A mysterious stink has apparently been hanging around Toronto's downtown area since last week, and people want answers.
A prompt on askTO's Reddit thread sparked one heck of a conversation on Monday after it asked users if they could "smell the poop" wafting through the city's core.
"For the last week or so, every time I leave my downtown office at the end of the day and step outside, my olfactory senses are assaulted by the overwhelming smell of poop/manure just thickly hanging in the air. I do not notice this in the morning or at lunch. Where is the horrible early evening poo smell coming from?" the question read.
Of course, it didn't take long for other Redditors to weigh in with their opinions and explanations for the stench, which ranged from the bizarre to seemingly plausible.
from askTO
"Part of spring is this organic smell as sun and rain start hitting all the dead sh*t winter left behind," wrote one user.
from askTO
"It's the millions of litres of raw sewage running below the ground where you walk. Sewer gas escapes and travels up the manholes or vent pipes. Smells lovely when the sun bakes it," added another.
While most tried to explain the mysterious funk in some way or another, others humorously pointed the finger directly at themselves.
from askTO
"I'm sorry, man, I know what taco bell does to me, but I just can't help myself," joked one Redditor.
from askTO
"It's me, actually. I poop outside OP's office every night," added another.
Oddly enough, this isn't the first time residents have complained about an overwhelming poop smell. In 2017, Reddit blew up with complaints about a similar stink in Toronto's west end, which city councillor Mike Layton later blamed on the use of organic fertilizer.
"What's that smell, TO? As part of Parks dept field maintenance, organic fertilizer is being applied to sports fields," Layton said at the time.
Narcity reached out to the City of Toronto for further comment on the issue, and said, "The smell does not appear to be from City operations. Given the wide geographical area reporting the smell, it's possible it may be attributable to seasonal conditions."
