The wombat’s cubic poop is one of nature’s weirdest superpowers

[salvorhardin]

Wombat poo contains only "the finest grass particles."

My next business shall be selling a natural remedy made of cubic wombat scat. I shall call it John Cuscat. A CGI Scatman Crothers will be my spokesman.

Every evening, your average wombat deposits 80 to 100 dry, cube-like droppings around its territory. This nocturnal marsupial unloads four to eight of these 2-centimeter wide feces every time it pauses to excrete.

This panoply of square droppings isn't just evolution evincing a sense of potty humor. No, the wombats' many odiferous turds help the animal mark its territory and recognize new, potential mates. So yes, wombat's mating process is not unlike some of the most frightening pornography on the internet.

...

And here's a lovely video courtesy of Robyn Lawrence, who created a model of a wombat's digestive tract and colon. In her demonstration, she squeezes jelly wombat turds out of the artificial organs in an attempt to explain how the marsupial's anatomy produces this square scat. I'm guessing that fake wombat colon is a real smash at dinner parties.

Link: http://io9.com/5872472/the-wombats-cubic-poop-is-one-of-natures-weirdest-superpowers

[immoderate]

1. This video deserves to be seen.

Links will be sent.


--imm

[asjr]

2. That's some asshole!

[salvorhardin]

3. +1!

[Warpy]

4. That square, dry shit

certainly explains their nasty dispositions.

[Historic NY]

5. Bet it makes good fertlizer.....

[MADem]

6. What an incredible load of shit!

Really--square, dry and dense! No wonder they seem so irritable--we'd be, too, if we were crapping out square pegs from round holes!

In rural parts of Wales, some of the tourist shops sold varnished sheep shit sculptures. I would not have believed it had I not seen it...!

[Sanity Claws]

8. LOL

This is the first time I've sat through a poopy video.
Congrats to the film maker for creating an entertaining video on a dry topic. (Pun intended)

[Ian David]

9. Forget the Large Hadron Collider. We need to build a giant wombat colon. n/t

[Javaman]

10. Meh, I know some people who are so tight assed they shoot out diamonds. nt

[Javaman]

11. In other news Lego announces a new color for their blocks. nt

[Maynar]

12. Way more

than I ever wanted to know about wombat poo. But hey, the thirst for knowledge knows no bounds!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

13. It's the Cubist Movement!!!!!! Nature's little avant-guarde artists!!

Sounds like nature's animal members of the Cubist Movement to me: Vombatus ursinus Picassonus

ANALytic Cubism, specifically

Picasso's 1909 bronze Head of a Woman




Pablo assembling his artist's materials





(Loved the movie, too! Definitely an effort of love I'll be looking for it at Sundance 2 thumbsup )