I'd have to disagree with you there, Stew (dig your name, BTW.) I think certain crap smells are much more tolerable, or interesting, or whatever, than others, and it doesn't matter who they come out of, to my way of thinking. I also think the reverse is true: you can be sick with intestinal flu or have diarrhea and chase yourself out of the bathroom. Nothing is gonna make that bad boy smell good!

So I guess my take here is that certain foods can produce very rich and heady odors in healthy people, while others (or being ill) can create a real assault on the olfactory nerves.

I've been capable of both at times and have been in bathrooms near other guys while they have been capable of both. So, Stew, we would part company at your last comment: namely that....'everyone else('s shit)...just smell(s) like bad shit...'

I will agree with you on one point: it's certainly possible that the same people can eat the same food and produce different craps as a result. This has to be due to differing stomach, bile and bacterial conditions. But as a generalization, I can't agree that everyone else's shit but my own smells bad. Just my two cents.

P.S. I'm also willing to betcha that there are some people out there who don't like to smell their own shit. Not sure if they would be classified as shameful or not, but let's just say that if someone is not comfortable viewing or smelling their own shit, they may have some issues in general regarding the process and the substance.

I have a theory.

Poop is the vector of choice for many kinds of life. Fruit seeds pass undigested through an animal's stomach and take root wherever they are pooped out; but so do viruses and bacteria. Poop is very good at spreading disease: cholera, dysentery, and now SARS.

The link between poop and disease wasn't really understood until the late 1800s; but I feel that for many creatures it's instinctively understood. I think that other people's poop is repulsive to us because we instinctively know it's full of disease potential.

Our own, on the other hand, can't hurt us. There's no disease in your own poop that you don't already have. So the body has no instinctual reason to be repulsed by your own poop; therefore you are free to enjoy the smell as interesting olfactory stimulus.

So I think the answer is that evolution has instinctualised fecal revulsion as a means of keeping us away from other people's disease-causing poop.

Hey Big Wiper, you completely dismissed Stew's point. That's uncool. He asked a legitimate question; the answer "no, that doesn't happen" is not an answer.

No, I did not say "it doesn't happen." I said that speaking for myself, I am not automatically repulsed by other people's odors, as he indicated he always was. I said that I thought it was possible to be repulsed by one's own as well as other's odors. His take was that he could deal with his own odors and not those of others. I answered that it didn't come down as an either-or for me but often a combination. I didn't miss his point, but you clearly missed mine.

Dave - Unfortunately, i have no real comment on this issue; I like your answer though: it's elegant, it's logical, and most importantly, it's succinct. I'm on the side of the issue with Big Wiper tho; I've made grogons so potent even *I* didn't wanna linger.

I'll think about it and do some research...

Well, Dave J., Dave poses an interesting theory, and I have been thinking about it all day. Here's a point for all of us to consider: I read Stew's original premise as a comment only on odors, not the substance, itself. Dave's theory seems to cover more than just odor, though--my take is that his theory involves our perceptions of the entire substance. He can step in and correct me if I've misunderstood. He states: "I think that other people's poop is repulsive to us because we instinctively know it's full of disease potential."

That statement makes a lot of sense if you are talking about handling or doing something as radical as tasting someone else's poop. But Stew seemed to be talking about the smell alone, not those other considerations.

And that's where I think you can make a legitimate case for being repulsed by the smell of your own poop if it is nasty enough. Under healthy circumstances, I think Stew is right. We don't mind or even find interesting the various odors that may waft their way up from the bowl beneath us. But I doubt it's debatable that diarrhea and intestinal flu can offend even the most stalwart of personal-poop admirers. By the same token, I can attest to the fact that I have not found the poop odors of certain relatives or friends offensive under healthy circumstances. (Please remember my rather relaxed, shameless pooping standards. I have frequently pooped in front of others and had them do the same in front of me.)

So I guess the bottom line for me in this debate is that I can agree with Dave on the evolutionary/repulsion aspects, agree with Stew that most people do maintain separate standards for their own versus other people's poop and still maintain my position that I go by the odor/condition of other people's and my own poop rather than blanketly finding one or the other offensive or interesting.

I'd enjoy some further give and take on this exchange. What about it, Stew, Dave J, Dave, Ty?

