Do you smell what I smell?

Last night, round about 10:30pm, my mother and I were sitting on the couch, enjoying reruns of Gilmore Girls (that Lorelai is such a firecracker!) when all of a sudden, we looked at each other and wrinkled our noses in disgust.

"Um, is it just me or does it smell like butt in here?" I asked.
"Yeah, it smells like rotten eggs or sewage or something," my mom replied.

We proceeded to wander the house, sniffing the heating vents, the sinks, the cats (you never know) and even the toilet. The smell of festering wombat permeated our nostrils and made it difficult to really isolate the area. So, we stood outside in our pajamas in 28 degree weather for a good minute and a half to clear our nasal passages.

Upon our return, we assessed the damage and agreed that the foul odor was confined to the living room and and the neighboring room which we often refer to as the Holding Chamber. Swankier people might call it the foyer but swanky people we are not.

I immediately Googled "rotten egg smell" and was rewarded with several websites regarding our water system and a chemical called Hydrogen Sulfide (that's H2S for the nerds). Apparently it will only kill you when exposed to a concentrated dose for a prolonged period of time, so we found that to be very comforting.

Then, I remembered something I learned from an episode of Friends (thank you, Ross!). They add the "rotten egg smell" to natural gas so if there is a gas leak, you will be well aware and can run out of the house to vomit.

We decided to call my dad to see if he had any thoughts. He guessed that either one of the cats was having digestive problems or that it was a poltergeist. He was obviously very concerned.
"Okay, but if the house blows up, your Christmas presents go with it." Again, this did not bother him.

My mom and I decided it couldn't be natural gas because it wouldn't be confined to just the two rooms. To test this theory, I lit a candle. Since neither my mom nor I exploded or caught on fire, we decided we would be safe to go to bed.

In conclusion, sometimes your house just smells like a big, rotten llama for no reason. I do, however encourage you to investigate... just in case.