Why Does Poo Smell?

[Amphictyonis]

I recently read an article that said the reason our poo smells is because there's bacteria in our intestines and stomach which aid in digestion and they let out gas/excrement in the process. I know this sounds silly but I seriously want to know if this is true and if so what makes the bacteria's excrement smell?

http://www.poopreport.com/Doctor/Knowledgebase/whydoespoopsmell.html

[Steve_j]

Such an interesting question! :lol:

From wikipedia

The distinctive odor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odor) of feces is due to bacterial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial) action. Gut flora (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora) produce compounds such as indole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indole), skatole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skatole), and thiols (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiol) (sulfur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur)-containing compounds), as well as the inorganic gas hydrogen sulfide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide). These are the same compounds that are responsible for the odor of flatulence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence). Consumption of foods with spices may result in the spices being undigested and adding to the odor of feces. The perceived bad odor of feces has been hypothesized to be a deterrent for humans, as consumption or touching it may result in sickness or infection.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feces#cite_note-3) Of course, human perception of the odor is a subjective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjectivity) matter; an animal that eats feces may be attracted to its odor.

[Amphictyonis]

Such an interesting question! :lol:

From wikipedia

My dog eats his poo and I hate it. I have a no licking my face policy :) I'm going to read more about this bacteria and why the bacteria smells. I wonder what foods you can eat to minimize the smell? This is a gross thread I know.

[Ele'ill]

This is one of those nice subtle threads. :lol:

And I think we all know what I mean.

[Steve_j]

I wonder what foods you can eat to minimize the smell?

Come on, dont do that, youll miss out on that smug chuckle when a disliked co worker walks into the cubical after a hard mornings work ;)


This is a gross thread I know.

Ive seen worse :(

[¿Que?]

When I read the title, I thought this was a joke. But it is worth noting that one's own flatulence and feces are not as offensive as that of someone else. I would guess that through social conditioning, which has relegated a particular ideological function to bodily excretions, we have become socialized into thinking the smell is disgusting.

For more on the ideology of feces, check this out. Not exactly related, but you might find it interesting, if you haven't already seen it:
FJ73hLQ64Ng

[Os Cangaceiros]

I would guess that through social conditioning, which has relegated a particular ideological function to bodily excretions, we have become socialized into thinking the smell is disgusting.

Now you've gone too far.

[Aloysius]

I think consistency and color of feces is far more important than smell.
http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Your-Poo-Telling-You/dp/0811857824

[Diello]

I realize this isn't exactly what you're asking, but, of course, genes that would cause us to feel that the smell of poo was strikingly unpleasant would propagate due to the health advantages-- and thus the advantages in reproductive fitness-- to an aversion from contact with poo.

[¿Que?]

Now you've gone too far.
Maybe. I have a response, but I'd be harping on an old obsessive thing that I don't want to get into and it's more related to urine than feces. But I think the social mechanism is the same.

[The Vegan Marxist]

How come, when we smell poo, we smell an unsatisfactory smell? :D

[Ele'ill]

Maybe. I have a response, but I'd be harping on an old obsessive thing that I don't want to get into and it's more related to urine than feces. But I think the social mechanism is the same.

Yes, why not also have a thread about 'watersports' in the Science and Environment section. The social mechanisms that tell us 'don't play in pee' break down and succumb to our primal urge to investigate each other's pee but then takes a dark twist

[Os Cangaceiros]

How come, when we smell poo, we smell an unsatisfactory smell? :D

One word: capitalism.

[¿Que?]

Yes, why not also have a thread about 'watersports' in the Science and Environment section. The social mechanisms that tell us 'don't play in pee' break down and succumb to our primal urge to investigate each other's pee but then takes a dark twist
True, and that dark twist may have had deep impact on what we relegate to where and whatnot. I'm saying, though, it's not all biology. I hear in India you can just pee on the sidewalk pretty much anywhere you please. So obviously Western society's aversion to certain types of bodily excretions are not shared throughout the world.

[Magón]

Is it weird that the first thing I thought when reading the OP, was that Amphictyonis possibly had a personal problem, and wanted her shit smelling less like... uh... shit?

:confused:

[Os Cangaceiros]

Yes, why not also have a thread about 'watersports' in the Science and Environment section. The social mechanisms that tell us 'don't play in pee' break down and succumb to our primal urge to investigate each other's pee but then takes a dark twist

Perhaps people don't play in pee because playing in pee gives you a rash, like when you were a baby and wet yourself. It IS biology!

