Fantastic! Now I only wish I had jumped on this one when it was fresh! What's really interesting is all those bacteria also has a MAJOR impact on our mental health. It's called Psychobiotics and it's insane how the gut-brain connection works.
The reason I asked the first question is because Cows actually gain most of their nutrients / protien etc. from the bacteria, not the grass itself which is a crazy thing to consider. Same too with some of our primate cousins like a gorilla. Humans have a very short intestine compared to many other vegetarian primates as we evolved this way eating meat, not getting that protein from bacteria.
That's a really valuable add-on, and I hope folks continue to read the comments here! I often point out stuff I find fascinating, but also step over tons of interesting stuff. I like the community vibe very much.
Not to mention, this is where some of the ideas come from in the first place, this piece very much included! I would not be surprised to see this one multiplying too.
As a mom of two boys (three when you consider the inside age of my hubby), I am well acquainted with the discussion of farts, poop, belches, and the like. The boys' favorite bedtime stories were: The Gas We Pass and Everyone Poops.
And yet, it's lines like "This process is a bit like a brewpub where grains go in at one end, and booze comes out at the other" that make me glad I'm intermittent fasting right now and only drinking tea instead of eating breakfast while reading this post...
I remember visiting Anchor Steam brewery in San Francisco almost 20 years ago. I didn't smell as much of the process as at the bourbon distillery a few years earlier, but... well hey, it is an apt analogy!
You're right! I was looking at the crappy side of things. 1.7% is a pretty good pre-2025 NATO defense budget number, but we're gonna need at least 2.5% if we're going to sustain this sh*t.
I love this for so many reasons! I was at a GI appointment with my daughter when I started reading this 😂 turns out she needs to do a colon cleanse because she has some back up
Also, I’m super into beer and breweries, so love the analogy!!
While I have 3 boys, it’s been my mom and my daughter who I hear most from about poop!! 🤣🤣🤣
That's awesome! Breweries are really cool, too: you can often just go right in and see how everything works, and get a real sense of the byproducts going on inside our own bodies, and how that all can work. Plus, I mean, beer. I don't drink these days, but I admire the craft.
That's rad. I remember going to see bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, and recall that being a very interesting experience in my early 20s. Of course, cultivating a taste for bourbon made everything way more interesting to me, but the science alone was very cool to see up close.
I like to think of it as a symbiotic relationship that began early in our evolution. Regardless, it is an opportunity for me to express gratitude for the marvels of biology. Good post!
"hemoglobin inside them breaks down into a yellowish substance called bilirubin."
This reminds me of a great moment in Silence of the Lambs, the book, which is summed up nicely here:
In the film, Lecter gives the Senator Bill's name as "Louis Friend," which Clarice figures out is an anagram for Iron Sulfide, or Fool's Gold. In the book, the name he gives is Billy Rubin. It's revealed later in the book that "bilirubin" is a pigment produced in the bile ducts, and gives shit its colour. It's also the colour of Chilton's hair. Hand it to Lecter to go to the most roundabout possible way of calling Chilton a shithead.
Ha! They did a great job with the movie, but there's just so much nuance in a Thomas Harris book that can't be captured. I can't remember which of these I read during the 90s, but I was impressed with the depth.
Thanks, Andrew! I've been waiting for you to foment about fermentation! I will say the different possible colors (that, like most things in the human body) exist to alert us to anomalies. I just never knew the rainbow possible, and what each hue might mean should it appear amidst our Charmin!
I was happy to be reacquainted again with Bili Rubin, who used to sit behind me in 4th period math! She always wanted to change religions, but who knew she'd be converted...into a brown substance called stercobilin, yet! Well, good for her!
I do feel like there's more to be said about what specific chemicals make the colors we see, and why... but I don't really need to dive that deep every time! Still, I like to leave some space in case other things also need to come out.
Fantastic! Now I only wish I had jumped on this one when it was fresh! What's really interesting is all those bacteria also has a MAJOR impact on our mental health. It's called Psychobiotics and it's insane how the gut-brain connection works.
The reason I asked the first question is because Cows actually gain most of their nutrients / protien etc. from the bacteria, not the grass itself which is a crazy thing to consider. Same too with some of our primate cousins like a gorilla. Humans have a very short intestine compared to many other vegetarian primates as we evolved this way eating meat, not getting that protein from bacteria.
