Curious About Pee And Poop

PODCAST 132: CURIOUS ABOUT PEE AND POOP
RELEASE DATE:  APRIL 11TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  BEFORE WE GET INTO THIS EPISODE, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A WARNING THAT THE TOPIC THIS WEEK IS SOMETHING THAT SOME PEOPLE MAY THINK IS GROSS, BUT WE HOPE YOU WILL REALIZE BY THE END OF THE EPISODE THAT IT’S REALLY NOT THAT GROSS.

O:  THAT’S OKAY, DADDY.  WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT GROSS TOPICS BEFORE.

D:  THAT’S TRUE.  WE’VE DONE EPISODES ON GARBAGE, ON THROWING UP, ON FARTS, AND ON HEAD LICE.  OUR GROSS EPISODES ARE SOME OF OUR MOST POPULAR EPISODES EVER.  OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S GET GROSS.  

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HELLO, MY NAME IS CAROLINE AND I AM 7 YEARS OLD.  I WANT TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT POOP AND PEE.  HOW DOES FOOD GET DIGESTED IN YOUR BODY?  ALSO, I HAVE A 3 YEAR OLD BROTHER AND HE WON’T STOP TALKING ABOUT POTTY WORDS.  WHY DO LITTLE KIDS LIKE POTTY WORDS SO MUCH?  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THAT TOO.  THANK YOU!  I LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  

SINCERELY, CAROLINE FROM VIENNA, VIRGINIA”

O:  THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR E-MAIL, CAROLINE.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT POOP AND PEE THIS WEEK FOR YOU.

D:  WE ARE GOING TO LEARN EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT POOP AND PEE, AND MORE.  THE FIRST POOP A NEWBORN BABY MAKES IS CALLED MECONIUM.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT COLOR IS MECONIUM?

D:  IT’S NOT THE TYPICAL COLOR OF POOP.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT COLOR MECONIUM IS?  BEFORE WE ANSWER THAT QUESTION, LET’S LEARN ALL ABOUT POOP AND PEE.  OLIVIA, WHERE SHOULD WE GET STARTED?

O:  WE SHOULD GET STARTED WITH NUMBER ONE, PEE.  

D:  THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE.  PEE OR PEE PEE ARE WORDS USUALLY USED BY KIDS.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE GROWN UP WORD FOR PEE IS?

O:  THE WORD IS URINE.

D:  THAT’S RIGHT, AND URINE IS PART OF SOMETHING CALLED THE URINARY SYSTEM.  BEFORE COMING OUT OF YOUR BODY AS PEE, THE LIQUID TRAVELS THROUGH THE URINARY TRACT.  WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER, YOU ASKED ME WHAT PEE IS.  DO YOU REMEMBER MY ANSWER?

O:  YOU TOLD ME THAT WHATEVER I DRINK EVENTUALLY TURNS INTO PEE.

D:  THAT IS WHAT I TOLD YOU, AND IT’S TRUE, BUT IT’S NOT A COMPLETE EXPLANATION.  THERE IS MORE THAT GOES INTO MAKING PEE THAN JUST WHAT YOU DRANK A FEW HOURS AGO.  

O:  IF MY PEE WAS JUST WHAT I DRANK, THEN MY PEE WOULD BE WHITE AFTER I DRINK MILK.

D:  AND YOUR PEE HAS NEVER BEEN WHITE, SO WHAT EXACTLY IS PEE?

O:  PEE IS MOSTLY MADE OF WATER AND WASTE.

D:  EXACTLY.  IT HAS UREA IN IT.  UREA IS THE WASTE THAT IS MADE WHEN PROTEINS BREAK DOWN.  IT ALSO HAS CREATININE IN IT, WHICH IS THE WASTE THAT COMES FROM MUSCLE BREAK DOWN.  IT ALSO HAS A CHEMICAL CALLED UROCHROME, THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVING IT THE YELLOW PEE PEE COLOR WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH.  GOING PEE PEE, OR URINATING, IS REALLY IMPORTANT.  IT’S WHAT ALLOWS THE BODY TO REMOVE HARMFUL WASTE AND EXTRA WATER THAT ISN’T NEEDED, BUT HOW DOES IT DO THAT?

