Rosie the Corpse Flower Is the Goth Icon We Don't Deserve

Today, Tuesday, April 24, is a great day to waste time on the internet. You could spend the afternoon waiting for election returns to come in, scrolling through pointless updates from polling places in Sun City, and trying to predict how big Debbie Lesko's lead will be. You could get into a heated Facebook argument about whether teachers who go on strike are just hurting students.

Or, you could do yourself a favor by closing all those tabs and tuning into the Tucson Botanical Garden's livestream of a rare corpse flower in bloom.

The corpse flower is the stinkiest and most metal-sounding flower out there & tonight @TucBotanical is offering a rare chance to see this nasty-smelling plant bloom. Not in Tucson? You can livestream it: https://t.co/cjZsN9eDrK pic.twitter.com/Aoa8HYCsmC

— Zia (Has the Best Customers) (@ZiaRecords) April 19, 2018

According to the Tucson Botanical Garden, Rosie — that's the corpse flower's name — is probably nine years old. This will be her first time flowering, and she's doing an amazing job so far.

Corpse flowers typically take anywhere from seven to 10 years to blossom, so this is a once-in-a-decade event. Rosie wasn't even expected to bloom for another two years, which makes it extra exciting. What did we do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. Rosie just decided to bless us with her presence, and we should all be grateful for that.

Me and th corpse flower. An icon!!! pic.twitter.com/QuLw5xLM7F

— ducks (comms open!) (@strangeducks) April 24, 2018

If you want to pay your respects to Rosie in person, tonight may be your last chance. The corpse flower's bloom only lasts for 24 to 36 hours, and Rosie has been in bloom since around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. The Tucson Botanical Garden plans on staying open until 10 this evening, although you won't be able to enter after 8:30 p.m. because the wait times have gotten so long.

Then again, tuning into the livestream may be your best choice. While this shouldn't be taken as disrespect to our goth queen, Rosie doesn't smell very good. As Butterfly Exhibit Manager Michael Madsen recently explained to viewers, the corpse flower "produces a foul odor that is very similar to a dead body, and it uses that to attract insects." Others have compared the smell to rotting eggs, the penguin enclosure at an aquarium, or gangrene.

Never change, Rosie. You're perfect just the way you are.