@ARE_you_kidding_me—your concert story reminded me of this.GenCon is this huge gaming convention. Thousands of geeks from all over the world get together for four solid days of playing games, walking around in costumes and just about everything geek related. I go there every year, but I go home at night where I can shower and get a decent nights sleep. For those who get hotel rooms, they play almost nonstop and frequently give up showering so they can play more games. This convention also takes place the first week in August—probably the hottest week of the year. Also, no offense to gamers (I’m one myself) but they are kind of legendary for their lack of personal hygiene habits in general.
Everything is OK on Thursday, but each day, the overall odor of the entire event gradually worsens until you can barely breathe the air safely on Saturday night. Sunday is better only because most people start going home in the morning so the convention is much less crowded. Everyone notices it, but of course everyone is blaming everyone else for the stench. It’s sometimes referred to as gamer funk.
Gamers have a good sense of humor about it overall. A few years back, someone asked what they should call a large group of gamers. Like, you have a flock of birds, a herd of cattle, a pride of lions… It was quickly decided by the gamers themselves that you should call the group ‘a stink of gamers.’
For those who don’t personally know gamers or have never seen an entire stink of them together, these pictures can help you have the experience. You’ll have to imagine the smell but it won’t be hard. When the news media takes pictures of gamers, they will show you all the people in elaborate costumes. The majority of gamers you’ll see look like the ones in these pictures.