I began intensely craving the smell of foam last year, out of nowhere. Not just any kind of foam either, but a very specific sort of packing foam I had encountered at some point in my youth. I looked everywhere to fulfill this confounding need. Thoughts of foam occupied my mind; I talked about it every chance I got.

I’m no stranger to food cravings, but this was different. I was comforted by the fantasy of a room, covered floor to ceiling in plush, rubbery foam. I would lie there, inhaling, sinking my toes into the soft, forgiving sponge floor. I fell asleep at night, this tranquilizing image plastered in my mind.

I asked around — had anyone felt anything like this? Was it some kind of sickness — a brain tumor? Would it last forever? One friend mentioned her fondness for the smell of gasoline. She said when it got particularly intense, she would follow cars around on her bike, inhaling their exhaust. Still, her condition seemed more common. Hazardous, but common.

While predominant, the smell craving was not entirely limited to foam. Around the same time I became hooked on the smell of a particular train station, going out of my way, stopping every time I passed to take a deep huff. The mechanical, industrial aroma my boyfriend described as “boiled cabbage cleaning product” was intoxicating. Soon, to my disappointment, a meatball cart was placed in front of the station.

I researched my strange preoccupation. I found no indication anyone else had ever “craved” foam. Vitamin deficiencies reportedly can cause odd cravings, as can pregnancy. To my knowledge, neither of these applied to me. Gasoline and cleaning products are among the most popular smell cravings. Few others have been reported.

Once, while discussing my fixation with a friend, she presented a possibility. “Maybe,” she said, “something good once happened to you, as a child, around this foam.” Memory and smell are, after all, strongly and inextricably linked. Still, it seemed a little hippy-dippy psychoanalytic a notion to entertain.

The mixed resolution involved my discovery of a worthwhile substitute in the form of a rubbery yoga mat. After an extensive search, I realized it was almost exactly the foam smell I had been craving. Unfortunately, inhaling it was simply not enough. I had no idea how to interact with this object and my want for it. There was no epiphanic moment. Try as I did, it was impossible to entirely satisfy my craving.

Slowly, with time, the cravings went away, but not the mystery behind them and how unexplainably, freakily strange our bodies can be.

Have you ever had a weird craving? Did changing your diet or lifestyle help mitigate the problem?

around the web

78 Comments

  1. I used to have a craving to scratch walls. Not just any kind of wall either. They had to have flat paint and I only scratched near the top of the wall where, I guess it was cleaner. I’d stand on my bed and scratch away. Weird, huh? That craving eventually went away, never to return. But I still don’t know what caused it in the first place.

  2. That is odd! I read awhile back in this article in the NYT about a similar compulsion being a symptom of childhood OCD. I think many people develop OCD-like tics in childhood they eventually grow out of. I know I had a few.

  3. That gasoline smell gets me every time. Loved it as kid and love it now.

  4. I have the same craving to foam and have had it for years but have noticed in the last month it has become increasingly worse.I am 24 weeks pregnant but I do not feel that the craving has anything to do with the pregnancy since I have had this craving for as long as I can remember.The foam I crave the most is memory foam that you would find in pillows but it is not limited to this kind.I love the smell but it is never enough to satisfy the craving.The feeling is similar to not being able to orgasm and is very frustrating.I have no desire to chew the foam or eat it because the thought of this makes my teeth hurt compared to the feeling of nails on a chalk board.

  5. i love the smell of air conditioning so much. not many people know what i am ever talking about when i say that it is my favorite smell but whenever the car a/c turns on, or a room is shut with the a/c running and once you opening the door and feel the cool air and then smell the scent, ahhh

    • I know EXACTLY what you mean oh my goodness… Sometimes I sit in my car and direct the AC vents right at my face, and breathe as deeply as I can… it’s almost euphoric lol.

      • ME TOO! I am absolutely in love with the smell of ac. As well as the smell from inside freezers in grocery stores. Its really weird, my mom would always get mad at me when shed take me shopping because id always stick my head in the frozen dinner or ice cream freezers. I looked online before and found out a lot of other people like it too. A lot of those people are ice chewers as well, (Me included) I wonder if that has a connection

        • Optimus Prime

          I am OBSESSED with the smell of air conditioners! I wish the feeling of smelling it the first few inhales lasted forever. I don’t know what causes this desire or compulsion, very odd! No one ever understands. My sense of smell is exceptionally heightened, especially compared to my other senses. Perhaps this is why I crave smells rather than food, etc.

