From Harper’s Weekly Review:
More than 100 people lined up outside of an abandoned Bay Area gas station for the chance to sniff a corpse flower in bloom.
There’s a reason behind this. Once upon a time I heard something or other about the corpse flower, but can’t immediately recall what, or why this is less insane than it sounds. So I looked up “corpse flower.” In bloom.
OK and now that I’ve done my research (see Wikipedia on the corpse flower), I realize it’s more insane than I thought.
For one thing, this is a monster plant. Looks like something out of an nauseating science fiction film. Another thing is, yes, it smells horrible. And another another thing, yes, it blooms infrequently.
But why people would gather to sniff it…
California. Is that an answer? Or are these people who lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19 and are trying shock tactics?
Meanwhile, back on the East Coast, there’s a chef who is preparing to cook a delicacy which appears more infrequently than the corpse flower–…no, no. I can’t type it out.