AI Insight
Physicists have discovered that the coiled shape commonly associated with feces, including the iconic poo emoji design, follows a universal coiling theory that also applies to other materials like earthworm castings and extruded pasta. The typical shape features a broad base tapering to a point at the top, resembling soft-serve ice cream, though some organisms like certain worms produce inverted variations by extruding from below ground. This shape consistency across different biological systems reveals underlying physical principles governing how soft materials coil when extruded.
Why it matters
Understanding the physics of material extrusion and coiling has practical applications in food processing, manufacturing, and 3D printing technologies. The research also provides insights into biological processes and could inform medical diagnostics related to digestive health and gastrointestinal function.
Understand the Science
Ask a child to draw some poo, and the shape will invariably be the same: a coil, broad at the base and pointy at the top, similar to a spiral swirl of soft-serve ice cream. In fact, the often-used poo emoji has this exact shape, as do most actual mounds of feces found in nature. Exceptions occur, though, particularly in the feces of some worms that extrude their excrement “upside down” from the ground. As it turns out, there is remarkable physics behind these differences in poo shapes.
Source: Poo emoji, earthworm castings and pasta all obey the same coiling theory, physicists find