Even the panel of “odor specialists” resisted the urge to cover their noses as pungent smells emanated from the smelliest sneakers in this year’s Annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest.
Ready to be judged, eight kids, ages six to fourteen arrived in Montpelier Tuesday, selected as national finalists, wearing the decrepit and odorous rubber-soles that won them regional recognition.
In its 38th year, the National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest is said to be the ultimate test of just how dirty and stinky sneakers can get when they’re part of an active kid’s life, going where they go, through puddles, mud and all.
Sneakers are judged on the conditions of the sole, tongue, heel, toe, laces or velcro, eyelets/grommets, overall condition and most important odor, by a panel that includes NASA “Master Sniffer” George Aldrich, Chemical Specialist for NASA space missions, and Rachel Herz, Ph.D., a professor at Brown University and author of The Scent of Desire and That’s Disgusting.
