Two Things
photo by express monorail
If only! Most air definitely smells more like feet than flowers.
Glad you all found yesterday’s post entertaining. I’m sure I’ll be getting plenty of new readers now that I’ve scattered those search terms all over. More creepiness will be going on here. Um, great.
Moving on, today is going to be a two-part post, so let’s just get going shall we?
Part One: A Useless Piece of Information About Me That I’ll Tell You Even Though You Probably Don’t Care
I’m part bloodhound. Hm, that didn’t come out right. It’s not like I’m some weird dog-human mix (though I hear people like dog people as evidenced by exhibit A). It’s just that I’ve realized my keen sense of smell isn’t normal.
Well, really, The Man helped me realize that when he gently said, “You’re a freak. I’ve never met someone who smells as well as you.” (Only he used the word good instead of well, but I’m such a nice wife that I corrected his grammar.)
There’s the fact that I can sniff faint scents long before most people notice the room even has a smell. And then there’s the annoying part of my superpower: Even the faintest gross smell makes me want to barf.
So, like, when we’re making dinner and I catch the smell of egg or when the sink takes on that slightly metallic smell, I start to gag. Sure, I love eggs, but smelling them cook makes me seriously consider veganism.
But you see, it’s not just those foods that normal people think stink. It’s random scents that I can’t put my finger on. I’ll start with the scent that may make you think I’m insane. Sometimes my water glass smells even though I haven’t even sipped it. (Of course I dump it and get a new glass, which makes The Man insane and may have elicited the “You’re a freak” speech in the first place.)
Other instances go more like this:
ME: What stinks?
THE MAN: I don’t smell anything.
ME: It’s like a dirty mop. Or diner counters that have been wiped clean but mysteriously smell like rot.
THE MAN: I don’t smell anything.
ME: Or it’s like stinky feet lingering in an elevator.
FAMILY MEMBER NO. 1: You’re nuts.
ME, sniffing around: I think it’s over here. Nope. Hmm.
THE MAN: I smell nothing.
ME: How can you not smell it? It’s so gross! It’s like cardboard boxes in a small room in the heat.
FAMILY MEMBER NO. 2: You’re nuts.
THE MAN: I do smell something! Is that French fries?
ME: No! It’s not French fries! It’s disgustingness in gas form!
THE MAN: You’re nuts.
Anyhow, useless but important to my life nonetheless.
Part Two: A Useful Study That I’ll Share With You To Make Up For The Useless Piece of Information About Me.
I’ll start by telling you I don’t eat gluten-free foods. But I know many of you do so it’s my civic duty to pass some info on to you: Those gluten-free foods might not be totally free of gluten. I mean, there’s a chance they could have a teeeeensy bit of gluten in them, which is either no big deal if you just eat gluten free to spend extra money or a huge deal if you’re intolerant. The FDA doesn’t regulate this kind of thing.
Fact is, some researchers looked at 22 gluten-free products and found that seven of them wouldn’t pass the FDA’s test to determine gluten-free-ness. (Shut up, it’s a word.) Here’s the whole story.
Consider yourself informed.
I love it when my readers leave smarter than when they arrived here.
(Or, you could argue, I love it when they leave stupider. But I might give you the evil eye for saying that.)
I have two—count ’em, two—questions for you today.
First, what superpower do you legitimately have? (No, “I can fly!” doesn’t count unless you really can fly in which case—can I book you for a trip to Massachusetts? These airplanes are getting kinda expensive what with the baggage check fees and all. E-mail me.)
Second, do you buy gluten free? If you do, are you worried about it possibly being gluten-full?
29 comments
I’m super-powerless! And, no….I’m not gluten-free either. I love the glutes
HA!!!
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Tracey Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:57 am
I disagree. Your superpower is creating endless puns and plays on words.
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My superpower – I can wiggle my ears. Sort of. And I have a superhuman sense of smell when it comes to cilantro/coriander. I HATE the stuff and I’m very sensitive to it.
I’ve never had gluten-free food items; I don’t think it has caught on in China yet.
Wei-Wei
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Tracey Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
Oooh, I always wanted to be able to wiggle my ears. And my nose because it was so cool when Samantha on Bewitched did that. (Yes, I realize you have not idea what I’m taking about because I’m OLD.)
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Talk about an eye-opener. Follow your nose! I wonder if you ever got pregnant if intense smell would bother you. Don’t ask why I am so forward thinking, maybe that’s my power, lol. I see into your future.
Oddly enough, I have successfully predicted each of my close friend’s pregnancies. I dream about a friend being pregnant and each time within days they have told me they are expecting. Fun party trick!
That gluten free stat is awesome, many are so proud they are gluten free. Wouldn’t they like to know.
