I've been to several LGS before. East Asia, Australia, and Western Europe. Durring middle of the day, during night; winter or summer. Most of the time, there's no offending smell. No strong unpleasant smells from decaying food or body odor. Even if I go to a GP where a large crowd is present and airflow is weaker, the smell is not worse than the smell in rush hour metro.
But here, I heard enough horror stories about bad smells in LGS. So, I wonder is it just a problem unique in the USA?
No we just notice it more and complain. We have lots of showers and ac in the us. If you stink its a health issue or you choose to be stinky. Also stink is relative. Ask a vegan if meat eaters stink. Ask an englishman what he thinks of durian. Or a Chinese person about roquefort cheese.
Tldr us is not stinky and its all relative. Quit bashing america.
you could argue americans practice better hygiene than other parts of the world, so the people who do shower, and use soap, become more sensitive to the smell of the few people who dont.
It's a "guy" problem - any time you have bad ventilation and bad AC, guys will start sweating, and no amount of showers/deodorant will fix it. Now, yes, some individuals are individually problematic, but generally it's overblown.
It's a "guy" problem - any time you have bad ventilation and bad AC, guys will start sweating, and no amount of showers/deodorant will fix it. Now, yes, some individuals are individually problematic, but generally it's overblown.
This isn't entirely true. I wear deodorant and shower regularly. If it gets hot out or in my LGS and I sweat, I do not smell of body odor, because I have deodorant on. And because I shower, I don't have 4 day old swamp ass that gets triggered by the heat.
Anyone that comes into my LGS that smells horrible is because they choose not to wear deodorant or shower well enough (if at all) to keep their body clean. The smells can be disgusting, be it the swamp ass, the body odor coming from their armpits devoid of deodorant, their unwashed feet sweating into their 2 year old sneakers.
Basically, if you're going to be in a public setting, just ****ing clean yourself. It's totally cool if you want to wallow in your putrescence in your own house, but when you're in someone else's shop, surrounded by lots of people, just take a damn shower or wear some deodorant.
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I've been to several LGS before. East Asia, Australia, and Western Europe.
I call shenanigans. I've been to Western Europe and people had body odor ALL THE TIME. They don't place a cultural importance on body scent, and never have. Perhaps if you are there long enough you acclimate -- by the time I stopped smelling it, my trip was over and it was time to leave.
Americans are typically much more hygienic than people in other countries. So when we attend a midnight prerelease full of people who have been at work all day followed by FNM, we find that people can be much smellier than we're used to.
It's probably American's who have to work two jobs and their only free time is literally spent at the LGS. Americans don't get 8 weeks of vacation for 36 hours a week like in Europe.
I don't care how much you shower and groom, 12 hours of work smells.
The problem is one person in a small store can stink up the entire joint. America as a culture is actually pretty good on the personal hygiene front compared to many regions of the world. But MTG in the states attracts a lot of social oddballs and outcasts, and personal hygiene is lost on some of these. Plus as noted above, the morbidly obese tend to have a more difficult time with sweating and body odor.
Honestly its one reason I choose to stick to mtgo. Its just an uncomfortable atmosphere for me, as a skinny attractive guy who doesn't stink even a bit unless i run for an hour.
I live in Oregon, and have never had any of the shops smelly outside of the VERY rare occasion...and the only times I've noticed it was not due to B.O., but rather tobacco or wacky tabacky smoke on people's clothing. I did experience it once in a convention hall back when pre's were not in shops, but it was a warm humid day and the AC was not working. All and all I always assumed it was anti-gamer stereotyping, but some people have said otherwise.
The amount of cultural stereotyping in this thread is pretty ignorant, and the OP is only asking because he has read so many Americans commenting on it. That said, I think this needs some levity, so enjoy what JoCo has to say on the subject of people "over there". Next time you want to make a judgment just ask yourself, WWJoCo say?
Lastly, as a Nurse I have come into contact with obese people plenty and they do not smell any more than any other person. An obese person that has an unsettling odor to them is not stinky because they have a lot of body fat, they are stinky because they have poor hygiene. A person who has poor hygiene smells no matter what their BMI is, and I have known some roley-poley women in my time that have smelled quite nice.
Yu-gi-oh tournaments were far worst, at from my experience. At the one I had to judge I had to bring an air freshener it was that bad. You think people would have caught on when I had to occasionally get up and spray the area near the judge table.
It's probably American's who have to work two jobs and their only free time is literally spent at the LGS. Americans don't get 8 weeks of vacation for 36 hours a week like in Europe.
I don't care how much you shower and groom, 12 hours of work smells.
Omg only 8 weeks? Did they cut our vacation days again without telling us?
But here, I heard enough horror stories about bad smells in LGS. So, I wonder is it just a problem unique in the USA?
Tldr us is not stinky and its all relative. Quit bashing america.
There's only so much deodorant and body spray can do.
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This isn't entirely true. I wear deodorant and shower regularly. If it gets hot out or in my LGS and I sweat, I do not smell of body odor, because I have deodorant on. And because I shower, I don't have 4 day old swamp ass that gets triggered by the heat.
Anyone that comes into my LGS that smells horrible is because they choose not to wear deodorant or shower well enough (if at all) to keep their body clean. The smells can be disgusting, be it the swamp ass, the body odor coming from their armpits devoid of deodorant, their unwashed feet sweating into their 2 year old sneakers.
Basically, if you're going to be in a public setting, just ****ing clean yourself. It's totally cool if you want to wallow in your putrescence in your own house, but when you're in someone else's shop, surrounded by lots of people, just take a damn shower or wear some deodorant.
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I call shenanigans. I've been to Western Europe and people had body odor ALL THE TIME. They don't place a cultural importance on body scent, and never have. Perhaps if you are there long enough you acclimate -- by the time I stopped smelling it, my trip was over and it was time to leave.
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I don't care how much you shower and groom, 12 hours of work smells.
The amount of cultural stereotyping in this thread is pretty ignorant, and the OP is only asking because he has read so many Americans commenting on it. That said, I think this needs some levity, so enjoy what JoCo has to say on the subject of people "over there". Next time you want to make a judgment just ask yourself, WWJoCo say?
Lastly, as a Nurse I have come into contact with obese people plenty and they do not smell any more than any other person. An obese person that has an unsettling odor to them is not stinky because they have a lot of body fat, they are stinky because they have poor hygiene. A person who has poor hygiene smells no matter what their BMI is, and I have known some roley-poley women in my time that have smelled quite nice.
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Omg only 8 weeks? Did they cut our vacation days again without telling us?
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