Reseachers with a sense of (toilet) humour really do exist, and here’s the proof!
Reseachers with a sense of (toilet) humour really do exist, and here’s the proof! As it’s not April 1, we are going to take this report on face (or should that be “faeces”) value. After all, it has been published in the highly respected Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Working from the premise that doctors are often confronted with parents whose child has swallowed a foreign object, such as coin or piece of Lego, and asked how long said object might take to reappear, a small band of intrepid paediatricians (six, to be exact) decided to take it upon themselves to come up with an evidence-based answer.
So they each swallowed a yellow Lego head and waited for nature to take its course.
The results were quantified using a Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) score and a Found and Retrieved Time (FART), and, yes, we wish we had thought of that. The FART score average was 1.71 days, although one volunteer was said to be still seaching after two weeks.
While we all appreciate the dedication to science, surely it’s time to let that one go …