[gorillafuck]

I would guess that through social conditioning, which has relegated a particular ideological function to bodily excretions, we have become socialized into thinking the smell is disgusting.
Yeah we've also been socialized to not like to eat poop.

[¿Que?]

Yeah we've also been socialized to not like to eat poop.
Well, it's funny, because so many people here speak of biology and behavior as if they were the same thing, and when biology does not match behavior (as in primates eating poo) then there must be a biological explanation for not acting in accordance with biology?

[Quail]

Some animals can get nutrition from their poo that they didn't digest the first time around. My guinea pigs used to eat theirs which was kind of disgusting. Dogs also seem to quite like eating horse poo, so I'm guessing they get some kind of nutritional value from that. I'm not sure that an aversion to the smell of excrement is a behaviour we get from our socialisation, or whether it's instinctive because our ancestors who weren't disgusted by excrement were more likely to get ill and die.

[NewSocialist]

Because it's reactionary.

[Amphictyonis]

Well, it's funny, because so many people here speak of biology and behavior as if they were the same thing, and when biology does not match behavior (as in primates eating poo) then there must be a biological explanation for not acting in accordance with biology?

Do you think if two humans were somehow born on an island they would like the smell and taste of poo? Is the bad smell in our minds? Too many questions, not enough answers ;)

[Amphictyonis]

Yes, why not also have a thread about 'watersports' in the Science and Environment section. The social mechanisms that tell us 'don't play in pee' break down and succumb to our primal urge to investigate each other's pee but then takes a dark twist

In my defense I am seriously interested in why our poo smells. I'd say it's a scientific discussion wouldn't you? Albeit open to a certain amount of silliness. I mean, there's bacteria involved. That falls under the umbrella of science :)

[Magón]

In my defense I am seriously interested in why our poo smells. I'd say it's a scientific discussion wouldn't you? Albeit open to a certain amount of silliness. I mean, there's bacteria involved. That falls under the umbrella of science :)

Because like anything else that's waste, it gives an odor that means various things to different animals. Some for protection, territory, warnings, those sort of things.

I bet if you found bear shit in the woods, you wouldn't find a deer or any other animal a bear's likely to chow on, for a couple miles around. Why? When deers and stuff smell bear shit, they know to stay clear of a certain area.

[¿Que?]

Do you think if two humans were somehow born on an island they would like the smell and taste of poo? Is the bad smell in our minds? Too many questions, not enough answers ;)
Well, there are answers to these questions. Suppose there's a gene that preconditions someone to find theirs or someone else's poo appealing, it is possible to suppress this inclination through social conditioning. So it would entirely depend on who those two (not sure why you chose that number) were. In said island, the suppression conditioning would not be operative.

I think it goes without saying, too, that there are even in this society people who eat poo, although they mostly do it for money, not for pleasure. Ever heard of scat porn?

[Dóchas]

Im pretty sure it has something to do with the ammonia as a product of digestion but im not a 100% sure.


Ammonia has one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms tightly bonded. A tiny amount of ammonia forms when organic matter decomposes,


i got this off some random website so im not sure if its reliable or not.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

Do you think if two humans were somehow born on an island they would like the smell and taste of poo? Is the bad smell in our minds? Too many questions, not enough answers ;)
Of all the great questions we could ask with regards to that scenario; how would they communicate? What kind of 'human' behaviours would they learn without being socialized in a mainstream sense? What difference in gender roles would we see?

And you want to know whether they would like the smell, or taste, of their own poop :). If this research project ever goes ahead, you can be head of the poop department, with your own clipboard and the like.

[Luisrah]

Well, poo does have a strong smell, but the fact that we think the smell is bad depends on two things.

One is a social construction. For example, in some places in Arabia (if I'm not mistaken) it is accepted and actually polite to burp after eating, since to them, this means you liked the food. If you don't burp, people sometimes get offended.

But it is very probable that this social construction of finding poo smelly or even disgusting has it's origins in biology. Since it is probably unhealthy to eat your own poo due to it's components or the fact that it doesn't bring you any benefits (since it is things that you didn't digest), a human that finds poo disgusting will stay away from it and not eat it, and since that is good to your health, they have an evolutionary advantage over others that don't find it disgusting.

[∞]

No that is partially the reason. Good post.

[∞]

Im pretty sure it has something to do with the ammonia as a product of digestion but im not a 100% sure.



i got this off some random website so im not sure if its reliable or not.

No that is partially the reason. Good post.

[Volcanicity]

Does anyone know how I can get my will to live back after reading a thread about why my shit stinks?