Readers reply: The Missouri tofu spill was ‘unforgettable’ – but what are history’s greatest bad smells?

You can’t say you weren’t warned … visitors to the Talcott greenhouse near Springfield, Massachusetts, experience a blooming corpse flower last month. Photograph: Daniel Jacobi II/AP

I must admit to cracking a smile when I read the story about the revolting result of a tofu spill last month in Missouri. About 18,000kg (40,000lb) of extra-firm tofu was left to rot for three weeks after a road accident – no one was hurt – turned into an insurance dispute. Local officials described the smell as “unforgettable” and “like a dead animal, but worse”. So, what are history’s greatest bad smells? Liz Prior, Southampton

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