The Edible Bioweapon: A History of Swedish Surströmming

Surströmming is a Swedish fermented herring delicacy known as the world's smelliest food, with an odor so powerful that a German court once ruled a tenant's eviction legal after a lawyer simply opened a can in the courtroom to demonstrate the unbearable stench. Often referred to as an "edible bioweapon," it is produced through a traditional method involving months of natural fermentation without sterilization, which creates pressurized cans that airlines have banned as safety hazards comparable to explosives. Scientific testing has measured its pungency at levels nearly 20 times stronger than stinky tofu, and the fish itself has even been the subject of research linking herring flatulence to mysterious underwater sounds once mistaken for Soviet submarines.