          I also crave the smell of fish flakes and the air when I sweep/vacuum/dust.

          The feeling of sweeping/vacuuming/dusting also entices me for some reason. I enjoy the feeling of getting rid of dust and dirt. Sometimes I will walk outside on dusty gravel just to have the feeling of dirt crunching beneath my feet.

          I am smelling my a/c as I type this!!! :p Very strange, indeed!

          • Omg I have the same thing, for over a year. I’m addicted to smelling aircon when it turns on in a room or in my car. That musty smell is amazing. I crave it. I also love smelling that and then chewing on spearmint gum by Extra. Another addiction is chewing gum for me but that aircon smell has been a fave since I was a child, reminds me of my childhood.

          • I have the same and I figured is from mold poisoning. If I go on diet (no sugar, carbs, mushrooms) and include mold killers like garlic, ginger, essential oils etc, this addiction fades away. My skin is also itchy.
            You need to test for mold toxins in your blood.
            cheers
            Oti

    • I thought I was the ONLY one!!!

  6. i know that feeling!! i like sniffing dishwashing sponges . Its like heaven . Plus i smell rubbing alcohol and am addicted to my inhaler :/ idk if its normal.

  7. My addiction centers on A/C ….especially in older buildings. Disney World’s Epcot Spaceship Earth is a fine ride to fulfill this need. I ride it over and over. I like gasoline exhaust from an older car. Old beater cars driving down the road are my fav’s. old Monte Carlos or El Camino’s make me salivate! Texture also ranks very high on my list. textured wallpaper, certain carpets, window screens, and silk edging on blankets. Ammonia in Windex also makes my mouth water.

    • There’s nothing like exhaust! Ever since I was a boy, I remember the smell of exhaust! InCredible! One day I was walking to school – in the early 80’s – and I remember this beautiful girl who I really liked and it was really snowy out. Well, her and her mom were stuck in the snow and were trying to get their car started – well, little did I know I was about to experience something that would stick with me for the rest of my life! I was only about 6 and knew nothing about cars or how they worked! Well, I just happened to be walking right beside the street and then all of a sudden – VROOM – the car fired an ENORMOUS blast of wet, hydrocarbon soaked, black exhaust cloud right into my face!!! It was such a powerful blast of smoke that I could not escape breathing it because it was everywhere and completely shrouded me in pure, half-burned gasoline/exhaust gas. I couldn’t breathe!!!!! If people are old enough to remember older cars before EFI, you would know what I’m talking about!!! That smell has stuck with me forever!!!!!!!!!!!! Still love it yet what is strange, I don’t like the smell of lawnmower or small engines as much as car exhaust – I think the chemical reaction in the catalytic converter makes it smell better – unless the car is floored on the highway – it seems to have an ammonia/burnt sulfur smell which ruins the experience for me! Ahhh how I miss those old cars!!!! Still LOVE warming up the car in the winter!!!!!!! Sooooooooo hot!!!

  8. I just came across this article after doing a search on “craving a smell. Today out of no where, I “craved” the smell of a wood burning fireplace. We went to a restaurant to eat, that had that smell. It was intoxicating! The smell of it is still in my hair and I just can’t explain how freakishly euphoric I am feeling sitting here smelling my hair. I have never experienced anything like this before.

  9. I am craving for the smell of my store room I would just open up my store room door everyday and keep breathing in the air that was inside

  10. omg I was wonder if it was me alone, I am 44 and not pregnant but in recent months I notice I was having an obsession with laundry products, in particular Purex crystals (the blue bottle). When I go to the supermarket I go to the laundry products and smell them all. Lately I enjoy the smell of window cleaners and air wick car air freshener. I just don’t understand what is happening to me.

  11. Gasoline is the absolute best smell for me. I can never get enough. I love to catch whiffs of it in the air. I think it’s the best smell in the world.

  12. Foam / various rubber smells, old dusty books, coal tar shampoo, turpentine, petrol, gas, camphor pills, detol, old garages / oils, the smell of my nanna’s spare room and WD-40.

    MY cravings are so strong sometimes it is irritating. I don’t often give into them but when I was hooked on Coal tar shampoo, it was hard to put the stupid bottle down, or leave it in another room.

