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Poo facts for January 1-7, 2009
A friend gave me a poo calendar for my birthday - the best gift ever! That is where these facts will be coming from, throughout the year.

For fun, here's the Wikipedia entry. Hey, I didn't know Poo was the name of a playable character in the Earthbound! game... sweet!

This is the intro blurb and first "nugget" (haha!) of the year:

WHAT'S YOUR POO TELLING YOU?

With universal appeal - after all, everyone poops - this straightforward, illustrated description of two dozen dookies (each with a medical explanation written by a doctor) details what one can learn about health and well-being by studying what's in the bowl. A floater? It's probably due to a build-up of gas. Now think back on last night's dinner - a burrito, perhaps? All the greatest hits are here: The Log Jam, The Glass Shard, The Hanging Chad... the list goes on. Sidebars with interesting factoids, 60 euphemisms for number 2, and unusual case histories all make this the ultimate bathroom reader.

POO LOG

Finally, what every bathroom has been waiting for - the POO LOG, a journal for recording and studying the uniqueness of each bowel movement. With handy reference charts, extensive checklists (shape / color / consistency...), interesting nuggets, and hilarious illustrations throughout, this journal makes every trip to the can into an e-loo-cidating experience.

INTRODUCTION

Another day, another poo... in our hectic daily lives, we sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses. Unless something is considerably wrong, you will spend a significant amount of time on the toilet in 2009 - the average person will poo between 100 and 1000 times. However, many of us will hastily perform the deed, flush without looking, and then fail to harness poo's power to improve our health. This daily calendar will serve to remind you - every day of the year - that going to the bathroom can be an educational and potentially cathartic experience.

We have scoured medical journals, global news headlines, and expert testimonials to present to you the following Daily Droppings. Use them to improve your own poo performances, and flaunt your Poo IQ by sharing these vital nuggets with friends and colleagues.

- Josh Richman and Amish Sheth, M.D.


Thursday, Jan. 1: Déjà Poo
Synonyms: Veggie Burger, Leftovers, Sloppy Seconds


Today's poo nugget - Doo You Know? If it's brown, flush it down. Stool's usual brown color is due to the presence of a compound called stercobilin, which is formed when the bacteria in our colon digest bile. Most daily variation in stool color is due to the dietary intake of various foods and medications. However, changes in stool color that persist for longer periods of time can be a sign of an underlying gastrointestinal disorder.


Here is the weekend's poo nugget: How can you be constipated and have diarrhea at the same time? A phenomenon called "overflow diarrhea" occurs when watery stool leaks around an impacted bolus of stool. Typically occurring in patients with fecal impaction, a condition in which a hard bolus of stool plugs up the rectum and prevents passage of normal bowel movements, this form of diarrhea can mislead physicians to prescribe anti-diarrheal medications, thereby worsening the underlying constipation.


Monday, January 5: Scatology, also known as coprology, is the study of excrement. This word derives from the Greek skatos, meaning feces. Scatology can also refer to sex acts involving excrement, the most famous of which involves two girls and one cup.


Today's poo nugget for Jan. 6 (Tuesday): One of the most recent advancements in transplantation involves the transferring of stool from one person's colon to another. This seemingly barbaric practice has been shown to help patients recover from a form of colitis caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile. After the collection and processing of the donated stool, the feces are placed into the patient's small intestine via an endoscopic tube. Typically used as a last resort, this treatment seeks to correct the colon's bacterial imbalance by repopulating the gut with billions of beneficial bacteria from a healthy volunteer. The future of stool transplantation without long waiting lists appears promising, owing to the limited number of willing recipients and the potentially endless supply of donors.


POO NUGGET for Wednesday, January 7: Doo You Know? Bear Poo - Bears don't poo at all while they're hibernating. Their bodies create an internal plug made from feces and hair that prevents them from pooping during their five-month slumber.