[Easy Ten Points] Got a weird smell when driving down the road, am curious what it mighta been, help me out?

Question

I live in Georgia, approximately thirty minutes south of Atlanta. This evening, in the Spring, at around 8:00 PM, I was driving down the road when a putrid, seemingly chemical odor struck my nose. At the time, there were people burning leaves in other nearby areas, but this smelled different. It smelled almost like DEET Insect Repellent - like, TONS of it... since I couldn't ascertain what was producing the odor with any certainty, I held my breath and sped off down the road towards where fresh air was.

Any ideas on what I might have smelled?

Answer 1

I live near the same area- the leaves could have had a chemicals on them, but chances are it was a skunk if it smelled chemically (if it were a paper mill you would have smelled it before today).

Answer 2

Poets make a living by being able to describe smells, tastes, and sounds better than we can. Living so close to the State Capital you should be able to get an answer from whatever Department covers environmental matters. Why not give them a call?  They may not even know about it, so you'd be doing a lot folks a favor by blowing the whistle.

Answer 3

MAYBE YOUR CAT CONVERTER

Answer 4

skunk

possum

spilled chemical someone threw out

Answer 5

Smells like you left your emergency brake on.

Answer 6

Sounds like a landfill.

Answer 7

maybe they were using pest control around the area a little before you drove by.....

:]

Answer 8

Someone scared a skunk.

Answer 9

a paper factory   stinks really bad , is there one close by  or a water treatment plant

Answer 10

was it a skunk?

maybe was is a sulfur factory?