Poo Identification

It's been some time since we had a scatalogical post - which is odd considering how often it comes up at lunch. Last month, Adventures in Ethics and Science had a "name that poo" challenge, calling on readers to identify the feces of several circus animals. Check it out and tell us how you did. Use this flowchart if you must. Answers are here. No cheating!

Number 1 or Number 2?

We've all heard of the Richter scale, used to measure earthquake intensity. Fewer may be familiar with the Beaufort Scale of wind force. In 1982, the 14th edition of the Merck Manual introduced a scale to measure a different kind of wind: flatulence. The Merck Flatulence Scale describes 4 familiar categories of fart, including the famous "silent but deadly" (aka 'slider' or crowded elevator type). I couldn't find the scale in my 17th edition of the book, but it's still found on the Merck website. If that wasn't scatalogical enough, there's also the Bristol Stool Scale, used to categorize the more solid (but not always!) releases from your backside. Now next time you go for a number 2 you'll know if it's a true 2.