The story in one page
Walter Sills spends his life in a grimy lab until he develops a cheap, beautiful plating material called ammonium. The invention promises fame and wealth, but the news instantly attracts corporate vultures and opportunistic grifters. As Sills and his assistant, Eugene Taylor, attempt to navigate a gauntlet of intimidation and theft, they discover that their creation possesses a secondary, unavoidable property: an agonizing, inescapable odor. When the invention literally clears the neighborhood, the inventors realize that success smells suspiciously like ruin. They retreat to the Hudson River, pondering their future as Nobel laureates who currently require a very long bath.
Who's who
- Walter Sills
A middle-aged, perpetually struggling chemist seeking professional recognition.
- Eugene Taylor
Sills' irrepressible and optimistic assistant who handles the practical logistics.
- J. Throgmorton Bankhead
An aggressive corporate executive whose plating business faces obsolescence.
- Hornswoggle
A self-serving former congressman attempting to extort the inventors.
What it's really about
- Professional ambition
- The drive for success often ignores catastrophic side effects.
- Commercial exploitation
- Inventions attract leeches before they generate profit.
Why it's memorable
- A man realizing his life's work is ruining his trousers with coffee.
- Two scientists neck-deep in the Hudson River discussing the Nobel Prize.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Sills and Taylor watch from the water as the city deals with their invention's stench. They eventually decide to return, hoping the spoon — and their legal liability — has been removed.
For your book club
- The invention is only as valuable as the smell it produces.
- Success is often just a different set of problems.