People Sometimes Like Stinky Things—Here’s Why

corpse flower blooming

People Sometimes Like Stinky Things—Here’s Why

Published August 3, 2015

A corpse flower smells like a heady mix of rotten fish, sewage, and dead bodies. It’s a stench meant to draw flies, but just as surely, it draws tourists. Braving a blustery Chicago night, thousands of people lined up Tuesday for a whiff of a corpse flower named Alice at the Chicago Botanic Garden.