The Nostalgic Smells That Every Video Store of the ’90s Had
The Nostalgic Smells That Every Video Store of the '90s Had
If you’re in your 30s or older, you can probably still imagine the feeling of walking into a neighborhood video store . . .
A website has a list of “5 Nostalgic Smells Every Video Store of the ’90s Had”:
1. Overheated plastic. Mostly due to the VHS tapes and their cases, but also the TVs and desktop computers at the counters.
2. Carpet cleaner and vacuums. For some reason, most video shops were CARPETED with that thin, industrial grade carpet, which required commercial vacuums and carpet cleaners. Even if it was a faint smell, it was there.
3. Stale buttery popcorn. One reason for all the vacuuming was the high likelihood of popcorn being sold. Or at least being there, and OCCASIONALLY being sold.
4. Printed paper. It wasn’t just the inventory sheets and dot-matrix receipts, these stores usually had posters, zines, and advertisements from local theaters, and some sold magazines or even books.
5. Glade Aqua Waves air freshener. According to many nostalgic accounts online, this air freshener may have been used in many U.S. Blockbuster stores throughout the ’90s.
The scent has “notes of sparkling mandarin, ocean air, sea salt, and island flowers, and would have added another layer of vaguely exotic excitement to the Blockbuster experience back in the day.”
