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My intuition tells me there exists a more causal link between airborne chili and jalepeno peppers and burning eyes than exists between a roller skating rink and burning eyes.

Yes, people actually do get watery eyes from cutting onions. It's not just that they are sad and blaming it on the onions out of shame.

At what part per million do burning eyes actually happen?

At what part per million does the factory actually affect the surrounding atmosphere?

Without any idea at all about these numbers your intuition is worthless.

A timeless story about this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/wireless/11099-massive-revelat...

In more serious manifestations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_student_poisoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_West_Bank_fainting_epidemi...

Yeah, unless they've been examined by a doctor, it's hard to overstate the power and seeming realness of psychological symptoms that may simply be triggered by a bad smell.