If my rectum is, as the books say, about six inches long, how can I do pieces of poop so much longer than six inches? I laid out a 15" log yesterday (measured with toilet paper, 4" on a side). Beyond that, I do them a foot or so with some frequency. In addition, after the long piece, I usually have some shorter pieces as well, so that the total is 24"-36". How, anatomically, is this possible?

Dear Johnboy,

Your question reminded me of 5th grade math: How many addition signs should be put between digits of the number 987654321 and where should we put them to get a total of 99?

Back to your question. If your rectum is only six inches long, how can you poop out up to 36" of turd?

Well Einstein, food begins to turn into poop after it has left the stomach and entered the small intestine, which is approximately 25 feet long. After that it goes on to the large intestine which is another 5 feet or so in length. Then there is the approximately 6 inches of rectum beyond that. You do the math.

The rectum is just the name for the straight part of the colon that is controlled, meaning that you have some say in when you let the contents out. The entire colon is a holding area for poop, which means that there is plenty of room in there to contain quite a lot of shit.

Good night Johnboy.

Thanks for asking Motherload!

Motherload is a Certified Nurse Assistant as well as an IBS sufferer, which means she knows a lot about poop. Got a question for her? Ask it here. [1]