Printed from smellbook.com/smells/gasoline. This printout keeps the entry for Gasoline itself: its description, reference card, Connections, questions, evidence, related smells, record details, states, names and citation. It leaves out your own notes, the map, the lists of paths, routes, stories and fragrance directions, and the lists headed “Also linked to” (other entries that share its place or material) and “Linked from”; they are on the page online. The entries this one links to are still printed under Connections and Related smells.
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Also known as Petrol
A strong volatile fuel smell with sharp, sweet-solvent and industrial associations.
Petrol smells sharp, thin and sweetish, with a solvent-like edge and an industrial, oily depth. EDITORIAL
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QUESTIONS ABOUT GASOLINE
Petrol smells sharp, thin and sweetish, with a solvent-like edge and an industrial, oily depth. It strikes the nose quickly, then thins and drifts away in the open air. In closed spaces the smell becomes heavy and lingering. It is easily confused with paint thinner or diesel, though petrol is lighter and sweeter.
In SmellBook’s words: sharp, volatile, industrial and sweet-solvent.
People meet it at petrol stations while filling up, in garages and workshops, near lawnmowers and small engines, and on busy roads. Many people link it with travel and road journeys.
Typical settings: petrol station, garage, fueling vehicle.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline vapour. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
The scientific study behind this evidence is chemistry or emission work, not a study of how the smell is perceived.
This is a recognition profile only; SmellBook does not encourage intentional inhalation or exposure.
SmellBook records one written comparison with other smells: see it in Connections.
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
Aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline vapour
In the headspace vapour of regular and premium gasoline, aromatic hydrocarbons made up about 87–88% of the targeted volatile compounds measured.
Three commercial gasolines from one country and 32 target compounds; composition, not odour, and fuel formulations vary by region and grade.
How this was found: Chemical composition. Compounds were identified or measured, without any assessment of their odour. Source: primary study; chemistry work.
Sruthi Jayaraj & S. M. Shiva Nagendra
Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry
DOI 10.1007/s10874-025-09480-7Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Gasoline.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0042 — Gasolinesmellbook:smell:gasolinehttps://smellbook.com/smells/gasolineSmellBook. (2026). Gasoline (revision 4, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:gasoline. https://smellbook.com/smells/gasoline@misc{smellbook_gasoline_r4,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Gasoline},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 4, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:gasoline},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/gasoline}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-gasoline-r4 TI - Gasoline AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 4 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/gasoline N1 - SB-0042; smellbook:smell:gasoline; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/gasoline ER -
The citation names revision 4 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
This is a recognition profile only; SmellBook does not encourage intentional inhalation or exposure.
Other entries whose editors linked to Gasoline:
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