Reference point
Take the cap off a permanent marker and smell the tip.
Do this before you read on. An entry only works when you have just smelled the thing.
Sharp, pungent, instantly dizzying if smelled up close. Very strong and very short.
This is the most intense entry in the household-objects family, and perhaps in the whole dictionary. It crosses the threshold of comfort almost instantly.
It is also one of the few smells where smelling too close does real harm, not just discomfort.
How to smell it
Take the cap off, hold it at least two hand-spans from your nose and waft gently towards you. Don’t bring it close. With this entry, keeping your distance is essential.
Why this one is hard
Because the intensity drowns out any structure. At such strength the nose raises the alarm rather than analysing.
Scientific note
Permanent-marker ink uses fast-evaporating organic solvents such as xylene, toluene or alcohol so that it dries instantly and sticks to any surface. That high evaporation rate is what creates a high concentration in the air the moment the cap comes off. Aromatic solvents such as toluene are neurotoxic when inhaled for long periods at high concentration.
In Vietnamese life
The permanent marker belongs to classrooms, warehouses and markets in Vietnam. Its smell goes with whiteboards and with prices written on cardboard boxes.