Can of fermented fish, stuck in roof eave, is raising a cabin's roof

TRYSIL, Norway, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A 25-year-old can of fermented herring is swelling in the eaves of a Norwegian cabin and is literally raising the roof, its owner said.

Cabin owner Inge Haugen said the forgotten can of "surstromming," an odorous Swedish delicacy left over from a 1990 party, is stuck in the eaves of his Trysil home and the bulging container has raised his roof 2 centimeters (about 4/5 inch).

"We had three cans. We ate two and my husband took the third and put it up under the roof because we had eaten enough. Then he forgot about it," Bjorg Haugen said. "There's going to be a gruesome smell."

News of a "disarmament" of the can set for Feb. 18, involving fermented herring expert Ruben Madsen of Sweden's Surstomming Academy, has caused hundreds of people to notify Haugen they intend to watch in person, the Swedish news website TheLocal.se reported.

"There are going to be more people here than there were at Barack Obama's inauguration," Haugen said with a laugh.

Madsen, though, said the aging can poses no risk to the public.

"There really isn't any risk of an explosion. Some fermented herring might come spurting out when we open it, and yes, it will smell," Madsen explained.