    Unfortunately I tend towards Benzene smells and the cravings can be a pain in the butt, more irritating than a craving for a drink or smoke or piece of chocolate, though I suspect one of these things may be a cure.

    Its not all doom though, I always loved / randomly craved the smell of Rhubarb custard pie from child-hood in the same sort of way.
    Sometimes Cucumber, I crave the smell and to eat it.

    Admittedly I am working with my Dr to determine wtf is wrong with me.

    I am not pregz, no cancer as far as I know but checking into the thyroid / adrenal possibilities.

    When my mum got sick with cancer, she said she craved chemical smells too.
    I have read about pica, knew about it a long time ago.

    I know some dudes that loooove the smell of nail polish.

  13. I love smelling memory foam,sponges,and the car ac too
    Sponges make my mouth water

  14. Yeah, petrol for me. We put all used (wrung out) tea bags into a jar with about an inch of petrol in it and use them to light the fire so I have volunteered to light the fire every night. I only like the scent, not the giddiness you can get if you properly inhale. I actually feel euphoric when I smell it!!

    • Euphoria is an understatement!!!!!!!! hahaha 🙂 Exhaust is even better – from a nice, clean emitting car – OMG. I gotta untuck my shirt and let it hang out because if I am stuck behind a freshly turned on car, I will turn on the vents intentionally so it draws in all of the hydrocarbons, etc. and you have no idea how wet that makes me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also love when a car has been idling for a while — the exhaust pipe aimed at the ground and when the car takes off, the huge Stain from the steam that it leaves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooooooooooo sexy! I’d love to wrap my mouth around that pipe until it teaches me a lesson!!!! Put gorilla glue around my lips and tie myself to a sweet looking Hyundai and just inhale its’ fumes HAHAHA LOVE the sound of a woman REVVING the HELL out of her car and watching said car ‘spit’ out its’ condensation into the environment… Hot as ****!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are soooooooooo lucky that the catalytic converter was invented… If not, we’d all be breathing an ENORMOUS cloud of pure exhaust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would love to find a girl who isn’t scared to slam her pedal onto my face!!!! hahaha 🙂 Now THAT, my friends, is a TRUE fetish!!! Also love being buckled into the car – back seat preferably and feeling the POWER of the engine!!!! OMG – makes me wet!!!!!! 😉

  15. Yes, I will go to huge lengths to find scents that evoke a certain memory or time, even if it means paying $50 for a whole tub of discontinued chap sticks when I only needed one but they don’t sell them individually anymore. (yes, I’ve done that) I also am addicted to the fleeting smell of the first few times hot air comes through the vents at home. It’s such a distinctive and comforting smell, as a child I’d lay on the floor next to the vent and just huff the smell. I don’t think it’s an issue, in fact I feel lucky to have such a keen sense of beauty when it comes to scents.

  16. Yes! I love the smell of vacums, laundry detergent, new car, a.c when car turns on, hair dryer.. It’s so weird. But I love the smells. I wish they made candles in those scents. But I also wonder why I’m so addicted to those scents. Hmm. Always have loved vacuum smell.

    • Crave the smell of Cold Power lemon fresh laundry powder, the smell of my vacuum turned on and my partners lawn mower turned on. I smell the laundry powder everyday, my partner thinks I’m weird lol

    • Angela N Jean-Louis

      I love the smell of carpet, and dusty vaacum cleaners. Carpet in the elevators… Not sure why?

  17. Peppermint, Vicks Vapor Rub and Bleach do it for me. It seemed like it only was like this after the birth of my son. Maybe it’s hormonal?

  18. I love the smell of the elevators, escalator, filtered air on the train and air conditioners. I just started it a few months ago and I cannot stop smelling them. I wish I knew why bc its driving me crazy i take elevators just to smell it.

  19. I am having intense cravings for the smell of gasoline & intense cravings for ice. Does anyone know if this means I have a vitamin deficiency or I am anemic so could it be that? This didn’t start till I had to have surgery to have the bottom part of my stomach removed. I was down to 97 pounds & severely malnourished & dehydrated before the surgery & I’m now back up to 136 pounds & all these different crazy things are happening to my body now that I’m getting nutrition again. Can anyone please help?