Say what you want but he toilet and toilet paper is the ones to suffer the most. They don't have a choice in who will use them. They have to sit there and swallow or lick, whatever the case may be. A public toilet has to be prepared for anyone who needs to use it, (the young, teenagers, middle age guys)regardless of how bad they will stink it up. Guys who use it can walk away when they are done and completely ignore the toilet. Even if it doesn't flush properly, they can still just walk away from it with no guilty feelings.

So do you still think you have it rough just walking in to use a toilet that just went through hell?

yeah, i don't really consider myself shameful, but i don't like the smell of my own crap. i agree that i'd rather smell my own than someone else's, but i don't really actively enjoy it or anything.

a friend, what is up with your weird ass toilet empathy? Inanimate objects don't have feelings no matter how hard you try to project human emotions upon them. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go violate my toilet in your honor and I won't feel the least bit guilty about it.

Yo, Dodger! a friend must have posted this routine under practically every article that Dave's put up on the front page. I even suggested to him that he consider a career at a comedy club doing 'poor toilet' routines. Wouldn't an underground poop comedy club be a kick? But I think one of the requirements should be that you conduct your routine on the pot. So that eliminates the shameful shitters right off the bat. Hope you showed your toilet who's boss just now, BTW! Later!

I think that "A Friend's" routine is kind of hilarious. At first, it seems kind of dumb, but with time it grows on you. Hey BW and AD you've gotta relax more and allow some free speech here! I agree with Stew that one gets used to the stink of one's own shit and it can even be enjoyable after a while because you know that you've dropped a big load. I don't EVER enjoy the smell of anyone else's shit, however. Hey BW do you actually get off on others' shit smells because that's how it seems to me. As usual, Dave's theory sounds so logical. It will be hard to prove but there ain't any better explanation from an evolutionary point of view.

Bush eats ass

Ok. I agree Bush sucks there buddy but maybe you should post this kind of rhetoric on a politically inclined site - hell maybe even political poop - but this has nothing to do with anything here. But again I'll agree with you regarding your feelings towards Bush. Peace and Love.

And by the way I know what I wrote had nothing to do with this either, so I'll have to say I think this has the same effect as B/O. Most of us don't mind the scent of our own, but we hate the smell of someone else's soccer jersey. I think it's the familiar feeling. The fact that we know what we ate, we know how much we sweat, what foods make each of our stenches worse or more/ less pungent. However, we DON'T know what someone else ate/drank or how much of it, how their bodies react to it, in the case of public rest rooms who did it for that matter. I absolutely hate curry foods, so you can well imagine I don't frequent East Indian restaurant restrooms (or East Indian restaurants for that matter).

Familiarity. That's what it all boils down to.

I am used to my own poop odor--up to a point. I still use a match to de-stink the bathroom, each and every time, but before I do, I note the odor bouquet before I strike the match, just as I always check and see what the log looks like--part of monitoring how my physical self is doing. My body has been a good and faithful friend and my gut feelings have never led me astray, so I return the favor by paying attention to how well my body functions. That includes noting both my poop odor and what it looks like.

However, there are some days when the odor of my own poop gags me. Fortunately this is rare. If it became a daily occurance, I would suspect a health problem.

Indian (Ayurvedic) and Chinese traditional medicine both place great premium on healthy digestion, bowel health, and the kind of poop you produce.

Practitioners of both systems also recognize that there is such a thing as 'healthy' fecal odor. If your poop smells hideous on a routine basis, this is considered evidence that you have a problem digesting and assimilating your food. This is something that needs to be fixed, so that you can be restored to optimal health.

Poop is supposed to smell like poop. Under normal circumstances the smell of your own poop should seem familiar. It should not knock you dead or make you contemplate suicide.

I think our turds are much like our children. Familiarity breeds contempt, sort of. Parents sometimes will overlook the peccadillos of their own children, while an outside parent may be repulsed. Same with turds: we are accustomed to our odor (for the most part) and that means others' stink is more outstanding.

Poop Lover--I think you misread my comments on a friend and his routine. On another thread like this I encouraged him to work up a comedy routine and assured him that I would come to see him and bring friends if he did. I always encourage as many posters as possible to participate in these threads.

You asked if I actually 'got off' on the smell of other people's shit. Further up the thread, I explained that it depends on what kind of shit is being produced. If it is from a healthy person who is not having some intestinal problems, then, yes, it doesn't offend me. I explained that I have put myself in that position with relatives and friends quite often. 'Get off' is not the word I would use--since that implies I am getting some kind of thrill out of it. But if I am talking to my brother while he is on the pot, and if he's not sick or having the runs, I'll stay in the bathroom with him, not minding the odor.

