I would add the smells of rain, wet wool, sweat and breath, and sawdust. Fragrance is so evocative and complex, but it'll be a while before we can call it up in our browser.

I remember a Disney World hang-glider ride where they puffed cool humid forest-scented air in my face. That was a very effective ambiance enhancer.

I also remember getting an Odorama card [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision#/media/File:Odo... ] when I saw the movie Polyester. Amusing, but not exactly Proustian.

I sure hope it's a while before smells come to the browser. I'm annoyed enough by autoplaying audio, although now that I think about it, it seems not to happen much at all these days.

"smells come to the browser"

That little pit in the border of your laptop screen near the camera could be both a puffer and a mic pick up! I'm not sure what would be behind it but I'll be putting on a full noddy suit before I do maint. on your lappie, having noted the piece of tape over it. I'm not sure what would end up trapped inside the shell over time but I suspect both of "BC".

(noddy suit: NBC suit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_suit)

>although now that I think about it, it seems not to happen much at all these days.

Thank you Mozilla!

Imagine getting rickrolled with the smell of rotting pig.

Don't worry, you'll be protected by the HP firmware. It'll detect that you're out of butyl compounds even though the scent requires none, refuse to spray the scent, and automatically place an order for you.

The military does that. The USS Trayer is a ship disaster simulator. "Suddenly, we're on a pier, the Trayer rising above us. We're indoors, but a gentle breeze carries the distinctive tang of the sea. Gulls caw somewhere overhead, and waves lap between the pier and the hull." It looks and smells like a real ship, but it's indoors in North Chicago, at the Navy's training center.

The army version, a section of a Third World city: "From the control center AFSOC can observe and change everything from lighting to sounds and smells. “They can simulate the smell of a bakery right down to burning cars or rotting meat.” The US military has several facilities like that.

Don’t you actually need something that smells like burning car though? I really wonder how you’d create that artificially.

Burning rubber, oil, plastic, and leather probably do most of it.

Disney ride was soarin' https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soarin%27

A bit of short fiction (not mine) from 2007, on recreating experiences for those who are stuck at home: https://everything2.com/title/We+control+the+algorithms+for+....

You forgot the piss.

also missing are girls crying in the loo and occasional muffled sounds of a fight unfolding outside

Ah the best few minutes of anyone's day.

"Every Irish Pub ever." (Absolutely hilarious)

https://youtu.be/Hy2AYdBtzBo

and the bathroom attendant in the guys bathroom not letting two guys go in the stall together to do cocaine, while getting berated by everyone in line about equality because the girls go in stalls together routinely

You guys have security in the bathroom?

It was actually my day job from which I eventually pivoted into infosec. The industry is full of people like myself who aren't bothered by the smell of human feces dressed up as technological solutions. Thinking back, I guess I came a long way. But it all started in that loo! Always remember your roots!

for a more authentic experience here are some visuals (free of charge) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o4iZqa2VEg

That was Game of Thrones!

You had Cercei, Mormont, Hodor and Tyrion!

But why? What does this accomplish?!

Ambiance

You want to tap into vivid memory? Recreate a smell.

Olfaction is the first sense we developed from an evolutionary viewpoint.