Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for February 16, 2015
Transcript:
Calvin: "Mmm...somebody's having a fire. I love the smell of a fire on a cold winter day" Calvin: "Isn't it strange how smells are so evocative. But we can't describe them?" Hobbes: "Oh, I dunno. That fire has a snorky, brambish smell" Calvin: "I should have known animals would have words for smells" Hobbes: "It's a little brunky. But the low humidity affects that"
BE THIS GUY about 9 years ago
Wasn’t Snorky the keyboard player for the Banana-Splits?
KZ71 about 9 years ago
This is EXACTLY the topic of an article I just read today… English just doesn’t have those words!
BE THIS GUY about 9 years ago
@KZ71Well, thanks to Hobbes, now it does.
emjaycee about 9 years ago
To us Northeasterners, there is the different smells of burning leaves on a clear September day, another for a cool October day, another for being in the local lodge house. A different scent for each of wet burns in October versus November days, another for OHLYSH!!!!!T DRY OCTOBER GONNA BURN DOWN THE CORNFIELDS DAY and late November draw late leaf-peepers in to buy the last minute pumpkins for Thanksgiving (and all of the discounted Halloween salt and pepper shakers for next year).
orinoco womble about 9 years ago
@KZ71 (reply not working again today): No but we have all those onomatopoeia for sounds. Can’t have it all y’know.
bluram about 9 years ago
This cartoon was made possible with help of the Watterson’s Animal Dictionary for C&H Fans.
GrimmaTheNome about 9 years ago
Of course animals don’t think in words – and we think non-verbally far more than a lot of people realise.
nikolatasche about 9 years ago
Nice
DrDavy2000 about 9 years ago
’Twas brillig!
rentier about 9 years ago
Hobbes uses unknown words!
nikolatasche about 9 years ago
Nice
Vonne Anton about 9 years ago
Am I weird if smells have different colors?
library_dean about 9 years ago
Everyone is focused on “snorky” while I’m still shocked by Calvin’s use of “evocative.” He must make straight A’s in his vocabulary class at school.
Susie Derkins :D about 9 years ago
Feel the burn.
PoodleGroomer about 9 years ago
You should hear the words they use to describe a bathroom.
dflak about 9 years ago
Actually the English language does have a number of words for smell: aroma, whiff, stench, odor, fragrance, bouquet, waft, stink, reek, sniff to name a few.
The average woman’s sense of smell is 10 times more sensitive than the average man. This probably explains why men can “hang out” in locker rooms and are willing to sniff that carton of milk that’s been in the back of the fridge since the Carter Administration to see if it’s still fresh.
Smell was one of the first senses to evolve. Animals communicated by leaving chemical trails. Smell is interpreted in the most primitive part of the human brain. That may be why there is such a strong link between smells and memories.
dsom8 about 9 years ago
Yellow to me is probably yellow to you, but how can we tell that what’s brunky to me isn’t snorky to you? And why is brambish green to me but orange to you?
Karaboo2 about 9 years ago
Snorky? Brunky? Something smells fishy to me.
Mrstaggart about 9 years ago
my child’s shoes have that brunky, snorky smell!
JanLC about 9 years ago
There are different smells depending on what’s burning. A wood fire is different from a brush fire which is different again from a house fire (drywall/sheet rock really stinks when it burns!).
nikolatasche about 9 years ago
Interesting
neverenoughgold about 9 years ago
In our neighborhood, the smell of burning leaves is almost nonexistent! Most communities forbid leaf burning…
romart1 about 9 years ago
The squinchy sound of walking in fresh snow is so much nicer than the squooshy sound of walking in slushy snow
BRI-NO-MITE!! Premium Member about 9 years ago
The Utah legislature is trying to ban burning wood in fireplaces.
Number Three about 9 years ago
I’m strange because I love smells which other people hate. E.g. Paint.
xxx
nikolatasche about 9 years ago
Interesting
Pthhht! about 9 years ago
Amazing how even a stuffed animal can detect more smells than a human.
nikolatasche about 9 years ago
I like this one
Malcolm Hall about 9 years ago
Acrid, skunky, musty, fruity, putrid, decay, fruity, peaty, but I admit, the words we have are for pretty strong odors.
Da Cat Guy about 1 year ago
Uhhh… just say that it smells smoky.