Bad beef smells really really bad and you would not have to put your nose close to the meat to smell it. You would know there was something wrong. I have had beef that is a little brownish in place and it was fresh and not old. I don't know exactly why it looks that way sometimes but it is probably drying blood.
When the Second Continental Congress came together on May 10, 1775 it was, in effect, a reconvening of the First Continental Congress.
Second Continental Congress - The Second Continental Congress met for the first time in Philadelphia in May of 1775, and continued to meet until the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781.