Everyone poops. Despite sometimes causing discomfort and being the subject of juvenile humor, pooping is a necessary, crucial function of our body that removes wastes and can share a lot about a person’s health. All animals poop: Lions, tigers, bears. Celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian, they poop, too. Every species has their own unique way of pooping, with a variety of sizes, shapes, smells, and consistencies. Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have analyzed these differences between animals’ feces and have gained insight on these varieties with a focus on the speed at which animals poop at.
The experiment began at Zoo Atlanta where two undergraduates had the glorious task of examining 34 different species’ poop measuring their density and viscosity. In addition, the animal feces were placed in a rheometer in order to test the consistency of each.
The main finding of the experiment concerned the speed of poop. They found that all animals dedicate in approximately the same amount of time, 7 seconds, despite the varieties is size, consistency, etc. The scientists have found that the reason larger animals, with larger feces, poop at a much faster rate than small animals is because they have thicker mucus lining their large intestine. This mucus is slippery and allows for poop to easily pass; thicker amounts allow pooping to happen faster.
Deficiencies in large intestine mucus can lead to chronic constipation or bacterial infections.
Another source has identified an equation for the speed of poop: “the time it takes to poop is equal to said poop’s length divided by its velocity.” For example, an elephant poops at a rate of 6 cm/sec whereas dogs poop at a rate of 1 cm/sec.
As a young child, I read a book called Everyone Poops. This wonderful children’s story set to normalize pooping and show that all living things are connected in this way. I am delighted that not only does everyone poop, but everyone poops for about 12 seconds.
Do you feel more connected to other animals knowing we all poop for about the same amount of time?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APooping_Elephant_in_Delhi_Zoological_National_Park.jpg Author: Shubhaish kanodia
Original Article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-physics-of-poop/
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