right above the pictures of the fella showing his armpits.
Posted by Mister G

Re: On Navigating Stink

Sterno — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:44:22 -0800

If you shave your face, shave with a strong-smelling shaving cream, or maybe use a strong aftershave (strong enough for you to smell, but not so strong as to annoy those around you - you know who you are).
Posted by Sterno

Re: On Navigating Stink

Cascadian Bacon — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:36:01 -0800

Vaporub if you got it, usually a surgical mask, or better yet an N95, mouth breathing and willpower will get you through it

7 pretty much nailed it, I have a feeling we may work n a similar industry.

Posted by Cascadian Bacon

Re: On Navigating Stink

Amalink — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:13:49 -0800

I cleaned my stove the other day with Easy Off and I swear to God I thought I would gack up my internal organs. It wasn't just that it smelled bad (oh Lord did it smell bad) but it also literally burned the crap out of my nose and throat. It took hours for the burning sensation to go away.
Posted by Amalink

Re: On Navigating Stink

STJA — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:03:03 -0800

Lived in CR off and on while doing work there, and it's the same (everywhere, almost). One way they seem to deal with it is aggressive policing of the little trash bins where one sticks one's dirty TP. They also tend to do a good job (I think) of covering over their TP, rendering it much less smelly. Finally, you just get used to it. You're doing it, everyone's doing it, stop being so fucking sensitive. Be glad you're not the guy who had to empty the bin.
Posted by STJA

Re: On Navigating Stink

onion — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:56:44 -0800

yeah the toilet paper thing is no big deal. you have to get over this weird reflex that makes your hand drop it in the toilet...you just learn to relocate the drop. they do that in a lot of latin american countries. and it doesn't really stink. an unwashed human or rotting animal stinks waaaaay worse.
Posted by onion

Re: On Navigating Stink

Michael of the Green — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:34:38 -0800

The fuse had gone out on the large freezer in our garage where we stored our fish from summer trips. Not sure how long it had been out, but all the salmon, trout, etc. was well ripe. It was like being punched in the face with rot.
Posted by Michael of the Green

Re: On Navigating Stink

Mister G — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:29:16 -0800

Thanks for the article. I think I'll stay out of Peru and the Stranger's offices. And orifices.
Posted by Mister G

Re: On Navigating Stink

Brooklyn Reader — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:19:39 -0800

Cheap cigars as a defensive measure?
Posted by Brooklyn Reader

Re: On Navigating Stink

Pope Peabrain — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:12:05 -0800

When we were kids my father used to do the SBD's and, believe me when I say this, you run. I don't think you ever get used to stink. History is replete with examples of people trying to avoid stink. It's basically bacteria doing what bacteria do. When there's stink, there's bacteria.
Posted by Pope Peabrain

Re: On Navigating Stink

Max Solomon — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:59:18 -0800

paul also said that the inca trail had "saddlebacks higher than mt. rainier". the highest point on the inca trail is <14K'. mt. rainier is 14,410'.

and WTF is a "saddleback". a high pass?
Posted by Max Solomon

Re: On Navigating Stink

TVDinner — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:57:04 -0800

I dunno, I spent two and a half years in Latin America, and I got used to the toilet paper thing in a matter of days. I remember on my first day wondering how I was going to get over it and on the third day wondering why it no longer bothered me. It's just one of many things that just is, maybe?
Posted by TVDinner

Re: On Navigating Stink

Rotten666 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:56:56 -0800

You know there are legitimate biological reasons why you are repelled by really bad smells. right?
Posted by Rotten666

Re: On Navigating Stink

David Schmader — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:51:25 -0800

Thank you Gus! And J. Lasser: A theatermaker made a big stink (HAR!) in Europe last year with a show that pumped shit smell into the theater at key moments.
Posted by David Schmader

Re: On Navigating Stink

J. Lasser — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:49:02 -0800

(Thinking back on my previous comment: seriously, why doesn't theatre make more use of strong odors?)
Posted by J. Lasser

Re: On Navigating Stink

Chris Jury — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:46:43 -0800

Vics Vapo-rub will work fine, along with mouth breathing.

I spent a summer cleaning out flood ravaged basements. you wouldn't believe a) the shit people leave in their basements and b) how bad that shit reeks after being soaked in foul river water and left to stagnate for 2-3 months. Dead pets, old freezers full of meat, weird chemicals. The worst was a 50 pound bag of blood meal for an organic garden. it had soaked in about 100 pounds of water, reconstituted, then started to rot from the inside. I got the bag about 1/2 way up the stairs when it split open. I threw up a whole bunch, threw away my clothes, then got hit on by the homeowner. Weird day.
Posted by Chris Jury

Re: On Navigating Stink

gloomy gus — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:43:45 -0800

Ah, sensory/neural adaptation. The smell fades as your brain decides its source is not a threat. Usually the stronger the initial impression on the brain, the more resources the brain allocates to sorting this out, the quicker it will quit sending you stink signals. I'd cite to links but I'm on a mobile.

BestI can tell, If you're not going to mouth breathe, and I bet you wouldn't, just breathe deep so your brain can hurl itself at the problem.
Posted by gloomy gus

Re: On Navigating Stink

The Max — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:37:06 -0800

My sense of smell came back with a vengeance when I quit cigarettes a few years back. I coped (in part) by growing a supervillian mustache which I laminate with eucalyptus-scented beeswax. It might look every bit as silly as Vick's VapoRub on the upper lip, but looks less like someone spooged on my face.
Posted by The Max