I found the article to be very entertaining, and something that I could very much relate to. Every time I bring up the subject of smell with my friends, they, for whatever reason, are incredibly indifferent about the subject, stare at me perplexed with an expression that one would give when asked a question that they found to be either out of the social norm or to be utter blasphemy. You know that look, with the the scrunching of the eyebrows and squinted eyes and a semi-gaping mouth.

There were two smells that I can think of off the top of my head that were incredibly distinct: the smell of Pokemon and the smell of the Ps2 and other things that followed. The former was caused mostly by a distinct scent that comes from opening and reading the pages of the original Pokemon Instruction booklets (I had Blue, and found it in Yellow and maybe Silver as well). It was a distinct smell that almost smelled like the subject of the article: mothballs, but not so much in an incredibly horrendous way, but more of a fresh-off-the-press way.

As for the ps2 smell, it was weird. It wasn't really a smell that came particularly from the inside of the box that came with the ps2, or the ps2 itself, but just a smell that would kick up in my nose every thing I felt a certain way. One way i could put it would be to say that it was either the smell of puberty or the smell of excitement, as it would come up momentarily, lingering for a moment, and then leave. I'm not too sure. This smell, first experienced upon opening the box of my ps2 for the first time, then a variation of the smell when opening a copy of Devil May Cry as well, and the smell would continue to appear out of nowhere. Sometimes I suspected it was the wind, and at other times, I thought it was from inside my own nose, as no one ever made mention of smelling something, or making any sort of reaction when I smelled it. Eventually, I thought it was a certain smell that came from cigarettes, but I wasn't sure of that either, as the smell of cigarettes was filled with smoke and chemicals that, should the smell be from there, was dampening this odd smell. Over time, the smell came less often, and nowadays doesn't come at all. The smell also changed over time, but kept a certain something from its original smell. By the time I hit 18, the smell stopped coming up, and nowadays it just doesn't come up in my nose at all. I can say that the smell may be forever lost, and I'll never know what was the cause of it.

Darkpen:
The former was caused mostly by a distinct scent that comes from opening and reading the pages of the original Pokemon Instruction booklets (I had Blue, and found it in Yellow and maybe Silver as well).

How strange, I remember that too now you mention, though I had Pokemon Red. It was a very unique smell I recall, a mix of fresh press and mothballs would be quite accurate.

Little behind on the responses, but I feel the author completely. I remember being little and instead of hanging out in the garage with my grandpa, I'd be inside playing video games and Legos. He loved it though and completely understood and said one day I'd love the smell of oil and grease, no way I thought.

Well, 22 now, I'm a complete car junky. Everytime I work on my car or smell the nasty burn of Transmission Oil, I think of him.

He was also taken by cancer.