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Package Raises a Stink at Post Office

The Associated Press
Thursday, June 14, 2007; 11:14 PM

WASHINGTON -- A foul-smelling package that led to the evacuation of a post office next to the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum contained two cans of spinach and a dirty diaper, authorities said.

"No wonder it smelled," said Deborah Yackley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service. "I don't know why it was being mailed."

A postal worker alerted police shortly before 11 a.m. after spotting the smelly package sitting on a counter with no one around to claim it, authorities said. The package had no postage and no address.

District of Columbia police bomb technicians X-rayed the package and a hazardous materials team inspected it before determining that it contained nothing dangerous. The evacuation lasted several hours.

© 2007 The Associated Press