The world’s stinkiest flower bloomed on Capitol Hill this weekend. I’m not speaking figuratively about the latest appropriations bill, but literally about what happened at the U.S. Botanic Garden, which is practically within spitting distance of the House of Representatives. Its Titan Arum plant, which is sometimes called the “corpse flower,” went into bloom–something the species does very rarely, and even then for only about two days. The flower is really big and it smells really bad. Or at least it did yesterday. When I went by this morning–the lines were longer for tours of the Capitol–the bloom was off the rose, so to speak. The plant didn’t smell good, reminding me instead about the kitchen in my old bachelor apartment. But that’s another story.