Why are petrol stations no longer smelly (in the vein of Peter Kay's 'where are all the white dog poohs?!')

[Supermacs]

Growing up, whenever mum was putting petrol in the car, we used to either love or hate the smell of the petrol that seemed to radiate around the place. It's just dawned on me that, while you can still smell petrol, it isnt as strong as it used to be. Has petrol become less smelly? Im pretty sure its not me being used to the smell because Im more sensitive to other smells since morning sickness

Has anyone else noticed any similar random changes - like Peter Kay's where have all the white dog poohs gone?!

I've regularly thought that myself. As a child I hated it when my dad filled the car up with petrol. I used to sit and hold my nose the whole time we were on the forecourt. These days I live near a petrol station and pop into the shop there regularly and never get more than a very faint whiff. I don't know if my nose is less sensitive or if they've found a way to make petrol less smelly.

Maybe because it's not pure petrol anymore with the ethanol added it's diluted the smell? But agree- 👍🏻 n summer it could quite overwhelming and I've not thought about it in years!

I think it’s due to leaded petrol vs unleaded petrol. I used to have a 70s Datsun which ran on leaded and it seemed to smell more petrol like.

I have noticed this but was assuming that adult noses are less sensitive than child noses. For complicated reasons, I would have rarely been in a petrol station between age 15 ish and age 25 ish so all my memories of smelliness were from a long time ago.

I think I have become a bit desensitised to smells now. As a child petrol made me gag....now I don't notice it so much. Also maybe as pp's have said, the unleaded smells less?

I think the pumps have probably got better too. I often used to see a dribble of petrol on the outside of the fuel cap or splashes on the forecourt which I don't anymore. Guessing the nozzles are more effective at cutting of the flow maybe?

I think better pumps too.

Better Vapour recovery systems - both for when tankers are refuelling the Station and when Cars are filling up. Extracting the vapour improves air quality and reduces pollution.