How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
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How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
1–10 of 122 posts
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#2All that work I did for my PhD and I could have been studying this topic instead...
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#3I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by Roman armies so that they don't have to surrender.
Anyway, there's an animal here, I assume marmots, that swallows the berries whole and shits them out as a half-digested diarrhea onto the tops of rocks, logs, anywhere high enough to mark their territory. Probably better than shitting out a charcoal briquette that you hope won't roll over... but they seem to know not to chew and crack the seeds.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#4"exceptional excrement"
"sharp-sided scat"
"To get to the bottom of the mystery"
"...aptly titled journal Soft Matter."
Great to see someone having some fun writing an article.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#5I was so confused by wombat poop the first time I saw it. Wasn't sure what I was looking at so I poked it with a stick.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#6I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by R…
We covered yew extensively in toxicology class in vet school, but I didn't know about any animals that eat the berries. My favorite fact about yew is that the Iowa State Lloyd Veterinary Center is named after a toxicologist, yet has yew planted for decoration all around the building.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#7I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by R…
If they die within 30 minutes, you would never see the scat of those who crack the seeds.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#8The pun in the title is just world class.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#9If someone hasn't submitted this for an Ig Nobel, it would be a calamity.
Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)
#10I'm reminded of Professor Hermione Lee of the University of York English department facing a stuttering student explaining the contextual meaning of the word "quaint" in middle English poetry:
Spit it out man! It means CUNT.