Things whose smell reminds you of pee

[Carb0nBased 549]

I think I may have posted something about this before, but probably as a comment in a different thread. I thought it would be fun to start a thread devoted completely to this.

Back in December when I was at a nursery looking for a Christmas tree, they had paperwhites (a type of narcissus) for sale outside. I noticed that the smell very much reminded me of urine, and was totally not what I'd expect from a flower. I have looked online at some people describing the smell, and I'm not the only one to think that. It is claimed that the chemical compound that produces this urine-like scent is indole, which is the same compound that gives the bacterium E. coli its stink. As a biologist, I have smelled E. coli cultures, and they DO have a gross stink, but not in a way that reminds me of pee--and certainly not in the way that paperwhites do. I wouldn't say that paperwhites smell disgusting--but they don't smell floral either. It is also said that jasmine and gardenias have indole in them, although jasmine in particular contains other compounds that give it its characteristic sweet scent (that are shared with honeysuckle and a few other plants). I certainly don't think jasmine smells like pee--although for something so romantic-smelling, it is interesting to think that there's a bit of pee smell hidden in it 🙂.

Recently the weather here has been a bit more spring-y and less wintry, and I was reminded that very early in springtime, when the grass is green and damp and the sun comes out for the first few days, the ground gives off an earthy smell that in some places is a bit reminiscent of pee as well. Though that COULD be because some animals have actually peed there and the smell is evaporating for the first time due to the sun.

I've also noticed zucchini having a smell that reminds me a bit of pee--not on the counter or when cooking, but after eating it, there's a sort of aftertaste, an "aftersmell" if you will, that's a tiny bit pee-like.

What other things have people on here noticed that reminded them a bit of pee?