Uhm...POOP.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 7:44 am

K, let me put my snicker-deflecting helmet on.

Alright.

I'd like to know if anyone is in possession of any really solid POOP information.

It just occurred to me - in planning for the playa, I do everything I can to reduce the amount of waste products I create: needless packaging, byproducts of food preparation, etc. But, well, what about POOP?

The fewer times my ass has to be planted on a JOTS, the better. Not just for me, but for my fellow burners, too. I am, frankly, doing them a favor the less I POOP.

(I'm also interested in this question because in real life next year I'm going to be engaging in an ongoing art project to make my real life as zero-impact as possible.)

It seems likely to me that food products must have some sort of inherent POOP factor. Is anyone aware of any scientific data regarding the energy efficiency vs. amount of poop created of different foodstuffs? I don't think I've ever seen a snack bar or bag of chips emblazoned with a "Now - creates 20% less poop!" label, so I'm not too hopeful that anyone has studied this.

But what about personal experience? What foodstuffs does your body appear to make the most use of while creating the least waste? What is the body's most efficient, least pollution creating fuel?

POOP.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 8:59 am

> K, let me put my snicker-deflecting helmet on.
Hi, My name is RobbiDobbs, and I am the Chief Poopervisor of the Pottie Project. You've come to the right place.
BTW: if you'd like to take part in an ongoing discussion about poop on the playa, join [email protected]

First of all, it's simply not healthy to try to "reduce" the amount of poop one produces. Constipation is not a good thing. Eating less could to what you're asking, but your body does need a certain amount of nutrients AND bulk to function properly. I fail to understand why you'd want to undermine a perfectly good digestive system that too eons to evolve.

Now if you only wanted to keep it to yourself until you're off-playa, then a standard anti-diarea medication would do the job. You WILL get constipated as a result. I don't recommend doing this however.

>The fewer times my ass has to be planted on a JOTS, the better.
Why? Your ticket paid for them, they are serviced very well, and the social opportunities abound at the pottie clusters. If this is a fetish of yours, I'll say nothing, but if this obsession of yours is due to fear of cooties, get over it.

Shit is a fact of life, and everyone must do it. So like everything else in the BM Community (pun intended), you should re-think what exactly you're trying to avoid.

>It seems likely to me that food products must have some sort of i
> nherent POOP factor.
Yes, it's called bulk or fiber.

Have you been to BM before? If not, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the porta-potties out there. If you have, then I can only say that a personal-pottie might address your particular fetish. And please, follow the instructions on them, and don't throw the chemical substances that might be included into the regular JotS boxes.

Feel free to PM if you have more "personal" questions. I am shock-proof.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 9:09 am

Well, from what I have been told, the military has actually studied this topic. When your soldiers are out in the field during heavy combat, you really don't want them to get caught with their pants around their ankles, I guess. From what I gather, field rations will keep you from pooping, but they can and do "bind you up". (A former lead worker of mine was in the Air Force, and talked about intentionally eating field rations before a long flight to South Korea, since, apparentally, the Air Forces planes are less than accommadating for that activity. He said that he was able to "undo" the effects of the rations by eating really spicy (& greasy?) Korean food once he arrived.)

Probably a better route would be something like Walford's "120 Year Diet", which is high nutrition, low calorie. I imagine that would also make it low waste.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert and the above is just my best guess.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 9:56 am

Lots and lots of powder drugs and a diet of playa mud should take care of your problem, Skyler.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 11:29 am

Oh put a cork in, already

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 4:20 pm

That may work too, if it's big enough.

Bob A · Post by **Bob A** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 7:07 pm

I don't know about people food, but some cat foods talk about being balanced diets and producing less waste for the litter box.
Want to eat cat food for a week?

Bob A

shaunbarney · Post by **shaunbarney** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 10:10 pm

I ate cliff bars every day for the first 4 days. I didn't shit for like 5 days. I was getting a little scared, but eventually everything worked out. It was kinda cool cus I didn't have to park my ass on that nasty toilet seat. So I don't know if I really reccomend that. But that is my story.

SB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 9:20 am

Thanks, Chief Poopervisor.

Actually, not a fetish thing at all. And you're right - the JOTS are much nicer and better maintained than similar porta-loos, say, at Joshua Tree or any other national park...or at least that's been my experience.

The only time it even approached bad last year was towards the very end of the event...when the city was at it's biggest. And even then, mainly the more central potties seemed affected.

I was just more interested, I guess, in poo from an intellectual standpoint. (Did I just write that?) I guess I'm much more familiar with machines and engineering than I am with the human body. Since I've decided to take on my close-to-zero impact project in real life after the burn is over this year, it's just been on my mind.

When viewed as a machine, a human body is pretty inefficient - there's a lot of stuff that my body requires to run correctly and in an effort to meet the body's demands, it also creates a lot of waste product. I was just feeling out whether or not anyone has had any experience or heard of any projects involving creating the most efficient sort of food possible that would not only meet dietary needs but also create the least waste.

I'm planning on buying an electric composting toilet (which are around 1,500!) for my new residence. My goal is to live in a property for a year trying to recycle or reuse absolutely all my trash/waste. I'm going to try and create as much of my own electricity as possible, too. The whole poop thing, believe it or not, doesn't even rank in the top 10 most problematic issues with my quest.

Of course, all of that stuff is off-playa stuff. And I have to apologize...I was using the BM forum to try and answer some questions that are, well, BM questions but not (B)urning (M)an questions.

And I guess part of me was thinking that I could maybe "experiment" with low-waste producing nutrition while I was out there.

Thanks for taking everyone's poop so seriously. : )

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 9:41 am

I was just feeling out whether or not anyone has had any experience or heard of any projects involving creating the most efficient sort of food possible that would not only meet dietary needs but also create the least waste.

That's what the military was doing with their rations-- however, it should be noted, that the military wasn't/isn't concerned about the long term health effects. Also, zero waste is not possible, since even a starving person will eventually produce poop. The stomach and digestive system do wind up digesting themselves, and that comes out as poop, as well as other solid waste material produced by the body as part of living.

I have no idea where or why I picked up that last bit of information....

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 8:26 am

BAS wrote: Probably a better route would be something like Walford's "120 Year Diet", which is high nutrition, low calorie. I imagine that would also make it low waste.

I have no information about the waste producing capacities of said diet, but I have a distrust of Walford. His shtick seems to be starve yourselt to live longer--and be miserable for all of 120 years. Also, I think he emphasizes veggies and whole grains--fiber.
If you're really freaked about the potties, maybe you could take along some Lysol and spritz before sitting. Use the single-ply to wipe it down. Of course, that could get you into contact with more germs on your hands, which will spread by touch all over, than just sitting with your butt. And I'm sure that there are ramifications that I'm not aware of that Robbidobbs will be able to appraise us of.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 9:54 am

Who gives a shit¿

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 5:49 pm

sage camper says:

you get "camper butt" the first 3 days of camping as it is...
then on the 4th day, a bloody boot scratches it's way through the hoop.
ahhhhhh.
-b

Angel Ben · Post by **Angel Ben** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 7:45 am

Personall, I like to completely purge myself beforehand, so I'm going in with a clean and empty system. It generally makes things smoother, and if you have a problem, there's plenty of, er, storage space to avoid a painful backup.

Trader Joe's sells a psyllium based pill which I can't recall the name of but comes in a giant jar with a picture of a colon, pretty tough to miss. I had good luck with taking that for the week beforehand, then stopping as soon as I hit the playa. Nice and regular for the week, then you can hold it in for the weekend until you hit the nice cool porcelian in Reno.

Uhm...POOP.

Uhm...POOP.

Oh shit...