You might call it Eau de Car Park - the distinctive scent that assaults the nostrils as you enter the stairwell of a multi-storey[*].
Redolent of the urinal, it makes parking the car a less than fragrant experience.
But the days of taking a deep breath before dashing up three flights may be numbered.
— From Mmm... the fresh aroma of car park: How one company plans to pump out perfume at its multi-storeys at the UK MailOnline.
* The term "multi-storey", so far as I know, is not used in the United States. I would call it a "parking garage", but according to Wikipedia that usage is regional as well. Who knew.
We call ’em parking structures here in SoCal….I cannot fathom wanting to smell like one, though perhaps the civet fanciers experience the odour in a better way?
Ah, but they don’t want *you* to smell like the car park, they want to make the car park smell better
Some of the comments on that original article are a hoot and reflect how I feel: I can think of nothing more disgusting than an attempt to cover up the nasty scent with an air freshener. But who knows, maybe it will help.
Also, I do think it’s funny they’re called “parking structures” here in So Cal — it sounds so architectural or something. “Parking garage” is much preferred.
Thanks, I didn’t even notice that they had comments there!
I live in the Midwest but ever since I started listening to/watching Eddie Izzard stand-up, I now refer to parking garages as “car parks”. I’m not trying to be pretentious, I just like the fewer syllables.
Gosh, “car park” does not sound pretentious to me at all.
Somehow I think CdG and their master noses will come up with an Eau de Car Park fragrance soon enough, to complete the Synthetic series!
All they’d need to do is add urine to the Garage scent, I guess!
The article suggests petrol as a pleasant smell. I can’t think of a more frightening scent in the context of enclosed car parks. Also, they don’t say they will clean the car parks first, they’ll just perfume the stairwells. Isn’t this like spraying a nice fragrance onto a long unwashed body?
Sounds like it to me…but some people do seem to love the smell of gasoline.
Me being one of them; I love filling my tank. =D
Exhaust is nice too.
I’ve never been to a urine-soaked parking garage (or, at least, one that smelled as such) but I do like the general garage smell. It’s cool and calming.