What's that smell?

There's a part of Savannah about 8 miles from our house here where we do a lot of shopping. From supermarkets to department stores, there's a lot out there. But sometimes when we go out that way, we find ourselves wondering about a not-too-pleasant smell in the air.

I've never been able to figure it out, but it was quite noticeable when we went out there yesterday, so we started talking about it. Jeff and Marc have plenty of Midwest experience, where there are more plants, slaughterhouses, etc., that created some noteworthy smells.

So these two college buddies started kicking it around. Jeff landed on his best guess pretty quickly. "Smells like a paper mill to me."

As a suburban New York boy, I had no frame of reference, but Marc thought that seemed right. So I asked Google to tell me the nearest paper mill. It said,

"International Paper 1.6mi"

Well, whaddya know! Good call, Jeff!

They also discussed some old non-favorites, like slaughterhouses and sugar cane processing plants. Sugar cane? Really? But yes, apparently they're quite stinky, despite the sweetness of their product.

I actually enjoyed the whole discussion, as I learned new things.