I saw this article at BoingBoing, and had to look it up.
From Wikipedia:
The Aroma of Tacoma, also known as the Tacoma Aroma, is a putrid and unpleasant odor associated with Tacoma, Washington, United States.[1] The smell has been described as similar to the odor of rotten eggs.[2] The odor is not noticeable throughout the city, but is rather concentrated in the Tacoma tideflats and is frequently smelled by motorists traveling that section of Interstate 5.[2]
I grew up in this area and I can confirm this is very real and people do call it the “Tacoma aroma”. It’s a very strong scent. You can smell it driving down the road with the windows closed.
I always heard it was from the paper mill but never investigated further.
We had a similar city in Norway back in the day - Moss. “Det luktær pengær!” (“It smells like money”) … smelt like shit to me. Nice place w/ nice folks, tho 👌
You’ll be happy to learn that the aroma is largely absent now! Paper mill closed :)