Yep, Hoppe's #9 does seem to have a certain addictive property. It really does seem
like smells connect directly with some memories and trigger them at a more intense
level than just thinking about it.
It may be a survival deal. When I was 16, and AFAIK had never smelled a bear, I was still
hunting deer, about 30 yds from a friend, moving very quietly down a sandy fire break in
foggy weather. Suddenly, there was almost literally a flashing neon sign in my brain that
said, in tall yellow letters, "BEAR!". Nothing like, "Hmm, what is that smell, not sure what it is,
I wonder if that is a bear." Nope, pure, instant 100% certainty - BEAR! I froze and looked at my
friend when he moved from behind a clump of palmettoes. He was fully alerted too, and mouthed,
silently, "Bear", and I nodded. I literally didn't even conciously smell anything at first, eventually my
dumb modern brain noted a 'funny smell, not idenfied.' Either I had smelled one in a zoo when too
young to remember, or that particular warning is layed down in the DNA from 1,000 generations ago
when knowing the bear was near was a critical, life or death issue. Talked with my friend, about 9 years older
about it later, he had exactly the same 100%, instant certainty that there was a bear around.
We saw tracks a few minutes later, never spotted the bear.
The sense of smell is different, for certain.
Bill