terrorister schmerrorister - men jag blir ganska sugen på pannkakor!

Ett mystiskt fenomen har drabbat New York sen i höstas. Det började den 27e oktober, sent på kvällen, då flera människor började skriva in till Gothamist och anmärka på en underlig doft som tycktes spridas över stan. Nu är ju New York en veritabel odörfabrik, där ens näsa dagligen kittlas av nybakade donuts blandade med överkörda råttor, så de flesta dofter och stanker märks inte mer än vanligt, men detta var nåt nytt... Fler och fler rapporter kom in om en snabbt spridande doft av lönnsirap! Från Gothamist, den 28e oktober:

Maple Sugar Smell Mystery!

Something strange is going on-- last night the whole city smelled like maple syrup! Gothamist has gotten reports from all over Manhattan-- and we smelled the strange, sweet odor as far south as Chambers Street.





Snart började kommentarer trilla in:

"The air smells of maple syrup in the Upper West Side. Anonymous individual sources questioned at street corners around Harlem agree that for some reason it smells very sweet and syrupy. Everyone speculates that a pancake truck or maple syrup factory has caught on fire. Perhaps Gothamist can investigate? (around Columbia Uni area + Harlem area)
Posted by pastoralia, October 28, 2005 12:50 AM"

"I'm on W. 96th St. and I can smell it, too. I thought there was some food hidden in my room somewhere.
Posted by Sanjay Shirke, October 28, 2005 01:04 AM"

Doften drev sakta downtown, och fler och fler började bli oroliga...

"Same smell is pervading the Greenwich Village / NYU area -- both outdoors and in, I smelled it in my apt earlier and thought a neighbor was making french toast or something but it's clearly something bigger. Maple syrup dirty bomb???
Posted by LicGal, October 28, 2005 02:09 AM"

"The whole city smells like maple syrup and everyone knows it! Tell us why.
Posted by: Jake October 28, 2005 02:38 AM"

" I don't like it at all!! Why is the smell in so many different areas around the City. I think this is being taken too lightly!
Posted by: Erin, October 28, 2005 09:38 AM"

Ja, staden luktade verkligen som lönnsirap, och i dessa tider tog det inte lång tid förrän folk började få för sig att Al Qaida hade byggt nån sorts pannkaksbomb, och började ringa larmcentralen. Så många samtal kom in att borgmästaren snart fick gå ut med ett pressmeddelande:

"Officials from the Office of Emergency Management have been running tests all night to try to figure out just what the smell is. Air samples aren't showing anything hazardous, the source of the smell is still not clear."

Nästa dag var doften borta, lika plöstsligt som den kommit. Alla tidningar skrev om det; "Good Smell Perplexes New Yorkers", skrev t ex New York Times på sin förstasida. Men efter några dagar hade New Yorkarna noterat att de inte blivit förgiftade av doften och helt enkelt glömt bort det.

Sen hände det igen. Den 8e december, från Gothamist:

Maple Syrup Smell Attacks Again

Gothamist just got an email from someone up at Columbia who says the scent of maple syrup is attacking the olfactory nerves. She called 311, who had no clues as to what's happening. There were also reports that the city smelled like a maple tree farm during syrup season last week (November 30), and one reader suggested that the city was secretly testing chemical weapons, but just using a benign, insulin shock inducing odor. Maybe the city is denying it because of the old "smelt it, dealt it" axiom. Gothamist told our tipster that we'd try to get on the case, once we located our stack of pancakes; our tipster replied, "Yeah! The last time this happened I ate something like 5 breakfasts in 3 days. Day 3 we got bacon involved and it was INCREDIBLE."

So our question is, does the city smell of syrup where you are? Let us know your location as well - we'll try to whip up a map! And the October 27 maple syrup incident is still unsolved - we need Robert Stack on the case.

Nu blev folk galna av att inte kunna lösa detta mysterium. Från kommentarerna den 8e december:

"VERY strong in Midtown West, 45th btwn 9th & 10th"

"We smell it here at 125th and Broadway. Actually, we're suspicious of a chemical release because many volatile organic compounds have a sweet odor at first that seems chemical after your olfactory glands are full. The real detective work would be to figure out which plant or factory just had an "accidental" release. No pancakes at work here folks, it's all toxic emissions."

