What in the World Is That Smell in Shallowater?

All jokes aside, there’s something seriously foul in the air around Shallowater, Texas.

For the uninitiated, Shallowater sits just northwest of Lubbock. We’re not exactly sure what’s going on out there, but lately, it’s smelled like something that’s gone terribly wrong.

Now, I did say “all jokes aside,” but let’s be honest—I fibbed. You’re going to get jokes. In fact, laughter may be the only way to deal with what’s happening.

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A Town We Love to Roast (And They’ve Taken It Well)

Our morning show has long used Shallowater as a friendly punchline—a stand-in for ���Small Town, Texas.” We tease, they take it in stride, and it’s all been in good fun.

But now we have to ask the real question: We’ve been dumping on Shallowater metaphorically...but who’s literally dumping in Shallowater?

A Funk You Can’t Forget

Driving into town on Highway 84 earlier this week, we were ambushed by a smell so foul and overpowering, it practically reached into our car and slapped us.

Let me be clear: this was not a passing whiff. It lingered. And before you blame the Thai food I had the night before—this wasn’t me. This was a full-on assault on the senses.

So What Is It?

We don’t know if there’s a ruptured sewer line, a feedlot problem, or if the town is simply in the early stages of becoming a garbage volcano. But something is definitely off in Shallowater.

Trying to make the best of it, we attempted to describe the smell in a humorous way. We started with five things. That wasn’t enough. So we expanded it into:

10 Things That Shallowater Smells Like
(Coming soon, if we survive.)

Look, Shallowater—we kid because we care. But seriously, there’s something in the northeast corner of town that needs attention. It’s a real stomach-turner.