Slog - Comments on Dear Science Letter of the Day

Comment by wench

wench — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:57:22 -0800

Funny - I get that in bookstores. Not quite to that extent, though. Some shops, too. I'll be interested to see the answer. =)

Comment by Bont

Bont — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:02:33 -0800

I always have to take a piss when browsing in music stores. I might've already relieved myself a short time before, but something about the gentle clacking of CDs being thumbed through makes my body search within itself for more urine to expel.

Never in bookstores.

Comment by Julie

Julie — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:04:07 -0800

Wow, that's weird. I can't say I have the same problem. Coffee is about the only thing that makes me have to go right now.

Comment by Shaniqua

Shaniqua — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:05:00 -0800

I try to avoid droppin' a deuce in a public restroom.

Y'all is crazy.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:06:07 -0800

I get that when I'm on my way to the bathroom. That's about the only time.

Comment by Mahtli69

Mahtli69 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:07:53 -0800

@1,@2 - My wife has to drop the deuce every time she enters a bookstore or record store.

As I try to avoid public toilets for this purpose, I have trained my mind to crap my pants the second I walk into the house.

Comment by fribster

fribster — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:10:43 -0800

Bookstores for me. For as long as I can remember.

Comment by shitbrain

shitbrain — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:15:15 -0800

Wow, I used to always have to take a massive shite whenever I went to the library. It was uncanny!

It's been many years, though, since that was the case.

Comment by greendyke

greendyke — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:20:34 -0800

Hmmm... Perhaps everyone's habit of reading on the toilet might be connected to having to poo in bookstores/libraries? Perhaps to your bodies book rich environment=poopy-time!

Comment by TCBATL

TCBATL — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:22:46 -0800

Well I'll be damned! When I clicked on the comments, I expected people to say they got the same feeling in a variety of locations, but (like me) so far it seems to be unanimously bookstores. What gives?!

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:26:45 -0800

I think it must be the music they play.

Comment by Ariel

Ariel — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:30:57 -0800

Yes, bookstores, libraries. This happens with little kids, too. Lots of dropped diapers at the library. Something about the quiet and relative privacy?

Comment by Curtains

Curtains — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:34:06 -0800

I wish I could get my dog to have that response.

Comment by PRECIOUS PEA

PRECIOUS PEA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:37:43 -0800

The last time I peed my pants in public was in the Belmont Public Library; I was 6 years old and mesmerized while watching my jonquil bodily fluid flow out over the top of my Oxfords and onto the wooden floor. Not to mention the book I was looking for: "The Sea Around Us".

Comment by different

different — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:38:04 -0800

within the first 10 minutes of sitting down to play a video game, I always need to shit. I'm not one of those 9-5 online players... I'm talking Ms. Pac Man, or Joust or Mario Bros, ye feel?

Comment by Aislinn

Aislinn — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:40:54 -0800

My guess is that greendyke hit the nail on the head, and it has something to do with on-the-pot reading associations.

I'm with #6 - even if I'm getting home at different times, I'm almost always doing the pee-pee dance as I turn the key.

Comment by keshmeshi

keshmeshi — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:49:56 -0800

I never read on the can and yet I experience the same thing in libraries, but not bookstores. Maybe there's something about the smell of old books vs. new that gets to me.

Comment by smells like roses

smells like roses — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:54:55 -0800

I have this same problem. Libraries and bookstores, yes, but also big box stores, like Home Depot or Bed Bath and Beyond. Every damn time! I don't go shopping much, thank goodness. I have friends who have the same experience. Glad to know there are others out there.

Also, I don't read on the toilet, so the book association doesn't exist for me. My trips to the can are quick n easy. No time for reading.

Comment by irl500girl

irl500girl — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:54:56 -0800

it's relaxation and no tension, bookstores must relax lots of folks. I only pooh at home, public toilets make me tense and my bung hole close up tight

Comment by vooodooo84

vooodooo84 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:58:22 -0800

Psychosomatic Diarrhea you people are all crazy

Comment by Emily

Emily — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:03:25 -0800

Being a Ghost Hunters fan, I immediately think of electromagnetic fields. If they're really strong, you can get lots of physical effects. Maybe those kinds of stores have unprotected electrical boxes? Or the huge array of florescent lighting?