O:  IT ALL STARTS WITH THE KIDNEYS.  THE HUMAN BODY HAS 2 KIDNEYS, BUT YOU COULD STILL BE HEALTHY WITH JUST ONE WORKING KIDNEY.

D:  THERE IS ONE KIDNEY ON EACH SIDE OF YOUR BODY.  THEY ARE THE SHAPE OF A BEAN AND EACH ONE IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FIST.  

O:  ALL OF THE BLOOD IN THE BODY GOES THROUGH THE KIDNEYS SO THAT THE KIDNEYS CAN REMOVE WASTE FROM THE BLOOD.

D:  AFTER LEAVING THE KIDNEYS, THE PEE ENDS UP IN THE URETERS, WHICH ARE TWO TUBES THAT CONNECT EACH KIDNEY TO THE BLADDER.  

O:  THE BLADDER IS WHERE THE PEE PEE HANGS OUT UNTIL IT’S TIME TO GO POTTY.

D:  AND, WHEN IT’S TIME TO GO POTTY, THE PEE TRAVELS THROUGH THE URETHRA, WHICH IS ANOTHER TUBE THAT CARRIES THE PEE OUT OF YOUR BODY.  

O:  AND, WHEN YOU DRINK MORE, YOU USUALLY END UP PEEING MORE.

D:  THAT’S TRUE, BECAUSE PEE IS ABOUT 95% WATER.  NOT ONLY THAT, BUT USUALLY, IF YOU DRINK LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER, IT WILL DILUTE THE URINE, SO THAT THE COLOR IS A VERY LIGHT YELLOW OR EVEN CLEAR.  ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU AREN’T DRINKING ENOUGH, YOUR PEE WILL PROBABLY BE A DARKER YELLOW.  YOU KNOW YOU ARE DRINKING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF FLUID IF YOUR PEE IS THE COLOR OF APPLE JUICE.       

O:  THE COLOR OF YOUR PEE CAN OFTEN WARN YOU THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG.

D:  WHITE, MILKY PEE CAN BE THE SIGN OF AN INFECTION.  THERE ARE ALSO MEDICATIONS THAT CAN CHANGE THE COLOR OF YOUR PEE.  IF YOUR PEE IS NOT SOME SHADE OF LIGHT YELLOW, YOU SHOULD LET A GROWN UP KNOW.  YOUR BODY MIGHT BE TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING.  

O:  THE AVERAGE GROWN UP MAKES ABOUT 6 CUPS OF PEE PER DAY AND GOES PEE PEE ABOUT 7 TIMES A DAY.

D:  DO YOU THINK THAT’S IMPRESSIVE?  CONSIDER THIS.  AN ELEPHANT MAKES ABOUT 208 CUPS, OR 13 GALLONS OF PEE A DAY.  

O:  THE AVERAGE HUMAN PEE LASTS 7 SECONDS.  

D:  AND THE WORLD RECORD FOR LONGEST PEE IS 508 SECONDS.  THAT’S OVER 8 STRAIGHT MINUTES OF PEEING!  

O:  IT’S TIME FOR THE GROSS ANIMAL PEE PEE FACT OF THE EPISODE.

D:  GET READY FOR THIS:  MALE LOBSTERS HAVE BLADDERS, BUT UNLIKE HUMANS, THEIR BLADDERS ARE IN THEIR HEADS.  WHEN MALE LOBSTERS FIGHT, THEY ACTUALLY SPRAY PEE PEE AT EACH OTHER.  THAT’S PRETTY NASTY.  BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO TOPIC NUMBER 2, HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL REMINDERS.        

O:  BE SURE TO DRINK LOTS OF WATER, ESPECIALLY IF IT’S HOT OUTSIDE AND YOU ARE BEING ACTIVE.  DEHYDRATION COULD BE DANGEROUS.

D:  ALSO, IT’S NOT HEALTHY TO HOLD YOUR PEE IN.  IF YOU HAVE TO PEE, PLEASE FIND A POTTY AND GO.    

O:  THOSE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS FOR URINARY HEALTH.  NOW IT MUST BE TIME TO DISCUSS POOP.