"I'm at Columbia and I am certainly smelling between a 4 or a 5 on the MS Index."

Men eftersom ingen kunde förklara vad som pågick började de påhittiga medborgarna här försöka lösa mysteriet själva:

"So who can diagram wind direction for today?"

"wind today has been out of the N / NW ... http://www.erh.noaa.gov/data/obhistory/KLGA.html"

Till slut började emellertid folk, som vanligt, bli förbannade...

"I smelled it very strongly at 12noon in west village st sheridan square then in the subway at 23rd street on the 1 line and later at 2pm on 103rd street and broadway. I called 311 they connected me to 911 and then three firetrucks came whithin minutes and the guys went in and out of the subway station. I think we need to demand that the government gives us an explanation. They lied about the quality of air downtown after 9/11. We have to demand accountability."

Men sedan, än en gång, försvann doften! Poff! Och efter några dagar hade vi alla än en gång lagt det bakom oss... trodde vi.

Från dagens Gothamist:

Maple Syrup Smell Returns for 2006!

According to our trusty informants at Gothamist Contribute, the maple sugar smell returned for a third time last night:

The maple syrup smell is a Canadian conspiracy to get us to buy more maple syrup!
January 27, 2006 12:31 AM

i smell it on 118th street!!
January 27, 2006 12:22 AM

The syrup smell is very strong near La Guardia as well. This is really freaking me out.
January 26, 2006 11:26 PM

cpw at 88th-check
January 26, 2006 11:06 PM

Yes, call 311. I just did, and they said they had received a few calls. No immediate help though, but a report was filed...
January 26, 2006 10:54 PM

I, too, find it ridiculous that this happens, and nothing comes of it. I don't want to be dramatic, but it's NYC for chrissakes! The country's at war, we've been attacked, and a frigging syrup smell blankets the city, and no one figures out why. I just don't get it. Why aren't city, state, and federal officials addressing this. It's the THIRD time!
January 26, 2006 10:53 PM

strong and mapley on E. 89th.
January 26, 2006 10:51 PM

Maple syrup smell: duly noted on West 84th St. WHAT IS IT??? Why always on Thursdays???
January 26, 2006 10:51 PM

Strong maple syrup smell also confirmed on West 84th St. near Central Park. Call 311 and log your location with the NY Environmental Protection Agency if you can smell it too..
January 26, 2006 10:49 PM

Smelling it in Astoria, too. I am so tired of how this keeps getting joked about, especially in the news. It truly scares the hell out of me.
January 26, 2006 10:48 PM

The maple syrup smell is back on E.97th street!
January 26, 2006 10:46 PM

Somebody PLEASE tell us the source of the smell!!!
January 26, 2006 10:45 PM

The syrup smellest is overwhelming on West 88th Street. I'm horrified, yet I'm on my way into the kitchen to retrieve some cake.
January 26, 2006 10:43 PM

We smell maple syrup on E. 92nd!
January 26, 2006 10:32 PM

The syrup smell is back on the UES too! So weird........
January 26, 2006 10:21 PM

This is probably so last year, but the maple syrup smell is back on the UWS!
January 26, 2006 10:11 PM

Vad är det som händer?? Den abolut äckligaste teorin postades för några minuter sen:

"I have found that a wet diaper has the peculiar odor of syrup. Are we sure it isn't pee we are smelling? That also could be emanating from our beloved neighbor, NJ."

New Jersey! I knew it! Newman... Fast det är ju bara en (oerhört motbjudande) teori. Vad som inte är en teori dock, utan ett högst anmärkningsvärt faktum, är att alla de tre dagar som detta skett på har varit torsdagar! Doften kommer alltid på en torsdag - vad är detta?? Torsdag är ju visserligen pannkaksdagen, men ändå. Ingen kan förklara, ingen förstår - rapporteras detta i svenska medier? Hör ni vår ängslan? Bryr ni er om våra smarriga oförklarliga dofter alls?

Oh well... nu ska jag iväg och klippa film. Smaklig spis!