That's a really valuable add-on, and I hope folks continue to read the comments here! I often point out stuff I find fascinating, but also step over tons of interesting stuff. I like the community vibe very much.
Not to mention, this is where some of the ideas come from in the first place, this piece very much included! I would not be surprised to see this one multiplying too.
As a mom of two boys (three when you consider the inside age of my hubby), I am well acquainted with the discussion of farts, poop, belches, and the like. The boys' favorite bedtime stories were: The Gas We Pass and Everyone Poops.
And yet, it's lines like "This process is a bit like a brewpub where grains go in at one end, and booze comes out at the other" that make me glad I'm intermittent fasting right now and only drinking tea instead of eating breakfast while reading this post...
I remember visiting Anchor Steam brewery in San Francisco almost 20 years ago. I didn't smell as much of the process as at the bourbon distillery a few years earlier, but... well hey, it is an apt analogy!
"Alas, there are only eleven of these pieces of poop."
That's nothing to fart...uh....sneeze at.
11 (now 12) poop pieces is a healthy 1,7% of your entire Substack writing history.
Write a few more and it'll be a nice, brown....uh....round number.
You're right! I was looking at the crappy side of things. 1.7% is a pretty good pre-2025 NATO defense budget number, but we're gonna need at least 2.5% if we're going to sustain this sh*t.
I love this for so many reasons! I was at a GI appointment with my daughter when I started reading this 😂 turns out she needs to do a colon cleanse because she has some back up
Also, I’m super into beer and breweries, so love the analogy!!
While I have 3 boys, it’s been my mom and my daughter who I hear most from about poop!! 🤣🤣🤣
That's awesome! Breweries are really cool, too: you can often just go right in and see how everything works, and get a real sense of the byproducts going on inside our own bodies, and how that all can work. Plus, I mean, beer. I don't drink these days, but I admire the craft.
Yeah my oldest and I got a tour with an explanation of each step of the process on New Year’s Eve this year!
That's rad. I remember going to see bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, and recall that being a very interesting experience in my early 20s. Of course, cultivating a taste for bourbon made everything way more interesting to me, but the science alone was very cool to see up close.
I like to think of it as a symbiotic relationship that began early in our evolution. Regardless, it is an opportunity for me to express gratitude for the marvels of biology. Good post!
Hey, thanks!
My travel tummy trick is a pepto a day and it turns your poop ... black?
Whoa! Is that true?
Black as night.
Okay! So, it forms bismuth sulfide - that's the black substance. The bismuth bonds with sulfide in your system.
Beets make your doodles turn red, right?
Did I ever tell you I worked at a poop factory?
If you have, I don't remember doodly!
Dookie. That's how we say it in the bizness
"hemoglobin inside them breaks down into a yellowish substance called bilirubin."
This reminds me of a great moment in Silence of the Lambs, the book, which is summed up nicely here:
In the film, Lecter gives the Senator Bill's name as "Louis Friend," which Clarice figures out is an anagram for Iron Sulfide, or Fool's Gold. In the book, the name he gives is Billy Rubin. It's revealed later in the book that "bilirubin" is a pigment produced in the bile ducts, and gives shit its colour. It's also the colour of Chilton's hair. Hand it to Lecter to go to the most roundabout possible way of calling Chilton a shithead.
Ha! They did a great job with the movie, but there's just so much nuance in a Thomas Harris book that can't be captured. I can't remember which of these I read during the 90s, but I was impressed with the depth.
Red Dragon gave me chills. And I cannot wait to read it again.
Thanks, Andrew! I've been waiting for you to foment about fermentation! I will say the different possible colors (that, like most things in the human body) exist to alert us to anomalies. I just never knew the rainbow possible, and what each hue might mean should it appear amidst our Charmin!
I was happy to be reacquainted again with Bili Rubin, who used to sit behind me in 4th period math! She always wanted to change religions, but who knew she'd be converted...into a brown substance called stercobilin, yet! Well, good for her!
Thanks again, Andrew!
Perfect comment once again, Brad.
I do feel like there's more to be said about what specific chemicals make the colors we see, and why... but I don't really need to dive that deep every time! Still, I like to leave some space in case other things also need to come out.
I recommend "Gut" by Julia Enders.
Nice! What did you like about the book?