KUSA – At any given moment, thousands of people are watching the 9NEWS live stream of the Denver Botanic Gardens' corpse flower.
The gardens are getting quite the boon from this rare occurrence, notching around 30,000 visitors over the past 10 days – a record number that's well above normal attendance rates.
Many of those coming to the gardens to see the famous flower (dubbed "Stinky") are there for the first time.
"This is super unique to have just one plant that people are coming to see," spokesperson Erin Bird said. "I think it's just human curiosity, the interest in the weird and the absurd, and also the anticipation of the unknown that is stringing us along."
WEBCAM: Watch the corpse flower grow
Other businesses are also cashing in on the corpse flower phenomenon. VooDoo Doughnuts has introduced a "Corpse Flower" doughnut – a promotion that will end once the flower blooms.
T-shirts with Stinky's image are also being sold at the gardens.
The flower finally started to bloom late Tuesday night. When it did, the smell of rotting flesh will last for around 10 hours.
CORPSE FLOWER COVERAGE:
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