Mysterious Smells Waft about Rome

Last month in New York, cable news networks and nervous Nellies alike panicked when a strange gassy smell blew in the breeze.

Similarly, noses were raised last week when an unusual gas-like odor was reported wafting about Rome. According to an article published today in Wanted in Rome, the “powerful acrid” smell made appearances throughout town, cropping up in central touristed areas, including Flaminio, Prati, Esquilino, and Piazza Venezia.

Police investigators initially suggested that the odor was probably due to a gas leak set off by seismic shifts south of town. This first explanation was later scrapped in favor of the stink-blowing-in-from-a-nearby-dump scenario.

Eventually the police zeroed in on the real source of the stink: olive oil.  It turns out that a gassy byproduct from an olive oil plant 50 km away is blowing over. Literally.

We’re glad the Romans located the source of the smell. Back here in NYC, we stopped sniffing long ago.