  20. I, too, am obsessed with many of the smells that have been listed here–& this has only recently (last several months I’d say) been magnified to an obsessive compulsive point with me. Some I have always been fond of, but never obsessively craved to a point where I almost feel a slave to them & their effect/hold on me mentally & physically. Over the past year, to my confounding dismay, I’ve lost tons of weight for no rational, sufficiently explainable reason….which makes me, too, wonder if this issue has some kind of relation to a mineral/vitamin deficiency(s), thyroid issue, …or something else along those lines.

    But I have ruled out all of the most common answers/diagnosis for the same and/or similar symptoms I have been having:

    — I’m NOT PREGNANT (I have a 3 year old boy, but am not presently nor have I ever been pregnant at any other point otherwise)
    — I DON’T have PICA because I haven’t ever even slightly desired to ingest such substances orally..it’s definitely smell-specific (& I already have a keen, highly-attuned, hyper-active sensory function to smells)
    — & It’s NOT derived from any notion or desire TO GET some sort of “HIGH” off of anything…

    –>> SO, all of those reasons rule out probably 90% of what you initially run across online. That’s why finding this forum was such a huge relief to me. I’m not going crazy after all!! (At least not like I thought I was, haha).

    I haven’t been to a doctor yet therefore haven’t new diagnosed with anything. But I need to because this issue has progressively, steadily, & (oddly) continued to escalate now to a quite concerning point.

    But what I STILL can’t figure out is this: –>> What would have causes these sudden deficiencies –& subsequently such cravings–to begin with?

    I have spent so much mental energy in endless, ruminating endless cycles of analyzation in attempt to rationalize this somehow, but…still to no advance or any further understanding/ resolution on my part in regards to the underlying origination. :/

    I can totally relate to just how intense these cravings can be…OMG! Most days l, they restlesstly flounder on the forefront of my mind–to which I seek satisfaction –& usually am able to gain it on some level but it’s always so short-lived & certainly never enough to fully satisfy it.

    Chewing ice has become an equally intense racing & now daily (2 or 3X daily now) routine habit (the almost shaved-like ice from sonic in that stirofoam cups?? Aaahhh…).

    I hate that these cravings are just as intensely frustrating as they are intensely intoxicating & (briefly) euphoric! I feel stick between the two! I feel I can never, ever fully find that fulfilling sense of satisfaction or resolve that I can find with every other type craving I’ve ever experienced (such as food ones).

    It’s like thus is the ‘smell-craving’ equivalent to hearing a really great song & enjoying it all the way through until it reaches the end & essentially has none….where it leaves you hanging with no resolving note….SO close but one note too short. …But that one ‘note’ is enough to drive you nuts!

    Another comparison would be the same someone else previously mentioned–it’s like not being able to climax sexually but getting so close…TORTURE! …Yet, nonetheless, STILL isn’t enough (don’t know what is!!) to deter away the compulsive desire/ need to still search for that relieving satisfaction.

    Anyway, to conclude this novel (sorry…), I am DIEING to know if anyone else here has ever obsessively LOVED (& subsequently compulsively chased) the following particular smells: –>>>>>>>>>

    1.) NEW TIRES!!!!!!
    (I could live & die in a tire shop!!)

    2.) ***SCOTCHGARD***!!!!!!!!!

    (…I collect them all: Scotchgard FABRIC cleaner foam & fabric protector, CARPET cleaner foam & carpet protector, AUTO cleaner foam & Auto fabric/carpet protector, NEEDLECRAFT & Sewing fabric protector, the OUTDOOR WEATHER shield, the long-lasting WATER SHIELD for fabrics, the water & stain repellent for SUEDE & NUBUCK LEATHER, & even the household cleaning items just because they have the Scotchgard name. I’m that obsessed.)

    3.) TENNIS BALLS!!! (Especially right after opening a new can)

    4.) Most products in AEROSOL CANS specifically (especially those having to do with cleaning/polishing/ detailing anything).

    5.) GASOLINE!

    6.) FRESH PAINT!!!

    7.) SHOE POLISH! (same smell as certain metal polishes, etc.–all which contain “petroleum distillates”)

    8.) The smell of AUTO PARTS STORES (& all the detailing products there in particular)

    9.) A general love of Home-Improvement/HARDWARE/APPLIANCE/CONSTRUCTION STORES (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, …even Sears).

    10.) LUMBER/WOOD/building construction materials

    11.) GLUE–the “Rubber Cement” kind in particular…any pro-grade, industrial strength adhesives

    12.) NEW CARS & some replica scents but my fav is ‘Little Trees’ brand ‘Black Ice’ car spray in the aerosol can especially

    13.) SPORTING GOODS STORES (especially the tennis, golf, & shoe departments).

