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We can think of a number of responses off the top of our heads, but frankly you might not agree with our choices. So how to crown the rankest smell of them all? We used the tried-and-true method of typing your question into the Yahoo! Search box. You can nose through the search results yourself. Among the egregiously offensive animal-related smells we uncovered were: burnt human hair, rotting cadavers, bodily excretions, and even a Border Collie's stale breath. Sifting through the various food-related foul odors, we came across these repeat offenders: moldy cheese, boiled cabbage, bacon grease, and at the top of the heap, garbage piles. With so many odoriferous
items claiming to be the most foul, who's to say which is the worst? We concluded that we'd have to go with the most-widely reported foul smell. Its stench sends small children running and dogs howling. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Titan Arum, aka Amorphophallus titanum, the Corpse Flower, or Mr. Stinky. No matter what you call this rose, it stinks to the high heavens! While it's striking profile explains its slightly risqué nickname, this Indonesian native was first discovered in the Sumatran jungle in 1878 and was later cultivated in small numbers in the West. When fully
mature, this monster-sized plant can weigh in at a hefty 170 pounds and boast a stalk 10" in diameter. What's to blame for its foul aroma? It's a mating thing. Described as the smell of "rotting fish with burned sugar" or "rotting elephant corpse," its stench is created by sulfur-based compounds within the plant that heat up to attract beetle pollinators with their warmth and pungent scent.
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