‘What is a sound or smell that doesn’t exist anymore, but was common 30 years ago?’ – 19 replies to set your nostalgia senses on fire
There are certain smells and sounds that take us right back to our childhoods. The scratch of chalk on a school blackboard, for example, and that dusty smell of the chalk itself.
Twitter user Nithya Shri asked her followers for more examples of smells and sounds that have pretty much disappeared from modern life, and the replies were a nostalgic delight.
Here’s her tweet.
What is a sound or smell that doesn’t exist anymore, but 30 years ago was so common it was considered background noise?
— Nithya Shri (@Nithya_Shrii) February 23, 2026
The replies made us realise just how many things our noses and ears aren’t experiencing anymore.
1.
The sound of a dial-up modem connecting, that specific screech and hiss that meant something new was about to happen.
The smell of a VHS tape when you opened the case. All of it disappeared so quietly nobody got to say goodbye.
— Mentality Money X (@MentaMoneyX) February 23, 2026
2.
The smell coming off the mouthpiece of a frequently used payphone is lost to us forever 😭
— × (@theNyx__) February 23, 2026
3.
The warm ozone/dust smell from a CRT TV or monitor that’s been on all day
— Castello (@CastelloAi) February 24, 2026
4.
Fluorescent lamp hum
— Choen Lee (@ahchoen) February 24, 2026
5.
The smell of a cigarette lit by the car cigarette lighter
— Dick Patella (@dickpatella) February 23, 2026
6.
When your computer speakers were an early warning system for an incoming call!
— PS (@PaulSmiff) February 24, 2026
7.
Dot matrix printers, for both sound and smell pic.twitter.com/3aexPnuHzY
— Dee 🐻 (@itsdeehanson) February 24, 2026
8.
— Art Vandelay (@chapmanj100) February 24, 2026
9.
A very British one – the smell of warm soggy newsprint back when fish and chips were wrapped in newspaper, mixed with salt and vinegar. Not the same with plain paper now (though a few still wrap newspaper as an outer layer) 📰
— Helen Varley (@HelenVarlz) February 24, 2026
10.
The great smell of … pic.twitter.com/8vhvp5YLaF
— Ian Edwards (@ianedwards99) February 24, 2026