    14.) An odd but noticeable fascination with ASTROTURF…

    15.) Shoe stores/NEW SHOES! (especially tennis shoes with rubber & canvas)

    16.) The smell (& ambiance) of the inside LOBBIES of certain OFFICE BUILDINGS/complexes

    17.) LIBRARIES (the smell of paper & old books).

    18.) FOAM anything (especially the kind that come in boxes of jewelry you buy).

    19.) RUBBER (hence, the tires & tennis balls)

    20.) Certain new PLASTICS

    21.) New CARPET (& obsession with carpet & cleaning maintenance of it in general)

    22.) Overall obsession with VACUUMS & hairdryerHAIRDRYERS (& not just the smell but their sounds & overall relaxing, comforting feeling they bring)

    23.) LEATHER/SUEDE anything

    24.) CEDAR WOOD closet hangers/planks/sachets

    25.) NAIL POLISH & REMOVER (i.e., acetone)

    [And prob more in not thinking of at the moment…]

    ^As you can see from the lengthy list,
    …the STRUGGLE is REAL.

    ^^ Can anyone else relate to anything I described?!?!? PLEASE SHARE if so… Thank you.

    • I am with you with every single smell listed apart from hair driers! I often visit random tire garages just to huff the heady fumes-new carpet and old library booms are my biggest and getting progressively worse!! I thought I was just pure odd!

    • I know you made this post awhile ago so I hope you read this. Not only can I relate to something you described, I can relate to EVERYTHING you described. Reading down your list of great smells was quite impressive and we have exactly the same ‘taste’ in smells. I will say though, that having a craving for chewing ice has been linked again and again to anemia so that might be something that you want to look into. I have experienced a lot of the same things you have and I have also found a “solution” to the craving problem. It’s not so much of a fix but rather a way of managing it – and I’ve had a great amount of success with it. Let me know if you are still interested in hearing more about others experiences with this strange ‘problem’ or if you even see this comment!

    • Wow. Everything on your list. I’m glad I’m not the only one. The smell of foam and new sneakers is my favourite

    • As a child I really felt addicted to the smell of an old moist bath sponge that I had (sounds grose). I shortly realized it wasn’t just that particular sponge but the smell of any old sponge kept in a humid environment. I also remember having found a very old empty juice box that I once filled with water and drank out of it with a straw because the smell and taste of the content was amazing for me…I realized soon after, shocked, that the pleasant taste of the water was due to the putrid leftover old juice that was still on the bottom of the box (got really grossed when I discovered that and stopped drinking immediately!). This event later led me to think that what I crave has to do with a certain type of bacteria, present in the decaying process. Maybe I lack some good gut bacteria. It’s the closest I got to finding a logical cause to these cravings, implying they do have a functionality. As an adult, I still really enjoy the smell of wet sponges and also the smell of certain types of dust and mold… These new found cravings tend to support my “theory”. Any thoughts on this, anyone? Also, glad to have found this article and all these replies. Feels good to know others go through similar things.

      • Idk if this post is still active. I’m a 47 year old male. I get on my hands and knees and stick my head inside the cupboard under the kitchen sink to get that old musty smell. I also have a favourite old sweeping brush that I keep nearby and will bury my nose in the bristles and inhale. Sometimes feel like going to sleep like that.

    • Sheri L Kappler

      These are the same smells I find myself craving!! Your list best describes them best! I ONLY want to smell them, I don’t feel like I have to taste or eat any, just smell.. I’ve been trying to find out if there is a medical reason for this.

    • Lauren, I can co-relate to quite a few smell and food cravings.
      1) Nail polish remover, I thought I am the only one.
      2) Tincture (I am always so close to drinking it)
      3) Vollini , the pain reliever (lv it)
      4) English mustard and Wasabi (I picked up these 2 food cravings during my pregnancy and then after I delivered, they got off the wagon, however for past 2-3 months, I crave for them day and night, I can eat sachets of English mustard just to get that Zing sensation).

      Not sure if this is a deficiency but it definitely is making me a slave. 🙁

  21. I crave the smell of leather. I will walk around shoe stores just to get the smell and bought a pair of leather dansko clogs. The only problem is the smell doesn’t feel like enough….like theres a need trying to be filled by this smell and I cant satisfy whatever that craving is. Its been going on for at least a year.

