poopoo

Oopsie-poopsie! This science museum reminds us all of the importance of doing proper research.

On July 16, Twitterer @tosa_p posted a photo he took in the bathroom at the Niigata Science Museum, taken on the first day of the museum’s exhibit on “human waste and Earth’s future”, in Niigata Prefecture. The photo shows a sign posted on the wall of what one would assume is an interesting scientific factoid about excrement, as it details the supposed difference between unchi and unko, which are both Japanese words for “poop”. The sign reads: “According to the Japan Medical Association, unchi is what’s excreted after meat and fish proteins have been absorbed through digestion, and unko is what’s excreted when only vegetables and grains have been digested. Since humans are omnivores, we excrete unchi.”

▼ Unless you’re a vegetarian. Then you poop the not-as-cute-sounding unko.

The tweet caused quite a stir on the internet, with nearly 76,000 retweets at the time this article was written. There were many shocked comments, some saying that in all of their many years on Earth they never knew there was a difference or believed the difference depended on the texture of the excrement.

As it turns out though, the life-changing revelation was never actually confirmed true or not before it was printed and posted in the science museum’s bathroom for the general pooping and peeing public to see. According to Japanese news site NetLab, the museum had gotten the tidbit of false information from the internet, and failed to confirm with the Japan Medical Association as to whether or not it was true. A lesson, perhaps, to not believe everything you read.

On July 18, the Niigata Science Museum displayed on their homepage an apology for posting information it had not checked the validity of.

Still, the exhibit itself seems like good fun and continues until August 28, for anyone who is fascinated by the human body and our bowel movements.

▼ Just a sample of what you can expect at the exhibit —  basically, lots of toilets!

poopoo2Image: Niigata Science Center homepage

You might just want to double-check any facts posted in the bathroom though!

Source: NetLab, Niigata Science Center homepage
Top image ©RocketNews24