Don't eat where you...

shit!
Nina Braun via Dadanoias

Flying Dog Turd Causes Museum Chaos

A giant inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday.
The art work, titled "Complex S(expletive..)", is the size of a house...

Crap on Mars?

martian queen with big boobs by ~pegi

Hat tip to Wagga for this find:
HAVE they found poo on the Red Planet?

Space websites around the world are abuzz with speculation about what NASA's latest Mars probe may have found.

The excitement has been triggered by a report in the journal Aviation Week that the space agency alerted the White House to "major new Phoenix lander discoveries concerning the 'potential for life' ".

Jon Clarke, a geologist with Mars Society Australia, a group dedicated to Martian exploration, said the report had triggered a frenzy of interest. "Chat groups are all speculating about what it is," Dr Clarke said. "We have had emails flying backwards and forwards. Something is certainly in the breeze."

The magazine reports that the discovery was made by a Phoenix experiment package called the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyser, or MECA, which is designed to mix Martian soil with water brought from Earth.

In June NASA revealed the instrument had found Martian soil was not toxic, as had been thought, and could be used to grow crops such as asparagus.

Asked to speculate yesterday on what it may have now found, Dr Clarke said the instrument was designed, among other things, to spot dissolved ammonium and nitrate salts.

"On Earth, if you have a lot of ammonium and nitrate it usually means there is organic activity. We excrete it as waste and other organisms use it."
More here.

Emperor analyzes raccoon dog shit

When not carrying out his official duties as monarch of Japan, Emperor Akihito takes a deep interest in scientific research. A keen ichthyologist, the Emperor has published dozens of scientific papers on members of the goby family, and his work is so well known that the recent discoverers of a new goby species (Exyrias akihito) named their fish after him.

But while most of the Emperor’s past work has focused on gobies, his latest research investigates the feeding habits of wild tanuki — also known as raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) — that inhabit the spacious grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

The research, which was published in the Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science in June, involved the analysis of tanuki dung samples collected from the Imperial Palace grounds between April 2006 and December 2007. In all, 169 samples were collected from 30 “dung accumulation sites” (apparently, tanuki have certain preferred locations they use again and again). The samples were inspected for remnants of undigested materials that revealed the tanuki’s feeding habits and seasonal changes in diet. At his own request, the Emperor performed the dirty work himself.

More at Pink Tentacle

Take the Poop Poll!

poop not shoot by ~iskavenger

Baab's Poop Survey

Ice Cream in a Toilet

As unfathomable as it may be, many Japanese appear to find faeces something that can be fun rather than quickly flushed away, with the likes of silly toys and cell phone straps merely the tip of the nation’s turd-related tat.
However, as far as food is concerned, one arguably wouldn’t expect anyone to purchase any poop-inspired produce, but judging by this proud promotion, there may well be a market.

More at Tokyo Times.

Toilet Capsule Toy

Another big hit with kids: ice-cream coloured poo coming out of little toilets.

Crap Cycle Lanes

Hat tip to Wagga for this find.
I thought Ogg might appreciate it.

The Nativity Crapper

Look closely at a Nativity scene in the Catalan region of Spain, and you’re likely in for a surprise.

Hidden somewhere — away from the manger and the prying eyes of shepherd and magi — there’s probably a little guy in a red cap. He’s squatting and … well, he’s defecating. Taking a little poop. Or perhaps a rather large one.

You’ve found the caganer: the crapper.

A Spanish Tradition
It’s rude, earthy, and distinctly Catalan. The market stalls of Barcelona are crammed with caganer figurines, squatting shamelessly alongside statues of St. Francis and the Holy Family. Parties are held where guests are invited to find the cagoner in the family creche. Not even the Roman Catholic Church dares to suppress the custom on its own grounds.

People have tried. In 2005, Barcelona passed an ordinance banning the caganer in public displays. It was rescinded by the following Christmas.

The origins of the custom are obscure. Some authorities suggest the caganer started showing his bum in the 18th century. It’s quite possible the caganer has been around a century or two longer. Ask five Spaniards what the caganer actually means, and you’ll be given five different answers. Perhaps it is a reminder of humankind’s ultimate lowliness. Or the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane. Maybe Catalans just appreciate a good laugh over the holidays.

Nothing Sacred
There’s certainly a satire element. Starting in the early 20th century, the traditional red-capped caganer started to be replaced by figurines of well-known politicians, entertainers — even clergy. King Juan Carlos is captured doing his royal business. George W. Bush squats with a globe in his hand. Pope Benedict gives ex cathedra a whole new meaning.
More from The Crapping Christmas Statues of Catalonia

Poopie Kewpie

Ten Really Weird, Totally Bizarre Kewpie Doll Cell Phone Charms

Also, a baby was accidentally flushed down a toilet.

In interntational crap news: Indian Selling Doors and Windows Made Of Human Feces