D:  YOU BET IT IS.  POOP BELONGS TO ANOTHER BODY SYSTEM CALLED THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.  AFTER YOU EAT SOMETHING, YOUR BODY WORKS ON IT FOR HOURS, OR SOMETIMES EVEN DAYS, AND THE WHOLE PROCESS IS CALLED DIGESTION.  IT’S SEPARATE FROM THE URINARY SYSTEM WE ALREADY DISCUSSED.      

O:  THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM STARTS IN THE MOUTH, WHERE SALIVA IS MADE.

D:  SALIVA HELPS MOISTEN THE FOOD.  SALIVA IS SO IMPORTANT IN HELPING US DIGEST FOODS.  IMAGINE TRYING TO EAT FOOD WITHOUT THE HELP OF SALIVA.  ALSO, SALIVA HELPS US TASTE FOOD.  WITHOUT SALIVA, WE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO TASTE THE FOOD WE EAT.  

O:  THE TONGUE AND TEETH ALSO HELP MASH THE FOOD AND PUSH IT TO THE BACK OF THE THROAT.

D:  IT THEN TRAVELS DOWN A TUBE CALLED THE ESOPHAGUS.  THE ESOPHAGUS IS ABOUT 10 INCHES LONG AND IT STRETCHES DOWN TO YOUR STOMACH.  THERE IS ANOTHER PIPE IN THE BACK OF THE THROAT CALLED THE TRACHEA, WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE WINDPIPE.  IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT FOOD GOES DOWN THE ESOPHAGUS AND NOT THE TRACHEA.  TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN’T TRAVEL DOWN THE WRONG PIPE, THERE IS A FLAP CALLED THE EPIGLOTTIS THAT COVERS THE TRACHEA WHEN YOU ARE EATING TO MAKE SURE THE FOOD GOES TO THE RIGHT PLACE.  

O:  MUSCLES IN THE ESOPHAGUS PUSH THE FOOD DOWN TO THE STOMACH.  

D:  THE FOOD HANGS OUT IN THE STOMACH FOR A BIT.  WHILE IT’S THERE, IT IS BROKEN DOWN INTO SMALL PIECES BY GASTRIC JUICES.  
O:  FROM THERE, IT’S OFF TO A TUBE CALLED THE SMALL INTESTINE.

D:  I KNOW IT’S CALLED THE SMALL INTESTINE, BUT IT REALLY ISN’T THAT SMALL AT ALL.  IN FACT, IF YOU STRETCHED OUT THE SMALL INTESTINE, IT WOULD MEASURE 22 FEET LONG.  THAT’S ALMOST 5 TIMES TALLER THAN YOU ARE.

O:  HOW DOES IT FIT IN THERE IF IT’S TALLER THAN ME?

D:  WELL, IT’S A VERY NARROW TUBE THAT IS JUST COILED AROUND SO THAT IT DOESN’T TAKE UP MUCH SPACE.  IT’S CALLED THE SMALL INTESTINE BECAUSE IT IS VERY NARROW, NOT BECAUSE IT ISN’T LONG, BECAUSE IT IS VERY, VERY LONG.  

O:  WHAT DOES THE FOOD DO IN THE SMALL INTESTINE?

D:  WELL, IT TRAVELS THROUGH THE SMALL INTESTINE FOR A FEW HOURS, AND WHILE IT’S THERE, THE BODY ABSORBS DIFFERENT NUTRIENTS FROM THE FOOD WITH THE HELP OF THE GALLBLADDER, LIVER, AND PANCREAS.  SO, IT’S IN THE SMALL INTESTINE THAT THE BODY ABSORBS, OR TAKES IN, ANYTHING IT NEEDS, LIKE CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, AND PROTEINS FROM THE FOOD YOU ATE.  

O:  AND IT LEAVES ALL OF THE JUNK IT DOESN’T NEED IN THE SMALL INTESTINE.  

D:  THE HELPFUL STUFF THE BODY WANTS TO HOLD ONTO ENDS UP IN THE LIVER TO BE WORKED ON A BIT MORE.  THE JUNK IT WANTS TO GET RID OF ENDS UP IN THE LARGE INTESTINE.  THE LARGE INTESTINE IS SHORTER THAN THE SMALL INTESTINE.

