I think some of us owe Scampers the cat or Barksdale the dog an apology — the usual suspects when it comes to pungent odors. Since Wednesday, residents predominantly of Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties, and West Virginia have been calling in reports of a foul odor, reminiscent of rotting eggs. The smell has been noticed as far as Arlington according to some reports.

Although officials from both states have been unable to find a source of the odor, West Virginia’s state director of Homeland Security and Emergency management was alerted to a possible gas leak on the other side of the border. Why a gas leak instead of a bad burrito? The tell-tale essence of rotting eggs comes from mercaptan, an additive to natural gas to help detect and find leaks. Although pipeline inspections have found no gas leaks or breaks, the number of reports have already fallen significantly.

As for us living in the city, back to the annual smell of chlorine-saturated water.