That's the best way I can explain it. Like my shameless shitting, it's an attitude and a state of mind more than anything else.

Hey BW, the point is do you not mind the odor of your brother's shit or that of your buddies or do you actually get a thrill out of it? I've read all your stories and enjoyed them but I get the feeling that you do indeed get some kind of thrill out of smelling or seeing other folks take a shit. There is nothing wrong with this kind of harmless fetish but you should be completely honest about it so that your fellow poopreporters know where you're coming from. Keep up those great stories!

Yeah, I like shitting in front of others. Talking with others while I shit or they shit. Been that way since middle school. Carried it over into adult life.

Find it a very sociable experience whether on open or closed stalls. As for the odor thing--no, I don't get a thrill out of the odor of shit. I just don't let it interfere with the sociable aspects of shitting. (Unless, as I said, we are talking some intestinal problems.) Hope that clears things up. Peace and Plop!

I think God made poopy to stink for two good reasons: 1) food going in has nutritional value. Food coming out does not.

2) poop is full of bacteria.

Now, if poop smelled good, people might think to eat it instead of good nutritional food. The problem with that, however, is that:

1) It would have no nutritional value, so your body would suffer, and

2) You might get very sick from the bacteria, and possibly die.

Wasn't it a good idea that God made poopy to stink. It's a great signal saying "get rid of it. It's no good."

Thank you for considering my viewpoint! Puhlunge R.

I am replying to the following quote by Dave: "I think that other people's poop is repulsive to us because we instinctively know it's full of disease potential. Our own, on the other hand, can't hurt us. There's no disease in your own poop that you don't already have."

I certainly will disagree with this statement because it simply is NOT TRUE. In addition, it does not make sense. The bacteria in our colon is meant to be in our colon, however, if we ingest this bacteria, there is a good chance we will get sick. If you were to contaminate your hands with your colonic flora, and then place your fingers in your mouth, it is likely that you would infect yourself with a bacterial strain such as E. Coli, Shigella, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and/or many other bacterial strains from your own colon. Furthermore, if you already do have a disease within the intestine (the pork tapeworm is a good example) you can re-infect yourself, and prolong/worsen the morbidity of the disease. So I do think that we need be aware that our own feces are potentially dangerous, and we pay close attention to good hand washing and hygeine.

best regards........-Dr. Adams

Doc Adams makes some really good points, but I'm not sure that I entirely agree with all of them. If you've already got Salmonella or Shigella in your own colon, does that not mean that you're very likely to have just had symptomatic infections with these bacteria? Then getting a few more into your mouth will not do much additional harm, so it seems. Also, doesn't the acid in the stomach kill off a lot of these bacteria if you swallow them as a result of contaminating your hands? It's totally true about the tapeworm business, however. If you take Hepatitis viruses, however, if they're in the colon you've probably got them elsewhere too like in the liver. I'm not advocating swallowing your own poop, but I think both Dave, our esteemed moderator, and Dr. Adams are each partly right. Your own poop is probably less harmful to you than that of others, but it's still very far from being desirable or risk-free to swallow any of it. So Doc Adams is right - wash your hands really well after you've taken a shit!

Hey Big Wiper, thanks for coming clean about it and letting us know where you're coming from! Your stories suggest that you mainly get off on pooping in front of guys. Do you also enjoy pooping in front of chicks?

I have said many times before that I enjoy the camaraderie of shitting on open or closed stalls with other guys--that was the focal point of my first article--In Defense Of Open Stalls. I've also said before that I enjoy socializing with others in the bathroom and described my family history in this regard, which included my mother. It's not like this has been kept a secret. My public experience of this sort has been in men's rooms because I don't frequent ladies' rooms. But my shamelessness has accommodated both genders in private bathrooms. And now, I think I've been more than forthcoming about the most personal things in my life. Glad you enjoy my stories. More are on the way.

That's cool BW. Do you still shit in front of your mother or was that when you were a little kid? What age were you when she stopped wiping you? Sorry for all the questions dude, but I'm trying hard to get inside your head. I'm real pleased that you've got more family pooping stories on the way!

