Much Ado About Poo
Universal Dislike
Even if you work in a laboratory and study it for noble reasons, I doubt you would like the subject matter, in a personal kind of way.
Eww
Yuck
Stinky
are more words we associate with this waste we all eject from out of our bodies.
Funnily, I recall a time when I thought my nostrils could not possibly be more assaulted. This happened on a visit to an older part of China nearly thirty years ago. Back in the day, the facilities, or rather, lack thereof was pretty legendary. Since many Singaporeans are of Chinese descent and travel for relatives and leisure, it’s common that the opening salvo of any post-trip conversation goes something like this: “Wah, the toilet was just so terrible! No doors!”
I would discover this was true and that even holding my breath was a futile effort, I could smell the arena from fifty metres away. What is astonishing is how the facility actually had a small concrete building where a few ladies were sitting and relaxing. I wanted to ask how they could tolerate such conditions but thought better and hurried off so I could breathe again.
Another time, I was on a four-hour bus ride in West Africa. That’s a long enough time to need a toilet break. The bus was driving out from the city into the bush. I was standing the entire duration…