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15 smells every San Franciscan will recognize

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Photograph: Flickr/Whitney Porter
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San Francisco is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but she doesn't always smell like it. After a few years in town, most locals develop a nose for several classic SF scents. How many of these L'eau d'San Francisco wafts have you encountered?

1. Marijuana

Good weed, bad weed and everything in between, we smell pot everywhere in San Francisco. Obvious scent scenes include Dolores and Golden Gate Parks, but we've even been known to catch a whiff in Neiman Marcus

2. Protestor body odor

Entirely different from gym sweat or general lack of hygiene, protestor BO is an angry scent unto its own. 

3. Crab season

We mean this is the most delicious way possible. 

4. Human excrement

The smelling of human poop elicits an emotional response that can't be found with the canine variety. It doesn't happen often, but when it happens, it sticks with you.

5. Tech money

It's the scent of a stupid idea and temporary happiness.

6. Tartine Morning Buns

The blend of cinnamon and sugar is as old as time, but somehow the Tartine version is heavenly (and line-worthy).

7. Muni

An aromatic blend of old food, graffiti pen and human desperation.

8. BART station

The rare humid sections of town are found in the underground toilets we call BART stations. Breathe it in.

9. Union Street on a Sunday morning

This sunny street is often filled with the post-Pilates spritz of Clinique's "Happy" and scrambled egg-whites. 

10. Cable car brakes

The scent of a tragedy averted just in time is a San Francisco original. When we've been out of town for awhile, this burning whiff is like music to our nostrils. 

11. Ocean Beach

The one beach that smells like a dying whale… without the dying whale. 

12. Discarded chowder bread bowl

The number one food choice of seagulls is the Fisherman's Wharf. Its scent is the exciting mix of bad seafood and dairy product. 

13. $5 tomato

Most often found at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, the ridiculously-priced $5 tomato smells like it came from the Garden of Eden. 

14. Suburban club goer

The bombarding yet appealing scent of Axe body spray can mean only one thing; it's midnight at Temple

15. AT&T Park Garlic Fries

This odorous snack is legendary, and for good reason. They might also be good luck, so bring on the stink!

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