A nostalgic smell is bringing Gen X and Millennials straight back to their childhoods: Mr. Sketch scented markers. The colorful markers were first released by Sanford Manufacturing Company in 1965.
Over on Reddit, Gen Xers and Millennials shared their memories of using the fragrant markers in the1970s, 1980s and 1990s. “I can totally smell this picture,” one commented. “I can still hear the sound of the Styrofoam tray sliding out of the box. squeeeeeek,” said another.
One Gen Xer noted, “I can still remember the ole ‘here smell this one’ as you jab their nose with it. It never got old and people would still lean in to smell.” Another added, “The memory of these is so strong that I swear I can feel the resistance and pop of taking off those caps.”
Others discussed the scents themselves: “These are partly how I learned to appreciate black licorice. I love my scented markers,” one wrote. Another shared, “Watermelon was my favorite.” One said, “Orange all day long,” while another shared, “The light blue was my absolute favorite [blueberry].”
The Mr. Sketch markers also produced lots of funny core childhood stories for Gen Xers and Millennials. “A kid in my 4th grade class drew directly on his nostrils to smell these continuously,” one wrote. Another shared, “Had a teacher in elementary who if you got a good grade on a test would mark your paper in whatever color scent you wanted right at your desk (she would mark it with a red unscented marker at her desk if it was bad). I would choose either purple grape, or dark green apple then spend a good 10-15 minutes smelling it until the scent went away as it dried.”
The smell of Mr. Sketch markers brings Gen Xers and Millennials straight back to childhood. Which makes sense
—smell is deeply connected to memory and nostalgia in our brains.
In a 2024 article for Harvard Medicine, Sandeep Robert Datta, a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, explained that, “Our ancient ancestors relied on smell to build maps of their surroundings and remember where they’d been.” She added, “You can think of the original brain as being a sense of smell plus a sense of navigation plus a sense of memory. That explains why all those structures are so intimately connected, and why odor memories are so evocative.”
And when the odor sensors in the nose are met with a familiar smell, Datta added it is “like a key being inserted into a lock” of memories.
According to USA Today, Mr. Sketch markers had a relaunch in 2014 when the brand released its first television advertising campaign with new marker sets, including a Movie Night pack (with smells like popcorn and nacho cheese) and a Holiday pack (complete with candy cane and sugar cookie scents). Mr. Sketch is now owned by Newell Brands.
Today, the Mr. Sketch brand boasts 12 core scents: raspberry, watermelon, cherry, orange, banana, mint, apple, fruit punch, blueberry, grape, cinnamon, and licorice. It has also expanded to scented crayons.
