By Clara Glendale | Beacon senses reporter

Some taste a Tuesday last fall, some rotten butter. Still others say the sensation reminds them of their grandfather’s tool box. But whatever memory is brought to mind, one thing is certain: a strange flavor has been disrupting the lives of residents in the Near the Lake neighborhood of Bass Lake.

“I’m not sure when I first tasted it,” said Near the Lake homeowner Les Foxtrot.  “It was just sort of there one day. I thought it was something I ate.”

Sensory experts from Bass Lake University are equally vexed by the sensation. A team of researchers from the psychology department, including county-known tongue expert Flick Tremble, Ph.D,  have been unable to isolate the source of the flavor or even describe what the taste recalls.

“I’ve tasted something like it before,” Tremble said, “but decorum prevents me from saying where. Suffice it to say it’s something I’ve never forgotten and yet cannot reproduce.”

Frightened homeowners have taken to closing their windows at night and using Bejing-style paper respirators during the day.

Affected residents are advised to use caution when mouth breathing or doing heavy lifting.