Thumper Thinks Out Loud

The smell that woke me up at 3:10 this morning was one of the following:

a) someone wrapped a skunk in rubber and set it on fire
b) someone outside was smoking some really bad pot
c) one of the bedroom fans was overheating

After careful hands-on observation--none of the fans were overheating and nothing else in the house was on fire--I went from window to window, sniffing and squinting, peering out into the dark.

I couldn't see anyone outside; there was no tell-tale red-ash-glowing tip of a blunt being sucked on.

I had by this point determined the burning odor was coming from outside (we will not discuss the fact that I sniffed at a closed window on my first search around the house. It was after 3 a.m. and I was sleepy...) and since none of my fans was overheating and no one was out there smoking pot, I can only conclude that there are sick, sick people around here. I mean, I'd eliminated 2 out of 3 possibilities...

So really, who would wrap a skunk in rubber and set it on fire? And why at 3 a.m.?

Inquiring minds want to know.