But that evening was pure funky, sticky, breathless asphalt New York.

Descending the ramp toward the sticky asphalt, he became aware of the tremendous mass of the planet under him, weighted even further by the hundreds of millions of wretched souls populating the subcontinent, and he hunched his shoulders against the inexorable pull of depression.

He parked his rental car and headed across the sticky asphalt to the mall entrance.

The car rocked and a window pane went shattering onto the hot, sticky asphalt.

The bones of the exinct saber-tooth, dating from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago,represent 1,100 to 2,200 animals that were among the many thousands who became trapped and perished in the pits of sticky asphalt on the coastal plain here.

La Brea Tar Pits, an area in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, where there is a natural accumulation of sticky asphalt derived from an ancient petroleum seep.