I was on a long-distance bus, traveling to my destination the next morning. I was bored and couldn’t keep still, so I forced myself to sleep. Someone sat next to me.
The lights were off in the car, so I couldn’t really see what kind of person the man next to me was. But before I knew it, we were having a conversation.
He was wearing a suit, but had a small, oddly shaped pendant hanging around his neck. It wasn’t a fancy decoration, but a transparent vial attached to it.
As we chatted, we started talking about the habits of animals.
“When you get rid of pests, you’ll use bug spray. That’s just one way,” he said.
I didn’t quite understand what he was trying to say.
“It’s not just the toxic ingredients that bugs hate. Bugs hate certain odors, so you can use those odors to get rid of pests.”
I was intrigued. “Is that so?”
“We already know what it smells like. Interestingly, humans don’t know what it smells like.”
“Is that so?”
“The effect of the scent is a little scary. Bugs that inhale it start cannibalizing. But that’s fine, right? If it kills the pests.”
I was a little taken aback by his matter-of-fact tone. But I was also curious.
“What does it smell like?” I asked.
He smiled. “You’ll never know.”
And with that, he turned off the light and went to sleep.
I lay there for a long time, thinking about what he had said. I had never heard of an odor that could make bugs cannibalize each other. But I was also intrigued by the idea of using natural scents to control pests.
The next morning, I arrived at my destination. I got off the bus and walked away, still thinking about the man and his pendant.
I never saw him again, but I never forgot him either. And I often wondered what happened to him and his vial of scent.
A few years later, I was reading a newspaper article about a new pest control product that was being developed. The product was based on a natural odor that was known to drive bugs crazy.
I couldn’t believe it. I had met the inventor of that product years ago. And now, his invention was about to change the way we control pests.
I smiled to myself. I was glad that I had met the man on the bus. He had introduced me to a new way of thinking about pests. And he had helped to make the world a little bit safer.
— hiro (@hiro_osaka_jp) June 15, 2023
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