What's That Smell?

Take a sniff. Most flowers smell sweet. But the corpse flower smells yucky. Some people say it stinks like rotting meat. Other people say it smells like old socks!

This giant plant can grow taller than 10 feet. That’s as tall as an elephant. There is a big white spike in the flower. That’s where the stink comes from.

Most flowers smell sweet. But the corpse flower smells yucky. It smells like rotting meat.

This giant plant can grow taller than 10 feet. There is a big white spike in the flower. The spike is what stinks.

The bad smell is actually good for the plant. It grows in the rainforests of Indonesia (in-doh-NEE-zhuh). Some insects like the smell of rotting meat! They fly to the flower.

They climb onto it. They get its pollen on their bodies. That is the dust in flowers that can make seeds grow. The bugs bring the pollen to other corpse flowers. Then new corpse flowers can grow. 

The bad smell is good for the plant. Some insects like the smell of rotting meat! They fly to the flower.

They climb onto it. They get its pollen on their bodies. Pollen is the dust in flowers that can make seeds grow. The insects bring the pollen to other corpse flowers. Then new corpse flowers can grow.

Corpse flowers don’t grow in the wild here. But many botanic gardens have them. People like to visit them there. 

Would you want to visit? Keep in mind that the stinky flower blooms only once every 7 to 10 years. And the bloom lasts about a day or two. So if you want to take a whiff, you have to hurry.

Corpse flowers don’t grow in the wild here. They are grown in some botanic gardens. The stinky flower blooms only once every 7 to 10 years. The bloom lasts about a day or two.

Opossums are not always smelly. They only make a stink when they are scared. 

These critters are furry, except for their tails. They sneak around at night searching for food. They eat anything from mice to trash. They may even be in your neighborhood. 

Opossums are not always smelly. They stink only when they are scared.

They are furry. They look for food at night. They may live near you.

The opossum makes a stink to trick predators, like foxes. Have you ever heard of “playing possum”? That is what an opossum does when it is scared. It falls over and looks dead!

Then a green slime comes out of its bottom. That slime stinks like rotting meat!

The predator sniffs. It doesn’t want to eat a stinky dead thing. It leaves. The opossum is saved by its smell!

The opossum has a trick. It gets scared when another animal wants to eat it. It falls over. It pretends to be dead!

Then a green slime comes out of its bottom. The slime stinks like rotting meat!

The other animal sniffs. It does not want to eat a stinky dead thing. It goes away. The opossum is saved by its smell!

Sometimes the opossum looks dead for five minutes. Sometimes it stays that way for a few hours. Then it gets up and walks away.

Would you want to smell an opossum that is playing dead? Probably not. So if you see one in the yard or park, don’t scare it. And if you do, hold your nose!

Sometimes the opossum can look dead for five minutes. Sometimes it stays that way for a few hours. Then it gets up and walks away.