We had an odd afternoon last week. I am not part of the response team at work, but will obviously lend a hand/stick my nose in if I am around.
I got a call to say occupiers of a small office (about 12 people) said they could smell gas. It was a bit concerning as the nearest gas supply is 11 floors under that location. When I arrived there was a strong, pungent and sweet smell. For a second it could have been natural gas, but the smell was far more offensive than natural gas or LPG and it hung on the back of your throat in a way that was not desirable!.
A search of the area proved negative until one guy sheepishly said 'It could be these" and walked towards his locker. I was expecting a 25 year old pair of plimsols, but he produced a clear plastic bag the size of a sugar bag with exotic snacks he had bought back from Thailand. Bingo! A s I bought my nose to the bag, WOW! this was definitely the origin . Emergency over, but what the hell was it?
One ingredient of the snacks was the durian fruit, which on Google is described as smelling like 'pig poo with rotten onions mixed in with a smelly sock'. All joking aside, that is fairly accurate and explains why I thought smelly sports footwear may be involved. This fruit is banned in some public buildings in the Far East and from public transport as the smell is even stronger with the actual fruit and can linger in buildings for days.
I ended up walking to a local park and dumping the offensive snack in a external bin as it could not stay in the building. That was a first for me. Anyone else smelt this fruit????
Exotic Fruit Causes Emergency Response !!
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Re: Exotic Fruit Causes Emergency Response !!
My daughter is a travel consultant and a few months ago she had a work trip to Singapore, simply to add to her value as an employee, checking out several top end hotels etc.
She kindly brought back some Durian Chocolate bars
Oddly enough if you hold your nose, it's not too bad, an odd but not unpleasant taste. however, the second you smell it while it's in your mouth, there is, in most people, the urge to spit it as far as you can.
Apparently the fruit is banned on the Singapore mass transit network.
I can totally understand where you are coming from. We had 2 bars of it and they were cling filmed, in a plastic food tub, inside a plastic Christmas sweets tub, and still you could smell it in the kitchen.
Footnote, in 2013, McDonalds Singapore did a Limited Edition Durian McFlurry!!!
She kindly brought back some Durian Chocolate bars
Oddly enough if you hold your nose, it's not too bad, an odd but not unpleasant taste. however, the second you smell it while it's in your mouth, there is, in most people, the urge to spit it as far as you can.
Apparently the fruit is banned on the Singapore mass transit network.
I can totally understand where you are coming from. We had 2 bars of it and they were cling filmed, in a plastic food tub, inside a plastic Christmas sweets tub, and still you could smell it in the kitchen.
Footnote, in 2013, McDonalds Singapore did a Limited Edition Durian McFlurry!!!