WTF! How come EVERY front-page story, NO MATTER WHAT THE TOPIC IS, ends up being about the Big Wiper and how his mother, grandmother, sundry relatives and buddies shit in front of each other? Why can't this guy stay on topic? Here we have a great question posed by Stew Brown and the discussion gets diverted from this interesting quesTion to the Big Wiper and his relatives and fetishes. Let's get back on topic!

First of all, hello Dave and thank you for seting up this site. I think it's all a matter of taste, and a bit of a mystery we will never understand. For instance I can stand the smell of my own shit, but I find the anal aroma of my grandmother to be unbearable, and I have a gastric disorder. On another note, Brown Corncob, here is a place to put our political feelings aside and rfrankly discuss well, shit.

Happy Pooping,

Brandon D. Lacy, Shameless Shitter

Sorry Brown corncob, I wasn't talking about you, I read the list wrong.

I will reply to the following quote by Poop Lover: "Doc Adams makes some really good points, but I'm not sure that I entirely agree with all of them. If you've already got Salmonella or Shigella in your own colon, does that not mean that you're very likely to have just had symptomatic infections with these bacteria? Then getting a few more into your mouth will not do much additional harm, so it seems. Also, doesn't the acid in the stomach kill off a lot of these bacteria if you swallow them as a result of contaminating your hands?"

I am glad to see that someone is interested in this interesting topic. With respect to having Salmonella or Shigella, or any other bacteria in the colon, it does not necessarily mean that we have an infectious disease process. As we all know, the colon is home to millions of bacteria, and many of these bacterial species normally should be there. There are several species of Shigella and Salmonella and E. Coli, etc..etc..that are normal inhabitants of our colons and help to keep the balance of the flora in the colon. This is often why antibiotics can create disorder and disease within our colons.

I can think of an example where having the symptomatic infectious disease, for example being infected with Shigella dysenteriae, could potentially lead to a re-infection if the patient were to ingest or be exposed to his own infected feces. If this patient were treated for the infection and was presently free of symptoms, there is a good chance that the patient would still harbor the disease causing bacteria in his/her colon. In the case of Shigella, it would not take much of an exposure for the patient to re-infect themself.

With respect to stomach acid, infectious organisms such as bacteria have evolved and developed several protective structures to ensure that they survive the acidic environment of the stomach. One example is the protective capsule which many bacteria do have. Bacteria have also been found to have ion channels that help to ensure survival in highly acidic environments such as our stomachs. And one last example of a bacteria that does just fine in the acidic stomach is Helicobacte pylori which has been discovered to be the major cause of peptic ulcer disease.

-best regards,

Dr. Adams

Thanks for all the thought provoking responses. I have come to the conclusion from you responses that why we like to smell our poop and not another person's poop will remain one of the great unanswerable quetions of our time... The Big Wiper has stated that he actually enjoys the smell of other people's poop while Dave believes that the turd is there to warn us or potential disease... although I tend to believe as Dave so far there has been no scientific evidence to prove our turd theory. I would like to end with this: It is my desire that every man be able to live harmoniously in the brown brotherhood with every other man and not have to worry about anal alienation based upon the funk of their feces. Hopefully, someday through government funding every human around the world will be able to truly state that their shit doesn't stink. It will be my charge UNTIL MY LAST DUMP has been discharged from my body to find the answer to this question!!! And also the question of why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Stew

JEEEZZZZZ Guys, you get to freakin serious about this SHIT! Shit stinks because it Dooo! God made shit stink so we would re-eat it? I dont think so. If God was thinking that far ahead, wouldn't he just TELL us "Don't Eat Shit"!? In fact, I think it was one of the origianl fifteen commandments. Of course you all knew that Moses actually dropped one tablet...

I love to read about poop smells. I have been pooping my pants on purpose since I was 8 years old, and Im 18 now. I still do it but my mom does'nt wash out my undies anymore. So, I just sit in it now until she asks me to go get changed, and I leave my undies on the bathroom floor full of poop, and she throws them away.

Jason, you are a sad little man.

People are able to withstand their own shit because it's theirs! it came out of YOU! like you can drink or whatever your own spit whereas im sure strangers or whomever doesn't wanna drink your spit! your shit smell might smell good or okay to yOU but to others it sTinkS ass, and vice versa they dun wanna smell your shit either!

I have read that during anal sex tears can occur and infectious organisms can enter the blood stream.

The question is about self-infection.
I am asking can a person be infected with diseases/microganisms whatever from their OWN rectum into these tears and then 1. get sick or 2. prelong an illness or whatever....

