[Symbiote]

I was surprised how bad Sharpie markers were, when I first came across them here in Europe a few years ago. I had started hearing the word, where we used to say "permanent marker".

But the smell! Yuerk. I don't know what it is, but I find it awful. The smell is the only problem, but as far as I'm concerned it's enough that I'll never buy another.

The similar-quality European or Japanese permanent markers don't smell anywhere near as bad, but have surely lost market share here due to Sharpie's effective marketing.