Places I’ve Breathed In: A Collective Scents Memory

Becky Poole
6 min readJun 10, 2021

I posted a question to my Facebook page, Hey friends, question for you. What is a smell/scent (good or bad) that you have a specific memory or memories linked to?” The response was incredible. So many folks generously responded with memorable scents — accompanied by touching, angry, and beautiful moments. This photo is a visual representation of the scents people remembered. The large bulbs are the ones mentioned repeatedly.

A notebook is filled with words to describe a smell that someone remembers. The words that were most popular: Sunscreen, Bread, Pencil, Asphalt, Mulch, Chlorine, Gas, Fresh Cut, Rubber, and Mold, are each outlined by a bulb shape.

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Becky Poole

Actor, VO, writer, saw player. Based in LA. I write feminist murder ballads, eat up neuroscience, and wish I was a better SJW.