6 ms·

Wombat poop: Scientists reveal mystery behind cube-shaped droppings (2018)

42 points by pm24601 6y ago

oconnor663 6y ago
> "It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process," she suggested, "how to make a cube with soft tissue instead of just moulding it." I know there's pressure for everyone to argue that their research has practical applications, and this one's probably a long shot, but it would be so cool and hilarious if this ends up being useful. Q: How do you refuel the solid rocket boosters on Mars? A: Well first, let me tell you something interesting about wombats...
- DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
  I'm not one who'd put pressure on science to prioritize focus on what industry finds useful (which adds opportunity for bias in funding). Instead I was hoping this article would shed light on why in (vulgar) slang we say "sh... bricks". The opportunity for a bad pun here was lost by the author, the researchers, and everyone commenting on twitter so far.
  - rb12345 6y ago
    The Register used it back in 2018: https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/19/wombat_cube_poo_demystified https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/19/wombat_cube_poo_demys...
aasasd 6y ago
> We opened those intestines up like it was Christmas No-context quote of the year? Strangely, I'm pretty sure I've read or heard before that wombats have triangular sphincters, and that determines the shitshape. Also: > The marsupial then stacks the cubes - the higher the better Now that must be quite a cartoonish performance. (Judging by YouTube's search suggestion, I'm not the only one to take interest in seeing this acrobatic act—however the search results are disappointing.)
- krylon 6y ago
  I like the way your mind works. (-:
- woliveirajr 6y ago
  > Despite having round anuses like other mammals, wombats do not produce round pellets, tubular coils or messy piles.
Brajeshwar 6y ago
This article is from 2018. Coincidentally, about a week back, I heard this on the Curiosity Daily Podcast[1]. 1. https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-do-wombats-poop-cubes/ https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-do-wombats-poop-cubes/
krylon 6y ago
> "We opened those intestines up like it was Christmas," said co-author David Hu He must be fun at parties. ;-) > The marsupial then stacks the cubes - the higher the better so as to communicate with and attract other wombats. If I was a comedian who specialized in toilet humor (and let's face it - I totally would), I would either quit my job because of this sentence, or (if I was good at it), I would turn it into my next standup routine. I probably could just read the article verbatim and get a few laughs, assuming the audience was not openly hostile. Just to be clear, I think this is very interesting, and absolutely a valid area of research. But it is rather funny as well. EDIT: Now I wonder - what do wombats try to communicate by stacking poop? This seems like a very existentialist thing to do.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Its a quirk of human beings that certain research topics are neglected because of their proximity to humor. Whether its the hydrodynamics of the penis, or the musculature of the vagina, or the mechanics of excretion. Unless its funny, we reject whole areas of investigation as unworthy or repulsive. There are so many urine tests I can't count them. But how many over-the-counter poop tests are there? Maybe one. Because, you know, its disgusting.
  - krylon 6y ago
    Serious and funny - to me - are not mutually exclusive. The idea of wombats stacking their poop is very funny, but if I was a biologist, that would make me want to investigate the matter even more. During my Zivildienst (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivildienst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivildienst), I had lots of contact with all kinds of things leaving the human digestive tract. You get used to it surprisingly quickly, as long as you have and endless supply of rubber gloves and disinfectant. OTOH, the revulsion feces inspire in most humans serves a purpose, evolution-wise, so finding a middle ground would be rather difficult.
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      But just try to get funding.
podiki 6y ago
As another commenter pointed out, this needs a (2018) in the title. More recent results continued to find out more, looking if the anus shape plays a role [0]. [0] https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/its-the-wombats-strange-intestines-not-its-anus-that-produces-cubed-poo/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/its-the-wombats-stra...
soegaard 6y ago
Is this the inspiration for the Donald Duck story "Lost in the Andes" where the hens lay square eggs. Google: donald duck square eggs
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
nom 6y ago
Can't wait for artificial rectums to produce cube shaped pellets of stuff for me! No but in all seriousness, it's truly fascinating how nature created it and what we might be able to learn from it. Wombat poop always makes for an interesting topic.
HeyZuess 6y ago
If there was one damn thing which deserved to stay a mystery this was it, there is no magic left in the world.

