December 8, 2005
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.
Updated: We whipped up a map on Wayfaring - Maple Syrup Smell in NYC - December 8. Add your maple syrup smell points!
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yup, on the upper east side too, and quite potent.
Also in the West Village. Pervasive smell along Hudson and 8th Ave near Bleecker.
Maple Syrup Index:
5. Aunt Jemima
4. Vermont Maid
3. Mrs. Butterworth
2. Log Cabin 1. Water & Suger
got cut off... 2:15 in Bryant park, we're smelling at least a 2 on the index.
maple syrup aroma is potent around the washington square park area.
Um, I suspect Robert Stack might be unavailable to investigate this unsolved mystery, considering he died two and a half years ago.
on fifth avenue in the high 20s, low 30s, definitely a hint of maple syrup in the air at around 12:45... not nearly as strong as that night in october (on 103rd and broadway) but the same smell.
47th between 6th and 7th has a syrup stink
thank you so much gothamist for being on this story -- now let's mobilize and get this thing solved! [l'internationale marching music]
Very strong on 72nd and West End at 2pm.
Just outside and didn't notice anything in the Wall Street area.
I'm at Columbia and I am certainly smelling between a 4 or a 5 on the MS Index.
Smell is at Madison btw. 55th & 56th...
Nothing in financial district. :(
Gone from the West Village (Hudson/Bleecker area) now.
VERY strong in Midtown West, 45th btwn 9th & 10th
I caught a whif of it at 31st and 9th Avenue around 1:30
I have found the cause: It is called MSUD
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000373.htm
Don't you mean Robert "Short" Stack?
Syrup season is early spring. Definitely smelled it near Astor Place at 1pm. Although not like the pure real maple stuff, more like faux pankcake syrup.
Strong in Queens! 37th Ave and 11th St. in L.I.C.
and i thought it was chestnuts roasting in an open fire...
sweet air at the bedford L stop at 9:15am this morning.
Around 1:30 PM in Madison Square Park, syrup was in the air.
definitely smelled the maple syrup at 42nd and bway around noon today!
Aisle four, Gristedes.
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.
Definitely smelled this in East Harlem (106 & Lex) at a little before 3...but nothing home here in Hoboken (back in October, smelled it strongly here). It creeped me out to smell that again...
It smelled quite strongly of Syrup this afternoon up here at Park Avenue and 130th Street.
There's a strong odor here on the upper west side. But that's only because I can smell the vile shitstink of my upstairs neighbor through the bathroom ventillation duct. I'm headed outside. Aunt Jemima, who's yo daddy?!
See this great ad from 1961 for Auntie J:
http://www.roadode.com/realram/aunt100.ram
syrup shortage around the 60's and 1st ave. We got nothing folks!!! =o(
syrup shortage around the 60's and 1st ave. We got nothing folks!!! =o(
Yep - Madison in the lower 100s too.
So who can diagram wind direction for today?
Wondering if there's a spate of maple syrup urine disease going around... hmm..
Wondering if there's a spate of maple syrup urine disease going around... hmm..
i'm right across the river from Columbia and nothing here (smelled it in October though)
wind today has been out of the N / NW ...
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/data/obhistory/KLGA.html
smelled it on my way to lunch today.. from broadway and 26th to 5th and 28!!! i was excited to finally smell it!! i was like oh it smells like pancakes.. and then OH IT SMELLS LIKE PANCAKES!!!? THOSE PANCAKES!!!
definitely maple syrup smell: 88th and Columbus Ave. at 2:00 PM
potent:
Penn Station Area
Times Square Area
Hell's Kitchen Area
Upper West Side
--
I'm sticking with my doormans theory of Chem Weapon testing... to see how far, wide and fast it spreads. MMMM bacon...!
I'm smelling it in Gowanus
i've NEVER smelled it!!! i want to smell the maple syrup! and i was at astor place at 1pm.... (i also can't believe i just read all 43 comments... damn).
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.
Very strong at 3:10 afternoon at Brook and 141st ST, (Motthaven the south bronx)
Definite upstairs neighbor shitstink. 6 am.
I walked around Southern Washington Heights (Between 165th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue to 157th Street and Broadway). The smell was all around.
We smelled it in the Bronx on the 8th and in our apartment right now! We are in Norwood, north Bronx!
It definately smells like fake maple syrup.
It reminds me of when the a/c broke on my dad's old car, the freon leaked and it smelled similar. But our friend nathan argues that not all freon smells.
It's Bin Laden's pancake machine about to wreak breakfast terror on us all.
I smelled toffee nut the morning of Dec. 9th!
I could smell it on Union Square West.
I'd guess industrial chemicals containing a cyclic ketone. A cyclic ketone(there are many)is used to make the synthetic maple flavoring in faux maple syrup.