Late Friday night, Philadelphia and some surrounding areas were covered in a smell described as eggs, farts and "straight a--."
According to media reports, the smell was caused by a "non-dangerous chemical release." NBC10 reports that too much of a sulfur-like additive was released from a Paulsboro, NewJersey, gas plant, resulting in the strong odor.
Local news stations said they were flooded with calls about the smell, which started sometime around 9:30 p.m. Samantha Phillips of the city's Office of Emergency Management tweeted that PGW responded to the issue, adding that the smell was not caused by a gas leak.
Luckily, there were no reports of anyone being hospitalized because of the smell. But that didn't mean it was any less unpleasant, as Philadelphians took to social media to describe the stench in a number of colorful ways (Warning: The following tweets include language some may find offensive):
And finally, my personal favorite:
UPDATE: The source of the smell was reportedly from a gas plant in New Jersey, not in South Philadelphia as previous reports had indicated.