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Mystery of Wombat Cube Poo Solved - Award

You are taking a walk in the bush and there it is in front of you - cubed poo. Is there an answer to this puzzle? There is now. Australian biologists have discovered how the wily Australian wombat does it. The answer lies in wombat intestines which are unique.


Dr Allyn Martin, Dr Scott Carver and Dr Ashley Edwards of the University of Tasmania were awarded the lg Nobel Prize for physics for this achievement. The lg awards are given for things that make you laugh, then think. The prize giving was held at Harvard University.

In the first research project to find out how cube is produced, It was noted that wombats have very long intestines about 10 meters long. More water is taken in Wombat intestines than in humans. Rather than the anus determining the shape of poo Wombat intestines make the cube shape.

Wombat intestines stretch uniformly. There are also two groove along the intestines. These grooves create some rigidity allowing the intestine between them on each side to stretch out. You would think that the poo would be shaped like an almond but the cube shape is the result.

Furthermore, the faeces are formed a meter in from a wombat's anus. Their scat is very dry at this point. The anus muscles do not change the cube shape because it is already hard and dry. The reason for square poo is still an open question. Why would nature create an animal to make such weird poop?
◆ BIOLOGY 
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CITATION
M. Eggleton. IG Nobel Ways To Answer Humanities Big Questions National Geographic Published August 26 2019.

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