That "chemical warzone" smell wasn't really from the glue itself. It was from the crazy strong solvents they used to make it spreadable. That stuff stunk to high heaven and probably melted your brain cells a little.
Man, those glue fumes from art class are coming back to me... used to love the smell in a messed up way. Pretty sure I huffed enough model cement to permanently haze over a few memories. Like, I'll blank on a friend's name mid-sentence or lose my phone while it's in my hand. Guess that explains my knack for forgetting where I parked. Good times, good times.
Honestly makes you wonder about all the weird smells we just accepted as kids. That sharpie/permanent marker smell was another one people would joke about huffing. The real messed up part is how they quietly reformulated a lot of that stuff over the years, so the new generation won't even know that specific brain cell killing aroma. Our nostalgia is literally just solvent memory loss.