Cheers

I don't like the smell of other people's shit because smell is really tiny particles of the object you are smelling. Since I learned this I have been grossed out by other people's stinky shit. Especially my dad's furocimide dumps. Those are just fucking nasty!

all of you are losers. seriously, who the fuck sits there and has this many conversations about SHIT!? seriously people--it's just poo. Its gross and i never thought people would enjoy talking about it..but you have proved me wrong.

I've said it a million times to many a moron before you, sarah. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!?
If it bothers you that much, don't come on a site called "Poop Report". Idiot!

BW, more stories, please! I used to poop in front of my mother when I was a boy. I'd love to hear what you have to say on the subject.

Damn. Someone was as bored as I am tonight.

I'm a student nurse, and I've just started ass wipin...I dont really enjoy it and I really do find it hard not to gag while carrying out my "duties". my hands hurst from washing them so much. the funny thing is I love the smell of my own shite, and go to lengths to savour the aroma

i know what your sayin stew, when i pop a fudge brownie in the toilet most of the time i dont mind the smell..sometimes i enjoy it...but when other people are walkin around with the reminence of an earlier but spew, it is rather unenjoyable for me. now if everybody could just stop shittin and fartin other then me...the world would be a much more pleasent place!

Trully is an interesting subject. My own experience is that i rather enjoy my own b/o or the particulum from my rectum. there is something unexplainably satisfying about the smell. i trully beleive it is phychological (if you want it to freak you out, it will) though. i say this because i can stand, and sometimes after some 'mental' adjustment enjoy, other people's smell, but only if they are a friend. people i do not know well tend to gag me. it may be a time-around-the-smell symptom, though, where the longer you face it the longer you can embrace it. very interesting, n.l.t.

I actually googled to find you guys.

Answer this as well (to complicate things)... On top of other peoples' poop smelling bad, why does it smell great/bearable _while_ pooping, but horrible if you come back ten minutes later?

Hmmmmm???

Hey, Hoo. Nice to have you.

We already have a registered "Hu Flung Dung", though; to avoid confusion, how about "Flung Dung Tu" or something else for you?

Just sayin'.

HFD, welcome aboard. My theory on poop smells is this. 1. I theorise that each person's PH level may have someting do do with the smell of poop. 2. Diet no doubt has a major role in poop smell. 3. The two previous factors inpart equal the health of the person. Health no doubt has a role in poop smell. 4. Lastly, lifestyle might have something to do with it as well. A previous comment said "it is just poop". It is but, there is an old saying "death begins in the colon". If you want optimal health, watch your poop for changes, including odors.
_______
Jammin' lo'flo's since 1977.

Dave's theory is top-notch. Can't stop thinking about it.

I think that womens poop smell is far more nice than mens. I don't know why, but every time I smell a womans, I think it's a rather more pleasant smell than the mens.

Let me tell you something I NEVER enjoy the smell of ANYONES shit including my own. There are times when I have had to leave my house thats how stinky that dump was.
_______
The Thunderous Crapper 63 Enjoying home toilet advantage since 2004!

Hiya Folks
For all those that are in a terrible state regarding the odorous smell that is omitted from their anus and maybe eben genitals, don't dispair help is here. I have been researching this friggin shitty condition for over six years! Yes you stink, ask a young person if you smell and they will tell you straight up! The best thing there is that at least you know you are not bonkers!!
Get over it, accept it you reek just as I do!
Next step, go and see you DR, GP or MD! There will prob dimiss you as having mental health issue, but hey, I have ventured so why should'nt you?
Next whats the issue, does the shit smell worsen when you sweat? I have a overactive thyroid and excessive sweating. Even though I am on medication I still smell like rotten donkey shit! Try Nullo........ www.nullo.com this neutralises internal odors! Accept it the friendly bacteria need some help, you may me also have IBS (if i did not have enough stinky conditions already)- Deal with the fact that you may have a culmination ailments! There is also a natural remedy called DeodoRite- it also elimates internal smells. Try something for you gut......
just do not give up, seriously you are obviously not alone......... do not cover uo the external with perfumes.cleanse your insides! Much love for your endurance..TammyToTo

I finger my ass all the time, and it is great! i have been doing it for 27 years and i am still able to keep it from my wife. If i had worms (Which i currently do) would it be wrong if i made her lick my ass?