BATHROOMOLOGY

We live in a bathroom culture. References to bathroom-related topics can be found in the media, from the shows we watch to the books and magazines we read, and even on the internet. Most of all, we encounter them daily in our interactions with others and, more directly, when we answer the call of nature.

Why are bathroom topics so interesting? Why are they so funny? Why, on this Thanksgiving past, did I find myself recounting an experience involving a bidet and a butt towel to an entire family of near complete strangers?! And why didn't they think twice about telling me their "oops, I crapped my pants" stories?

Why? Because it's something we all understand. Because we all have to answer the call of nature and we all have had, or know someone who has had an embarrassing bowel-related incident. And because we know these things, once the embarrassment is past, we can relax, we can laugh, and we can try to top each other's horror stories.

If anything, my experiences have confirmed what my brother-in-law says: there is no person, no matter how old, educated, prim and proper, that doesn't enjoy a good poop or fart story.

Here I want to explore bowel and bathroom-related topics to better understand the bathroom culture we have created.