Reply #10: I found this looking up those two words

[JonLP24]

Beginning in the 1930s, Tacoma became known for the "Tacoma Aroma", a distinctive, acrid odor produced by paper manufacturing on the industrial tide flats. In the late 1990s, Simpson Tacoma Kraft reduced total sulfur emissions by 90%. This largely eliminated the problem; where once the aroma was ever-present, it is now only noticeable occasionally, primarily when the wind is coming from the east.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma,_Washington#20th_century

Admittedly I didn't live there and mostly been on the east side. I've been down to South Tacoma Way, Tacoma Dome, and South Tacoma Mall more than a few times. Not sure if I was in the right places to smell it or maybe I did and completely forgot.