Just be glad that YouTube doesn't come equipped with Smell-O-Vision.
A new time-lapse video shows the blooming process for the titan arum (AKA, corpse flower) that bloomed over the weekend at the U.S. Botanic Garden.
The giant rainforest plant emits an odor described as similar to rotting flesh while in bloom -- and for some reason, this garnered more visitors to the garden, not less.
If you weren't one of them, you can check out two days in the life of the corpse flower below.
The plant began to bloom around 6 p.m. Sunday. Experts had been anticipating the event for more than a week and extended the garden's hours for visitors each night.
"Peak smell" has now passed -- so if you were scared to go to the Botanic Garden recently, you've got the all-clear now.
The titan arum is native to the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was first discovered in 1878. A corpse flower last bloomed at the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2007. The particular titan arum is about 10 years old, and this was its first flower.
Scientists say the strange odor serves to attract beetles or other insects that are normally drawn to rotting flesh.
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