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> "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 hi
by 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 agoIts 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 agoSerious 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 agoBut just try to get funding.
- aasasd 6y ago> what do wombats try to communicate by stacking poop? According to Wikipedia, it's to mark the territory.