66 points

Heck, even before you take into account differing xenobiologies, this has precedent on earth; different cultures are often unused to how other cultures smell.

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38 points

I remember a Chinese friend, in jest mind you, said that white people smell of slightly sour milk.

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9 points

oh that’s just the daily sour milk skincare routine

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4 points
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Deleted by creator
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5 points

Well if it isn’t Abe Simpson.

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-4 points

I’ve also heard wet dog hair smell.

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7 points

I’m sensitive to smells and perfumes so any culture that uses them often is difficult for me. Hey are there scent suppressants I can buy or is that future tech?

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12 points

There would so be a market for it, although I’d rather have the artificial odor market be killed off instead. Saves a lot of waste as well. (as the air pollution, those smells… yuck)

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5 points

I knew a guy who couldn’t smell anything for weeks after smoking weed. As a maintenance worker for an apartment complex, he kept that up for years.

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3 points

Hey I’m a condo maintenance guy! I swear Snelling garbage and bad smells all day has destroyed my sense of smell. If someone’s wearing strong perfume it bothers me, but I can’t smell bad smells or notice them

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2 points
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2 points

Covid renders many people unable to smell or taste things.

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1 point

It’s possible since I got COVID last year, but I feel like it’s been going a while for me

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43 points

T’Pol says so in ENT

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18 points

the EMH says so in voyager

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31 points

Everyone has a smell. Everything has a smell.

You’re more likely to find smells you’re unfamiliar with potent and obvious.

So, yeah, humans stink, most humans usually smell somewhat like the foods they typically eat, big surprise!

So Vulcans probably stink, too, just differently.

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Wonder if it has to do with how many of us eat meat, Vulcan are vegetarian aren’t they?

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2 points

Yeah, I imagine the body odor of meat eaters to strict vegetarians is particularly… noticeable as it’s something totally alien to their diet.

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2 points

I’m mostly vegetarian. But the dishes that I tend to eat are heavily spiced. Curry is so good. Also garlic. Hah

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1 point

Just like how everyone has an accent. (Especially the people who think they don’t.)

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21 points

Yes! Have you met humans?

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My pet theory on this is that it’s because most vulcans are vegan or vegetarian, and many humans still eat meat and other animal products. The diet thing is confirmed canon, but I can confirm being able to smell… meat smell(?) on people who eat it.

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13 points

The meat Federation citizens eat isn’t really an animal product. In the Orville, it’s actually made explicit that killing an animal for food is regarded as tantamount to murder in the Union.

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The reality is it wouldn’t matter if it’s synthetically produced meat, it’s still going to have the same proteins and chemicals as it would if it came from an animal, which is what people (myself included) can smell on people who have consumed them. Eating garlic makes you smell like garlic, eating dairy makes you smell like dairy, eating meat makes you smell like meat.

I think the implication that we’re smelling the concept of sin is very funny though.

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2 points

I think the fact that we’re made of meat makes us smell like meat

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8 points

Just because it’s replicated doesn’t mean it’s not meat, right?

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2 points

“Cannibals love this one easy trick!”

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1 point

well presumably if there’s some specific compound in meat that makes us smell, that could simply not be replicated

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4 points

They kinda imply they eat real meat in enterprise. When do they phase out animals as food?

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5 points

Probably aroumd the time replicators became widespread, so, during The Lost Era.

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2 points

it’s not a theory, it’s fact: the smell is rotting flesh (and dairy for most) and animals on earth rely on it to know if something is nearby them.

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-6 points

You can smell bloodmouths? What’s the difference? I’ll have to keep a nose out for it

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