42 points by pm24601 6y ago

> "It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process," she suggested, "how to make a cube with soft tissue instead of just moulding it." I know there's pressure for everyone to argue that their research has practical applications, and this one's probably a long shot, but it would be so cool and hilarious if this ends up being useful. Q: How do you refuel the solid rocket boosters on Mars? A: Well first, let me tell you something interesting about wombats...

DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
I'm not one who'd put pressure on science to prioritize focus on what industry finds useful (which adds opportunity for bias in funding). Instead I was hoping this article would shed light on why in (vulgar) slang we say "sh... bricks". The opportunity for a bad pun here was lost by the author, the researchers, and everyone commenting on twitter so far.
- rb12345 6y ago
  The Register used it back in 2018: https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/19/wombat_cube_poo_demystified https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/19/wombat_cube_poo_demys...

aasasd 6y ago

> We opened those intestines up like it was Christmas No-context quote of the year? Strangely, I'm pretty sure I've read or heard before that wombats have triangular sphincters, and that determines the shitshape. Also: > The marsupial then stacks the cubes - the higher the better Now that must be quite a cartoonish performance. (Judging by YouTube's search suggestion, I'm not the only one to take interest in seeing this acrobatic act—however the search results are disappointing.)

krylon 6y ago
I like the way your mind works. (-:
woliveirajr 6y ago
> Despite having round anuses like other mammals, wombats do not produce round pellets, tubular coils or messy piles.

Brajeshwar 6y ago

This article is from 2018. Coincidentally, about a week back, I heard this on the Curiosity Daily Podcast[1]. 1. https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-do-wombats-poop-cubes/ https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-do-wombats-poop-cubes/

krylon 6y ago

> "We opened those intestines up like it was Christmas," said co-author David Hu He must be fun at parties. ;-) > The marsupial then stacks the cubes - the higher the better so as to communicate with and attract other wombats. If I was a comedian who specialized in toilet humor (and let's face it - I totally would), I would either quit my job because of this sentence, or (if I was good at it), I would turn it into my next standup routine. I probably could just read the article verbatim and get a few laughs, assuming the audience was not openly hostile. Just to be clear, I think this is very interesting, and absolutely a valid area of research. But it is rather funny as well. EDIT: Now I wonder - what do wombats try to communicate by stacking poop? This seems like a very existentialist thing to do.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
Its a quirk of human beings that certain research topics are neglected because of their proximity to humor. Whether its the hydrodynamics of the penis, or the musculature of the vagina, or the mechanics of excretion. Unless its funny, we reject whole areas of investigation as unworthy or repulsive. There are so many urine tests I can't count them. But how many over-the-counter poop tests are there? Maybe one. Because, you know, its disgusting.
- krylon 6y ago
  Serious and funny - to me - are not mutually exclusive. The idea of wombats stacking their poop is very funny, but if I was a biologist, that would make me want to investigate the matter even more. During my Zivildienst (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivildienst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivildienst), I had lots of contact with all kinds of things leaving the human digestive tract. You get used to it surprisingly quickly, as long as you have and endless supply of rubber gloves and disinfectant. OTOH, the revulsion feces inspire in most humans serves a purpose, evolution-wise, so finding a middle ground would be rather difficult.
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    But just try to get funding.

podiki 6y ago

As another commenter pointed out, this needs a (2018) in the title. More recent results continued to find out more, looking if the anus shape plays a role [0]. [0] https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/its-the-wombats-strange-intestines-not-its-anus-that-produces-cubed-poo/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/its-the-wombats-stra...

soegaard 6y ago

Is this the inspiration for the Donald Duck story "Lost in the Andes" where the hens lay square eggs. Google: donald duck square eggs

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

nom 6y ago

Can't wait for artificial rectums to produce cube shaped pellets of stuff for me! No but in all seriousness, it's truly fascinating how nature created it and what we might be able to learn from it. Wombat poop always makes for an interesting topic.

HeyZuess 6y ago

If there was one damn thing which deserved to stay a mystery this was it, there is no magic left in the world.