I Say Old Chap, What Is That Awful Smell?

   That's the question wafting around many parts of England, and France is getting the blame! It seems a foul stench, sort of rotten eggs and sweat, has been drifting across the Channel as far as London. Apparently, it stems from a leak at a chemical plant that makes additives for industrial lubricants and paint. It's called "mercaptan", and in my part of the world they use it in natural gas to warn people of leaks.
   Anyway, the gas is supposedly harmless, but fire officials in Kent, England, were suggesting people close their doors and seal windows, because the it could make people feel nauseous. In high enough concentrations, it is flammable, but it takes so little of it to become an odorant that the risk of a fire or explosion is thought to be minimal at worst.
   Still, French officials say it may be a day or 2 before they get the leak under control.
   So, hold your noses Brits, Keep Calm and Carry On. Pepe Le Pew should be reigned in shortly.
   'Nuff said.