How to Read “Flies swarm to smelly things”
kusai mono ni hae takaru
Meaning of “Flies swarm to smelly things”
This proverb means that bad people gather around bad or dirty situations.
Just as flies swarm to rotting things and filth, bad people naturally gather where wrongdoing and evil deeds occur.
They come to take advantage of the situation or profit from it.
People use this saying in several situations. It describes how people join criminal organizations.
It points out how suspicious characters appear one after another when illegal money-making schemes emerge.
It criticizes people who swarm around scandals.
Why use this proverb instead of simply saying “bad people gather”?
By comparing it to a natural law, the saying emphasizes how inevitable and universal this phenomenon is.
Even in modern society, we constantly see this pattern.
Accomplices gather around fraud cases. People are drawn to organizations engaged in illegal activities.
This proverb sharply captures this negative aspect of human nature. It remains convincing and relevant today.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records document the origin of this proverb. However, we can understand it by examining its components.
“Smelly things” literally means objects that give off bad odors.
“Flies swarm” describes how flies gather and cluster together.
People have long recognized flies as insects that gather on rotting matter and filth.
This observation of nature became a metaphor for human social phenomena.
Japan has created many proverbs that compare animal behavior to human actions.
Everyone commonly sees flies being drawn to rotting things in daily life.
This universal natural phenomenon seemed to mirror how people gather around wrongdoing and injustice.
What makes this proverb especially interesting is that it goes beyond mere observation.
It contains a moral warning.
Just as flies prefer to gather on smelly things, bad people are naturally drawn to bad places and bad events.
This shows sharp insight into human nature.
The saying became widely used among common people during the Edo period.
It has been passed down as folk wisdom that sees through the dark side of human society.
Interesting Facts
Flies actually respond to specific chemicals released by rotting matter.
Odor components like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide stimulate receptors in the flies’ antennae.
This makes them recognize these sources as food or egg-laying sites.
This biological mechanism strangely resembles the psychology of people drawn to wrongdoing.
Wrongdoing has “sweet talk” as its attractant substance.
Human desire acts as the receptor that responds to it.
In Japanese classical literature, flies often symbolized base or impure things.
Documents from the Heian period contain many descriptions expressing disgust toward flies.
In Japanese culture, which values cleanliness, flies also functioned as metaphors for moral impurity.
Usage Examples
- That suspicious investment scheme was like “flies swarm to smelly things” – one fraudster after another apparently gathered around it
- Around the company where fraud was discovered, people seeking profit are swarming like “flies swarm to smelly things”
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “Flies swarm to smelly things” expresses a universal truth about negative cycles in human society.
Why do bad people gather in bad places?
Because wrongdoing always contains elements that satisfy some profit or desire.
Humans naturally possess the ability to judge right from wrong.
But at the same time, we also have desires that seek profit and pleasure.
Places where wrongdoing occurs contain temptations.
These include profits gained without honest effort, pleasures unavailable through normal means, or freedom from society’s rules.
People who cannot resist such temptations naturally gather there.
They are drawn like flies to odors.
This proverb has been passed down for so long because this phenomenon repeats across time and culture.
Ancient power struggles, medieval conspiracies, and modern organized crime are surprisingly similar in structure.
Bad people gather around wrongdoing, and that group creates even greater evil.
This negative chain has always existed as a dark side of human society.
Our ancestors saw through this unavoidable aspect of human nature.
That’s why they compared it to a simple law of nature to convey its essence to future generations.
Just as flies cannot avoid smelly things, humans controlled by desire also find it difficult to escape the temptation of wrongdoing.
This harsh but truthful view of human nature is embedded here.
When AI Hears This
When odor molecules diffuse through air, they create what’s called a concentration gradient.
This gradient becomes weaker the farther you get from the source.
Flies sense this gradient with their antennae and climb up it.
What’s interesting is that stronger odors create steeper gradients and reach farther distances.
In other words, there’s a clear correlation between signal strength, transmission distance, and number of receivers.
This phenomenon remarkably resembles social media firestorms.
The more provocative a post, the faster the chain of shares accelerates and reaches more people.
Information theory explains this through “signal-to-noise ratio.”
Among the background noise of everyday posts, only information with intense odor – intense stimulation – travels far.
What’s even more important is that the first flies gathering become a new signal themselves.
The swarm of flies becomes a visual marker that attracts other flies who haven’t even received the chemical information.
This is called the “cascade effect.”
It’s the same structure as online firestorms calling more firestorms.
It’s the behavior pattern of going somewhere because others are gathering there, without checking the original information.
In other words, the spread of bad reputation involves three layers of amplification mechanisms.
These are information intensity, the physical laws of diffusion, and interaction among receivers.
Neither flies nor humans can escape this mathematical trap.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches you about the great power of environment.
Bad people gather in bad places, and that group makes the environment even worse.
Understanding this negative spiral is extremely important for protecting yourself.
First, it’s essential to calmly observe your current environment.
Are wrongdoing and evil deeds common around you?
What values do the people gathering there hold?
If you feel uncomfortable, that might be a warning from your conscience.
Having the courage to leave that place early is the first step in protecting yourself.
At the same time, this proverb shows a paradoxical hope.
If bad people gather around bad things, then good people should gather around good things.
In places that value honesty, integrity, and compassion, people with the same values naturally gather.
If you choose good environments and practice good behavior, you’ll naturally be blessed with good relationships.
In modern society, you can easily access various “places” through social media and the internet.
That’s why choosing which places to be in has become more important than ever.
Don’t go near smelly things.
Following this simple principle will protect your life.
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