"What do gym socks, a portable potty and a dead rat have in common?

They’re all words used to describe the putrid odor from a corpse flower in bloom, and if you’re going to be in Los Angeles this weekend, you may be lucky enough to catch a whiff yourself at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in
San Marino.

“Kids love it — even adults love it,” said Brandon Tam, the Huntington’s botanical curator. “Ultimately, they all come in because they want to smell something really stinky.”
...
1. Scentennial is more than 20 years old. ...

2. It is massive.
Scentennial is currently more than 68 inches tall, and it’s getting taller. It is not unusual for the plant to grow seven inches overnight. The last corpse flower that bloomed at the Huntington peaked at 98.5 inches tall. That’s more than a foot
taller than former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. ...

3. It’s very, very particular.
The corpse flower needs to be in a warm and humid environment that mimics its native Indonesian habitat. ...

4. Yes, it really does smell that bad.

In the corpse flower’s natural habitat, its odor helps attract insects that mistake it for an animal carcass, which helps the plant pollinate and survive. The plant will smell only when it is blooming, which happens for about 24 hours.

“As soon as everyone walks in, they start to cover up their nose,” Tam said. “We’ve had people who have walked in and immediately walked out.”
...
5. Yes, there is a way to see the plant without smelling it.
On the Huntington’s website, you can find a 24-hour livestream of the plant in all its glory. In addition to watching the flower bloom, you’ll be able to see the hilarious reactions of visitors experiencing the scent for the first time.

6. The Huntington staff gets just as excited about the event as visitors do." https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2022-06-15/stinkiest-corpse-flower-la-los-angeles-blooms-huntington

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