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December 14, 2007

The Unusual Smells of the T: A Summary

120707-t-stinky-map-all.jpg

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops.

And here it is--the complete list of T stops with the most distinct odors:

Aquarium: High tide, dolphin pee
Airport: Pleather luggage, SFO-BOS redeye sweat, pee
BU Stops (all of them): Spilled Natty Light, vodka, wet UGGS, Acqua di Gio cologne, raging hormones, pee
Central Square: 40s, vodka, burnt rubber, more 40s, old paper bags, Wendy's, pee
Davis Square: Patchouli, Indian food, burritos, pee
Downtown Crossing: Fried food, mouse poop, armpit, baby powder, pee
Forest Hills: Blunts, fruit flies, pigeons, pee
Government Center: Dunkin Donuts, stale cigarette smoke, desperation, pee
Harvard Square: Fruit smoothies, light cigarette smoke, smug superiority, pee
JFK/UMass: Newsprint, dirt, popcorn, pee
Kenmore: Beer, hot dogs, sweat, aggression, pee
Park Street: Crotch, mold, crotch mold, rage, old dudes who don't wash, pee
Ruggles: Gunpowder, Axe body spray, pee
South Station: Dry-cleaning, sweaty cube-jockeys, leather, deodorant, pee
Suffolk Downs: AquaNet, barnyard animals, failure, pee

Honorable Mention: The #39 bus, which smells like a 2-day-old fart in a windowless room.

What did Bostonist learn from this endeavor? That you can tell a lot about a neighborhood from the odor of its T stop, and that Dan Grabauskas needs to start thinking about how to mask that urine smell.

Korri Crowley, Michael Femia, C. Fernsebner, Jon Petitt, Vidalia Shiraz, Caroline Roberts, and Victoria Welch contributed to this series. Image mashup by Caroline Roberts.

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Comments (1) [rss]

I just finished visiting Mackinac Island in Michigan, where cars are banned and horses and bikes rule. On the main drag, they cover the smell of horse crap and pee with lavender. It works pretty well.

 
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