The Baltimore Sun, 9/10/1933
When Southwest Breezes Blow Deep Breathing Is Reported Undesirable And Pleasant Evenings On Porches Impossible. Remedy By Baltimore Urged.
“If the people of Essex had no olfactory organs, life along Back river be tolerable. But since they have noses and since they can smell, the breezes which blow from the Baltimore City sewage disposal plant on Back River make deep breathing and pleasant evenings on porches impossible.”
photo by William A. Andersen, M.D., Baltimore County Legacy Web
When I was on the sideshow, we spent the entire summer of 1993 in Europe. We spent about a week or so in Ghent, Belgium. Being part of the “low countries” they have many canals which SMELL REALLY BAD. I was hanging out with this gal, and by about the 6th day, I had to broach the subject: “How can you stand living in a city that smells like a sewer every day”? She answered that she didn’t even notice any kind of bad smell…
I grew up in Missoula, Montana which had a pulp mill not far from town. When the air was a certain way, it had that sulfurous “rotten egg” smell. This was before strict EPA laws went into effect.
I’ll bet that are all sorts of industrial towns that have unique odors associated with them…