I felt really vindicated today when the "rotten potato" came to light. I have - unfortunately - had to smell human decomp. Long story and it would be too graphic. The decomp I smelled was about 5 - 7 days after death, accelerated by ambient temperature.
NOTHING but a rotten potato comes close to it - though it is different. A few times I've reached for potatoes ( I have an open potato bin) and my finger went INTO one that looked great on the outside until well... my finger went right through it. The smell is instant, overpowering, permeating everything, and won't go away until you have cleaned the bin thoroughly. I've said to hubby and kids "OH MY, that *almost* smells like a dead body". I've never had confirmation before until today.
I made hubby watch the section of trial dealing with the potato. He looked at me and said "I guess you really knew what you were talking about". Well, I don't know a lot, but I do know that even though the chemical composition of decomposing bodies and rotten potatoes isn't the same, their smell almost *ALMOST* is. To put it in Mohabi's scientific language: "if anything comes close to the smell of a decomposing body, it's a really, really, rotten potato that looks like a potato but is in reality only a skin, filled with fluid, waiting to be popped by an unsuspecting finger".
Now I'm going to bed. I've done enough damage!
P.S. The rotten potato smell doesn't linger in your nose, your mouth, your clothes. .......the other one does. It's one that even lingers in your memory, 30 years later.
NOTHING but a rotten potato comes close to it - though it is different. A few times I've reached for potatoes ( I have an open potato bin) and my finger went INTO one that looked great on the outside until well... my finger went right through it. The smell is instant, overpowering, permeating everything, and won't go away until you have cleaned the bin thoroughly. I've said to hubby and kids "OH MY, that *almost* smells like a dead body". I've never had confirmation before until today.
I made hubby watch the section of trial dealing with the potato. He looked at me and said "I guess you really knew what you were talking about". Well, I don't know a lot, but I do know that even though the chemical composition of decomposing bodies and rotten potatoes isn't the same, their smell almost *ALMOST* is. To put it in Mohabi's scientific language: "if anything comes close to the smell of a decomposing body, it's a really, really, rotten potato that looks like a potato but is in reality only a skin, filled with fluid, waiting to be popped by an unsuspecting finger".
Now I'm going to bed. I've done enough damage!
P.S. The rotten potato smell doesn't linger in your nose, your mouth, your clothes. .......the other one does. It's one that even lingers in your memory, 30 years later.
