Search
DCist Logo

smell

All Stories

Mar 27, 2023

A North Carolina Wildfire Appears To Be Behind The Burning Smell In the D.C. Region

The fire departments in D.C. and Fairfax County suspect the burning smell and hazy sky is coming from a North Carolina wildfire.

Jul 25, 2016

The Rotting Stench Of A Corpse Flower Will Soon Grace D.C.

It is expected to reach peak bloom sometime between July 28-31.

Apr 26, 2011

Ginkgo Tree Spraying Started Last Night

The arrival of warmer spring weather means one thing: it’s time to spray for the jizz berries. (Or poop berries, or vomit berries, whatever you prefer.) That’s right, the ginkgos are once again threatening to rise up and fill our nasal passages with nothing but disgusting scents all summer and fall.

Apr 08, 2010

Ginkgo Season Starts Early, City Starts Spraying

Photo by julia.m This week’s spring heat wave is causing more problems than just power outages and heavy 911 call volumes. The unseasonably warm weather has also jump started the production of the dread female ginkgo fruit — better known to us as jizz berries (or vomit berries or poop berries, depending on your nasal sensibilities). Concerned about having another particularly stinky ginkgo year, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration started spraying…

Dec 10, 2008

What Do You Think Ginkgo Fruit Smells Like?

We have to concur with We Love D.C.’s brownpau that the answer to Wonkette’s inquiry from earlier this week about why downtown Washington “smells like dog-shit” right now is undoubtedly ginkgo fruit. The nasty little berries settle on city streets and sidewalks every autumn, though we admit that this year has seemed especially bad, with the mashed up fruit and accompanying stink lingering far longer than recent years. Brownpau plays scientician: The seed is encased…

Dec 18, 2007

Alberto’s Pizza in Dupont Circle Opens Again

This past Friday night and with little fanfare, Alberto’s in Dupont Circle restarted its ovens and pizza-making operations, less than four months after a fire seriously damaged the P street location and left a pizza shaped hole in many pizza lovers’ hearts. The same fire also forced the closure of the DJ Hut located above Alberto’s and the Subway next door, both of which remain closed. According to Alberto’s staff, renovations to reopen the…

Dec 04, 2007

This Christmas, All We Want is Voting Rights

Sure, it’s December and we’re all preoccupied with holiday cheer and making plans for that one New Year’s party that will finally be worth the all the hype. But even though they’ve suffered some setbacks this year, D.C. voting rights activists are pushing the cause through the holiday season. On Thursday, December 6, the D.C. Council will hold a hearing to consider legislation that would place large electronic billboards outside the John A. Wilson Building…

Nov 08, 2007

A View from the Bridge @ WNO

Written by DCist guest contributor Michael Lodico The Washington National Opera’s production of William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s earthy play (premiered by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999 and staged by Frank Galati) shows the company’s commitment to remounting new American operas after their premieres. The Chicago production, now being presented to D.C. area audiences by the WNO, also features three leads from the original production and the two arias added by…

Oct 23, 2007

One More Reason to Avoid the Anacostia: Raw Sewage

The Anacostia River, which has been blamed for altering the gender of fish and producing a funky smell, just got funkier. The Post is reporting that raw sewage is flowing into the Anacostia River from a leak in a major sewer line that carries untreated waste from a pumping station in Southeast Washington, D.C. Thanks, WASA! The cause and size of the leak was not immediately known, and WASA’s chief engineer claimed it was the…

Oct 03, 2007

Photo of the Day: October 3, 2007

It’s October, friends. Can you smell the pumpkin pie yet? Flickr user outdoor_type was out in Herndon, Va. this weekend and found his first pumpkin of the season, getting some great depth of field on this pretty iron bike outside of a soon-to-be bed and breakfast owned by some friends. Guess it’s time to start scoping out local pumpkin fields — where will you be going for your Halloween gourd this year? EXIF….

 
Terms of Use |WAMU Privacy Notice
WAMU 88.5 | American University RadioMailing Address: PO Box 98101 | Washington, DC 20090-8101
Station Address: 4401 Connecticut Ave, NW | Washington, DC 20008 |
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): #91855
© 2026 All Rights Reserved.