What is your favorite chemical to smell?

Question

Guaiacol, (R)-limonene, benzaldehyde, diisopropyl ether, benzene, etc.? Which is it, and why? You can name more than one if you like... make it interesting.

Answer 1

Nothing smells better than bleach. Gasoline smells good, too.

Answer 2

CS Gas.

Answer 3

u arent supposed to smell them........................

right?

Answer 4

black powder afters its been burned the nice smell of the sulfur

Answer 5

expo markers!

Answer 6

cheeseburgers

Answer 7

I like the smell of acetone peroxide - sort of like superglue, which is good as well.  Ethanol and isopropanol also have pleasant smells.  I have never smelled benzaldehyde, but chlorobenzene is sometimes described as having a similar odor, and in low concentrations is somewhat pleasant.

I also like the smell of black powder after burning (with no air present), but this is a complex mixture rather than a single compound.

And then there's all of the good smelling esters: methyl salicylate and methyl anthranilate are my favorites of the ones I've smelled.  Some of the others that are purported to have fruit smells don't smell very good to me...

@Crankin' - I find the smell of bleach very unpleasant (sort of like a bathroom odor), but gasoline is sometimes good as well.

Answer 8

pine sol & paint