  22. So glad I’m not the only one. I’m 28-29 weeks pregnant and have been craving the smell of menthol for weeks. Others have said Vicks but I have another brand as well with a higher percentage of menthol and that’s what I crave the most. Vicks is ok but just doesn’t hit the spot. I also crave the smell of air conditioning and water vapor from those diffuser things that create spooky mist at Halloween. Another one is the smell of stain, not straight from the can but already applied and dried. The lumber department of any home improvement store has always been a smell craving even not pregnant as has the smell of asphalt. Those last 2 I used to work with so maybe that explains those. I really wish I knew if it were some kind of vitamin deficiency or something that I could fix. I find myself going nuts trying to get a fix off one of them just to relax a bit.

  23. I have the craving to smell ashes and dust. This is a weird craving. Sometimes I get the feeling to eat these whenever I smell them. Again this us really werid

  24. I love the smell of permanent marker, alcohol, shoe polish, gasoline and nail polish. I first smelled shoe polish when I was 12 y/o and really, really liked it but now at 26, by far my favorites are everything but gasoline and shoe polish. I did go through a period of time where I forgot about the smell but I unfortunately came back to it. It’s so odd how the smell of something so strong and intoxicating, can smell so good and be so addicting. Ugh.

  25. the smell of tag away is just amazing to me i cant stop sniffing it its not the fact that it gets me high that keeps me coming back its the salty lemony fragrance it gives off that i just cant find out what taste like it ive tried lemon salt and it kinda satisfied the craving but not all the way i feel like i wanna drink it but it will kill me i think but that smell is so hard to quit my fiance had to hide it from it to get me to quit sniffing it because after i would sniff it i would eat a mess load of lemon salt and it was starting to get really bad for my health but to this day i still crave that smell and if i find it then im not sure what im gonna do

  26. Im now starting to think im addicted to the smell of bleach. I have to clean with it everyday and make sure i leave some on my hands to smell for later or before bed. Not like a strong smell of it just so it smells like i just got out of a pool or a waterpark. I have no clue whats wrong with me this whole smell thing has just came about after i had surgery in August to remove a uterine septum, not sure if they have anything to do with each other.

  27. For me, it’s nail polish, mostly. It’s the most easily accessible and I will paint my nails, even just a pinkie, to experience the aroma.
    I also like gasoline, diesel exhaust, rubber cement, and to a lesser extent, nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol.
    I also like the smell of a car/airplane repair garage.
    I don’t do it to get high though, so I don’t think it’s a problem. (Ha, sounds like something an addict would say!)
    Not pregnant, no pica, no recent surgeries, no known vitamin/mineral deficiencies…
    I read all the previous comments and it seems like most are from women.

  28. I recently starting like the smell of alcohol,tire shop or auto parts store cleaning well i think in pregnant because im 17 days late but can u have that craving this early i have been reading and ppl was saying they 28 or 29 weeks

  29. I always enjoyed the smell of wet brown paper (my favorite since i was a kid) when i go to a restaurant and they have these in the bathroom i get so happy. wood, this two are stronger now after having a baby. I also enjoy smelling gasoline, books all of them old and new, brown paper bags, card boxes and everything cardboard, i tought about getting a job at a cardboard store or warehouse just to sniff around all day haha. permanent markers, glue. Not sure why but i always assumed everybody had something weird they like to smell.

    • I have the exact same smell craving as you except for the gasoline and glue. I’ve never met anyone who has the same smell craving for wood/wet paper/paper/cardboard. I LOVE IT. Every chance I get, I always take in a big huff of these scents.