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Tracey Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:55 am
I dread when I become pregnant and all of this intensifies.
That’s a pretty cool trick you have there. What’s your accuracy compared to, say, First Response? You might want to go in business with that.
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So glad you commented on my guest post at fitchickNYC’s blog. I appreciate the support, and I LOVE your blog. Wouldn’t have found it if it weren’t for your comment. Adding you to my google reader right now.
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Tracey Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:55 am
So glad you found my blog! I loved your post, truly, so thanks for sharing it and stopping by here!
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I have a super sensitive sense of smell too! Its way worse with pregnancy too! Other than that… I have no clue what super powers I have
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I have a really keen sense of smell as well. It also drives Keith crazy! But I swear that boy can’t smell at all. Our kitchen could be on fire and he wouldn’t even look up. haha!
I buy gluten-free on some things but I am not overly anal about it. I don’t stress if I eat gluten…eh…there are other things for me to worry about! haha!
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Oh that keen sense of smell is probably a curse and a blessing. Sure, you’d wake up and have the family out of the house by the time a match even started a piece of paper on fire. But the cooking thing- that blows. There are many food smells I can’t take while cooking, but I’m totally fine with the finished product.
But I will not, and cannot tolerate the smell of bananas. In the kitchen is one thing. It’s food. I’ll tolerate it. But they (along with a few other select fruits) are not allowed in my car. Because I will gag in such an enclosed space. I really hate bananas…
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Looks like a lot of work to be gluten free…but worth it ..if you have to.
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I have crazy good hearing! It can be really annoying when watching a movie or something, because everything distracts me.
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Since I have really bad eyesight my excellent hearing compensates for that. I can hear everything and I mean everything. I can be in my room on the other side of our house and hear Maya go into the kitchen, open the fridge, and take out a box of Godiva.
I am gluten-intolerant but not allergic. Thank God for that because otherwise I’d just shoot myself. I’m sure there is gluten hidden everywhere.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tim Flickinjer, Tracey Neithercott. Tracey Neithercott said: If you buy gluten-free, you might not be getting what you asked for: http://bit.ly/axDh0t [...]
My super power (I have actually said this to people) is I can sleep anywhere, anytime, no matter what is happening around me.
I’m completely unaffected by gluten (really though, thank goodness).
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Tracey Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 am
That would be a great superpower to have when you live below a noisy neighbor who does step aerobics at 3 a.m. Been there, didn’t sleep.
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I can’t think of a superpower off the top of my head, but I’m certain I have one!
I’ve bought gluten-free products before just to try them, but I don’t have a gluten-intolerance or anything.
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i am part blood hound too! smells really affect me and i have a sensitive sniffer for sure…..no i am not gluten free-should i be?
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Tracey Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 am
Nope. Not unless you have a gluten intolerance (celiac disease) that tears up your stomach.
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I do but gluten free because of an intolerance. I’ve run into this problem before about some processed items. I just got really good about figuring out the ingredient lists, it’s just super annoying to have to pull out some serious chemistry skills when grocery shopping. I know what cereals I can eat (Nature’s Path is the best) and to stick with anything rice based.
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I too have the “nose” in my family. Sometimes it drives my kids crazy. Thanks for the info on gluten free – I did leave more information than when I clicked over!
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Tracey Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:03 am
Sweet–my job here is done.
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Okay – I meant informed, not information. It’s getting late.
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Well, him telling you that he never has met anyone that smells as good as you would be a compliment too.
I have a GPS in my brain. I can just turn on a random road and find my way to where i need to go. My husband, on the other hand, routinely misses turning onto our street.
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Tracey Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:26 pm
My mother has built-in GPS, too. It’s a handy skill to have in the middle of nowhere.
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Leslie Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:08 pm
Oooh, I wish I had this GPS skill. I also have a super sense of smell and great hearing. A gift and a curse, as you guys know. And, Tracey, that conversation sounds *so* familiar.
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I can…hm. Stand on the knuckles of my toes…even walk on the knuckles of my toes. That doesn’t really “get me” anything cool like a super power, but it’s all I’ve got! I wish I had a better sense of smell. Though, with Lily around…life could get rather foul.
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I have an annoyingly strong sense of smell too! It’s awful when something really stinks…I’m always the first to smell it and it really bothers me. I don’t know if I have any superpowers other than that…I’m really good at knowing when people are lying to me? That’s not always a good thing either…sometimes ignorance is bliss.
I stay away from gluten as much as possible because of inflammation issues and an intolerance that makes me sick. I don’t really buy gluten free products that much though…because like you said, they are expensive. Why bother? I can just eat things that are naturally gluten free. And I’ll especially stay away from that stuff now that you’ve pointed this out. Thanks for the info.
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