What is the official smell of New Jersey? That's the question a radio station in The Garden State is asking its listeners after hearing about a new scent — designed by Associate Professor Rodolphe el-Khoury and Assistant Professors Carol Moukeiber and Christos Marcopoulous — that captures the essence of the New Jersey Turnpike. After debuting at the California College of Arts' exhibition "An Olfactory Archive: 1738-1969," the scent is now part of another show, "Urban Olfactory," which runs until March 31 at SPUR in San Francisco.

The exhibition, which presents the stench of 16th century Paris, the odour of air pollution in San Francisco, and the bouquet of hashish found in 21st century Rotterdam, even includes the scent of Canada's 8th Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden. This perfume, which Atlantic Cities reporter John Metcalfe describes as "a cognac-soaked library of significant books," was one of a series of scents developed for a public park project in Edmonton.

For more on the exhibit, read The Atlantic Cities article: "Now You Can Experience the Nasty Stench of Cities Throughout History."