  30. Brand new flip flop smell

  31. The smell of an AC unit that’s just been turned on or if you have it running and switch off the compressor (like in your car), it leaves a slightly musty scent mixed with cool fresh air. When i smell that, it’s like my brain goes into a trance. I developed this habit over the past year where i would switch on my ac while driving and direct the vents to my face. As the car cools down, i switch off the compressor and inhale deeply as the musty smell gets stronger. When it’s finally gone i switch back on the compressor and repeat the process.
    Also, i am onbsessed with the scent of certain new plastics, e.g. new plastic toy fresh out of the packaging. If i could stay in a toy store inhaling deeply for the entire day i would. Also crave some perfume scents, especially woody scents like sandalwood. New foam and strangely, as another person wrote earlier, tar containing shampoos, e.g. neutrogena t-gel.
    I also chew ice a lot (even though i know it’s not good for your teeth). I thought i was the only one who did these things as all my family and friends may like certain scents, none of them seem obsessed with them as i am. Sometimes i get a craving so bad that i can’t concentrate properly on other things. But the craving eventually dies down (it never goes completely). I think this could be due to something that is genetic, seeing as it is occurring with everyone on this forum and the scents being craved are largely similar. Maybe someone should do a CT scan when the craving comes on and one when you satisfy the craving to compare both and see what areas are most active. We should then compare this to other peoples brain scans who don’t posses these cravings. There could be something worth studying here.

  32. Wet flannels, washing powder, soap
    Yummmmmmm

  33. There is nothing like the smell of exhaust – the second you start the car!!! Biggest euphoric turn on Ever! Being on the freeway, bashing the gas pedal with your seat belt strapped on tight – knowing you have sooo much power under your foot is an amazing sound and feeling!!! New cars don’t pollute as much due to the catalytic converter – but I find they make the waste gases smell better whilst your engine is cold! Love filling up the car with gasoline too – orgasmic smell! Hard to find a woman who feels the same way… people are too afraid to express themselves! 😛

  34. A room filled with cardboard boxes.

  35. Thought I was alone in this . Household cleansers,bleach, pinesol, fabuloso, alcohol ,windex , etc. I must have the cleanest house in the neighborhood !

    • I have to stay away from my cleaning products. I feel them in my throat and want to drink them continuously. I can’t even go do that aisle at the supermarket

  36. I also crave the smell of gas like many others on here. But I also get really intense cravings for the smell of garages or basements. I don’t happen to have one but when I used to, I would sit in my garage and just smell. The craving has gotten more intense recently, maybe bc I don’t have one to satisfy it. But every time I go to a friends house with one I just can’t get enough of the smell.

  37. Recently I had become quite obssessed with the smell of shampoo, especially all the ones made by one certain company, so I started smelling my hair frequently. I even dig my face into my pillow because of the smell of the shampoo it got from my hair. Very unusual!

  38. Im obsessed with the smell of hot or filtered water… i take so many showers just so i can enjoy the smell. Havent found anything abonything.. sometimes i feel a slave to these cravings

  39. Finally! Found a place where I can let my freak flag fly!

    My smell addictions include mothballs, unused urinal cakes, pine sol floor cleaner, dryer and AC fumes from the vents, rubber tires, new cars, new shoes, the scent of hot, clean pavement that gets wet, the steam from the dishwasher, the steam from my aesthetician’s facial steam nozzle and last but not least, brand new leather. I pretend to shop in leather stores just to huff that addictive odor.

  40. The smell of nail polish thinner omggggggggg

  41. Oh my god this person so gets me. I am addicted to the smell of foam but fortunately for me its my bed foam.
    I even cut out of my bed to take to school so I can sniff it when no ones looking. My parents warned me to stop but nobody around me seems to know how I feel. I feel like I should just be breathing in and out the smell of foam but I can never seem to get enough of it.

  42. Are you kidding? For a year I have periodically craved cleaning products once I smell them.
    For the past three days in a row (24/7) I have craved, stones, rocks and gravel…. My Doctor thinks I’m nuts. 43yrs old. HATING this…hate hate hate

  43. Mariana Gronewald-Haake

    I LOVE the smell of foam, not new one, but some kind of old, maybe dusty foam. I immerse my face in it, enjoy the smell and the way it feels. And I love the smell subway stations in Buenos Aires had when I was a child. I have no idea if they still smell that way. It was a mixture of wood, cleaners, wax and many other smells, altogether with the quite musty underground smell of un-ventilated rooms.

  44. Tennis balls, new carpet, new shoes, and certain foams make my mouth WATER. Like especially the foam used to make mic windscreens/pop filters, plush headphone foam, or packing foam for electronics. I can never get enough of this.

  45. I crave the musty, mildew smell so bad. What i have started doing to get the smell is i take a damp tiwwl, put it in a plastic bag and leave it for a couple days and when i open it up, it has the perfect mildew smell. I thought i was crazy for craving this smell so bad! And the smell of ac omg, when it first comes out my face is next to the vent.

