I took Ziri to the park. She was delighted. When I told her how I enjoyed the pungent, sweet aroma of freshly cut grass, smelling the colour green and Spring, immersing myself in the farm-like environment, Ziri presented me a formula: (Z)-3-HEXEN-1-Ol. Oh, stop being so scientific I said. Stop being so unsentimental, Ziri retorted. Don’t you know that grass has feelings too! When it is hurt, it releases GLVs, in plant terms, an abbreviation for green leaf volatiles, which is a group of volatile organic compounds based on six carbon atoms. In grasses, the aldehyde (Z)-3-hexenal contributes significantly to the grassy smell. The smell, so pleasant to your nose is in fact cries of horror from the grass, screaming, we are under attack! We need to strengthen our defence system, create antibiotics and generate new cells for our wounds! Then, for almost half an hour, Ziri continued to expound her knowledge on the scent of the cut grass to me at great length; how the green smell we innately associate with edible plants, comparing chemical odor thresholds from cut grass to oranges, how (Z)-3-hexenal and similar molecules turn up in strawberries, apple juice, olives, spices and certain types of alcohol, and being added to food products as taste enhancers. I am absolutely convinced, and have zero doubt about my friend Ziri’s intelligence. She always gets an A–the ultimate grade. Yet, she killed my wonderful walk in the park. She kept bombarding me with more facts and terms, that lawn mowing has a negative effect on the environment. It contributes to greenhouse gases. The chemicals released by cut grass, she stressed, can be identified as acetone, formaldehyde and methane. After entering the air, interacting with sunlight and other gases, including ozone, they can produce potentially hazardous aerosols. At this moment of learning the inconvenient truth, that unique, refreshing scent of cut grass, that sense of peace and harmony with nature I was basking in were abruptly interrupted. Feeling somewhat annoyed, I broke off her sermon and said, Ziri, my dear friend, you are so smart; you are omnipresent and know everything. Tell me, how do I stop you from being God? If only I could hear your heart beat and hold your hand…
