Sniffing fumes ... for a living

Though it sounds like a high school-student-and-soon-to-be-cocaine-addict's dream come true, in China, there is a real market for people with an acute sense of smell and masochistic tendencies! From the unlinkable without a proxy or psychic powers BBC:

China is about to unleash a new weapon in the battle against illegal polluters - humans trained to sniff out foul gases, according to Chinese media.

The southern city of Guangzhou will be patrolled by "professional noses" who will detect unlawful emissions from factories, the China Daily reported.

Not exactly a pleasant line of work, but on the up side, you just might start to appreciate the collective B.O. of rush hour subways and buses. Unfortunately, not only do these olfactory proles need certificates to begin working, they also have to renew them every three years: "The China Daily said the certificates are valid for three years at a time, because human's sense of smell deteriorates with age."

This comes just as the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency released a report stating that China is now the world's top CO2 emitter, beating out the US in one of the most dramatic cliffhangers since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. We suppose that for the sniffers, this means that business is good.