  46. OMG I thought I was alone lol I love the smell of gas, new shoes, new socks, and the new car smell I have the trees of new car smell in my car but I had been searching for the new car smell from s car that you get off the lot couldn’t find it but I have now and come to find out that smell was leather so I found a leather scent liquid air freshener and now I’m in love after spraying it on a towel and leaving it in a bag for a couple hours I’m in heaven love it!

  47. I’ve seen a few medical journals reporting on smell cravings and it’s kind of olfactory pica called Desiderosmia. I’ve had it for at least 18 months, I’ve been driven nuts with serious cravings for musty, dusty sheds, damp basements, mouldy sticks and wood, the smell of train stations, old libraries, tyre garages, and even dry cat food (never wanted to eat it though!) My gp humoured me recently with the blood tests I insisted on and I got called the next morning to go to A&E for an urgent blood transfusion!! Low blood count, haemoglobin was dangerously low. Now on iron and folates for iron and folate deficiency anaemia. So in my case the weird smell cravings were a warning sign. Best to ask your doctor for blood tests to rule out any deficiencies.

    • I love the smell of Sponge I push my side in car seats bed head rests cushions,children sponge balls…,gasoline,elevators both the inside especially if it’s an old and wooden one and the outside that satisfying scent of lubricant oil .
      I love the scent of trains and train tracks,the one of Boats when freshly painted and that strong petrol smell .
      I also love the scent of books new and old . Some Plastic . The scent of balloons. The smell of petrol dipped wood trunks by the train track .

  48. I love the smell of Sponge I push my side in car seats bed head rests cushions,children sponge balls…,gasoline,elevators both the inside especially if it’s an old and wooden one and the outside that satisfying scent of lubricant oil .
    I love the scent of trains and train tracks,the one of Boats when freshly painted and that strong petrol smell .
    I also love the scent of books new and old . Some Plastic . The scent of balloons. The smell of petrol dipped wood trunks by the train track .
    I also like to dig and run my nails in fabrics and seams it’s veru satisfying

  49. Actually I am extremely obsessed with the smell of old foam and air-conditioned money especially in banks it drives me wild is it a sickness or just mental thing

  50. I know this article is old, but is anyone still reading the comments? I found a few articles on a condition called Desiderosmia, which is olfactory cravings. There’s only a few documented cases of it, but there’s lots of testimonials. Doctors or scientists are still trying to understand it, but they think it has to do with having Iron Deficiency Anemia. The people who got treated for Iron Deficiencies said the desire to smell things went away. As for me, I’m OBSESSED with smelling cleaning products. My favorite is lemon Lysol wipes, but I also like rubbing alcohol, lemon cleanser, hand sanitizer, liquid dish soaps like Palmolive or Ajax, and weirdly enough this one shampoo called Suave Essentials Ocean Breeze. Please note: I don’t eat/drink these or have any desire to consume them, and I’m not huffing or snorting them to get high. I also am not pregnant, nor have I ever been pregnant. I just really really really like smelling them. I’ll either open the bottle cap and smell, or my favorite which is pour a little bit into my hand and breathe in its scent. I’m just really confused because it all started around January of this year (2020). Before that, I’d enjoyed certain smells such as gasoline or lemon cleanser as many do but it was only a casual enjoyment when I was around the smell. I was never obsessed with actively seeking out certain scents and purposely breathing them in like I do now. I’m hoping I can get to a doctor to ask them about the iron deficiency thing. Maybe it’ll help. I hope so because I feel like I’m going crazy.

  51. Muffinb Brycelea

    Gasoline, car oil, cleaners of lemon scents especially lysol all purpose cleaner lemon scent ( huge obsession) well alot of cleaning products scents I love, fresh cut grass, just ao many too add. Ultimately the lysol lemon scent, fresh cut grass, gasoline and pine trees after it rains.

  52. found this thread as I am going insane with inhaling some smells at the moment. Particularly into the neoprene of our wetsuits…car garages…tyres…tennis balls…our local hardware store I could stand in and breath it all in all day long…..
    ahhhhhhhhhh

  53. So glad I found this thread. I’m genuinely addicted to the following smells: new tires, lighter fluid(on my skin), gasoline, car exhaust, new shoes, a/c when it’s first turned on, any type of new sports ball and rubber mats. I’m convinced this is a symptom of my anemia. I some times wake up and HAVE to smell something from the above list. It’s actually extremely annoying.

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