Comment by It's Mark Mitchell

It's Mark Mitchell — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:15:53 -0800

It was always the library for me.

Miss Scarlet.

Lead pipe.

Comment by shittysibling

shittysibling — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:31:31 -0800

for years my sister has been saying that every time she shops at value village she gets diarrhea.

Comment by max solomon

max solomon — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:33:10 -0800

my sister has to poo every time we talk on the phone.

its RELAXING.

Comment by exiled in LA

exiled in LA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:39:30 -0800

yup...libraries and bookstores (big box stores to a lesser extent) ever since i can remember, and to this very day (i'm 33), almost without fail. i'm also an avid reader in the john, so maybe we have a significant correlation developing....what's up Science??

Comment by Andy

Andy — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:59:17 -0800

I am an avid on-the-toilet reader, but bookstores and libraries do nothing for my bowels. I can't think of any particular location that makes me want to go to the bathroom as soon as I enter it.

Comment by Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:16:14 -0800

Libraries. It's been happening since I can remember, within five minutes of walking in (but usually it's almost instant).

Comment by Reverse Polarity

Reverse Polarity — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:31:28 -0800

Browsing bookstores and libraries is one of my favorite pastimes, and has been for decades. I have never had a sudden or unusual urge to take a crap in either place. Youz all be crazy.

Comment by wbrproductions

wbrproductions — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:03:13 -0800

Jeep Liberty heated seats. Insta-crap.

Comment by holy crap! this has bugged me for years

holy crap! this has bugged me for years — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:57:19 -0800

I stopped going to the library I think because I was tired of that "omg, my ...i need...bathro... (wtf?)"

I wonder if librarians notice.. all the patrons walking through the doors, and then looking very worried for a second, and scampering off to the bathroom.

Comment by Christopher Frizzelle's Enormous Penis

Christopher Frizzelle's Enormous Penis — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:39:31 -0800

One thing that makes me have to poo is...an enormous penis!

Comment by M

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:42:36 -0800

As a librarian, let me say "stop pooping in our bathrooms!!!" You're disgusting. Keep that shit at your own damn house.

Comment by RainMan

RainMan — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:48:20 -0800

And I thought I was the only one who had the bookstore problem. It has gotten to the point where I make sure to poop at home before I go to one.

Comment by marigold

marigold — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:03:30 -0800

It's always second-hand stores for me.

Comment by Nick

Nick — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:14:18 -0800

Concrete. My grandfather swore by it; be it Home Depot or his own basement workshop. He claimed he could be doing anything at anytime elsewhere, but if his "morning constitution" was less than, shall we say, fulfilling, standing around on concrete would cause any flow issues to cease in their entirety.

Not very scientific, I know (especially since I can't really say I've experienced the same), but the guy was just about the most practical-smart person I've ever known.

He also always said that he would miss watching the internet as it evolved. Having your 68 year-old grandfather say that was pretty goddamn cool, as even our elders recognize that we're standing on the precipice of something really cool.

Off to have a good drink, in his memory.

Comment by Sabine

Sabine — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:20:41 -0800

My parents coined the term "library syndrome."

Comment by superyeadon

superyeadon — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:15:02 -0800

@36 You gotta add that to wiki. Now.

Comment by lawrence clark

lawrence clark — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:43:03 -0800

For some reason I have to crap almost every time I shop at one particular grocery store. I can shop at any other of this particular grocer's stores with no problem, but not this one. (Trouble is, this store has a better selection, so I prefer it). I have wondered about this anomaly for years now. Thank you for broaching this subject.

Doesn't happen at libraries or bookstores though.Can't wait for Science's response.

Comment by Don

Don — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:26:43 -0800

At the reference desk, they can find you information about Pavlov's experiments with dogs. That is, if you can get there in time.

Comment by Mike

Mike — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:54:41 -0800

Me? Paramount Theatre.

Comment by Someone Light A Match

Someone Light A Match — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:16:57 -0800

Book stores and Thrift Stores make me poo.
Craft stores make me have to pee.