In these dark times, I find a mask on the ground and wonder if it will protect me from a germ mofette that is releasing invisible substances all about.

Exploring NYC through 26 words
An opening in the earth from which carbon dioxide and other gases escape.
In these dark times, I find a mask on the ground and wonder if it will protect me from a germ mofette that is releasing invisible substances all about.
It was a humid summer evening in late August. I was strolling around Manhattan in no rush to get to my subway stop, when a vanilla ice-cream craving overtook me. To my delight, I turned a corner and found one of the many infamous Mr. Softee trucks sitting idly. I smiled at the man, and scoured the various sprinkle and dip combinations available to me, when my legs suddenly became immersed in a dense heat. I lost concentration, and looked down to find two wafts of toxic grey vapor, one from the sewer a foot away, and one from Mr. Softee’s tailpipe, morphing into a big noxious cloud at my feet. I decided against the cone, and instead took out my camera to dance with the emanations all around New York that night. (Beth Botshon)
by Harry Schleiff
Mofette (n.):
[French, gaseous exhalation, from Italian moffetta, diminutive of muffa, mold, moldy smell, probably of Germanic origin.]
* Definition from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Segment Producer: Beth Botshon