O:  WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CONFUSING, HUMAN BODY?

D:  RIGHT?  I AGREE.  THE LARGE INTESTINE IS STILL PRETTY LONG AND WOULD BE SLIGHTLY TALLER THAN YOU IF IT WAS STRETCHED OUT… ABOUT 5 FEET LONG, BUT IT IS ALSO A LOT WIDER THAN THE SMALL INTESTINE, WHICH IS WHY IT IS CALLED THE LARGE INTESTINE.  

O:  SO, ALL THE JUNK IS TRAVELING THROUGH THE LARGE INTESTINE.  WHAT NOW?

D:  WELL, THERE IS A PART OF THE LARGE INTESTINE CALLED THE COLON.  IN THE COLON, THE BODY HAS ONE LAST CHANCE TO TAKE WHAT IT NEEDS.  USUALLY, THE BODY WILL TAKE BACK SOME WATER AT THIS POINT.  AFTER REMOVING MORE WATER, WHAT’S LEFT IS HARD AND SOLID.  

O:  TADA… WE HAVE POOP.

D:  YOU BET WE DO.  OTHER WORDS FOR POOP ARE FECES, STOOL, OR BOWEL MOVEMENT.  FROM THE LARGE INTESTINE, THE WASTE GOES TO THE RECTUM UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO GO POTTY.  AT THAT POINT, IT TRAVELS THROUGH THE ANUS, AND THAT’S IT… THE JOURNEY FROM FOOD TO POOP.  

O:  POOP ALSO HAS LOTS OF WATER IN IT… ABOUT 75%.

D:  IT’S ALSO GOT SOME OTHER STUFF IN IT.  BEHIND WATER, THE NEXT INGREDIENT IS BACTERIAL BIOMASS, WHICH IS JUST A COLLECTION OF ORGANISMS IT PICKS UP ON IT’S JOURNEY.  IT ALSO CONTAINS UNDIGESTED NUTRIENTS AND EVEN SOME CELLS IT PICKED UP FROM THE WALLS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT.  

O:  WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH DIARRHEA AND CONSTIPATION?

D:  IN THE CASE OF DIARRHEA, THE POOP TRAVELS TOO QUICKLY THROUGH THE DIGESTIVE TRACT.  AS A RESULT, THE BODY DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ABSORB WATER FROM THE POOP, AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES DIARRHEA SO WATERY.  THAT’S ALSO WHY IT OFTEN HITS YOU SUDDENLY, SO ONE MINUTE YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO AND THE NEXT MINUTE YOU ARE RUNNING FOR THE TOILET.  THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE FOR CONSTIPATION.  IN THE CASE OF CONSTIPATION, THE POOP REMAINS IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT TOO LONG, WHICH MEANS THAT THE BODY ABSORBS TOO MUCH OF THE WATER FROM THE POOP, MAKING THE POOP VERY DRY.  THIS OFTEN MAKES IT HARDER TO PASS, SO YOU MAY FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO GO POTTY, BUT HAVE TROUBLE ACTUALLY MAKING A POOP.  

O:  AFTER LEARNING MORE ABOUT IT, POOP ISN’T REALLY GROSS.  WHY ARE PEOPLE SO GROSSED OUT ABOUT POOP?

D:  WELL, THERE ARE A FEW REASONS.  FIRST, POOP DOESN’T USUALLY SMELL GREAT.  THE SMELL TURNS LOTS OF PEOPLE OFF.  ALSO, POOP CAN CAUSE SOME DISEASES, LIKE CHOLERA FOR EXAMPLE.  THERE IS NO REASON TO BE GROSSED OUT BY POOP THOUGH.  WE WOULD BE IN BAD SHAPE IF WE WEREN’T ABLE TO POOP AND GET RID OF OUR WASTE.  

O:  POOP IS BROWN BECAUSE OF SOMETHING CALLED BILE.

D:  BILE IS SOMETHING THAT THE LIVER MAKES TO HELP YOU DIGEST FATS.  WHEN BILE TRAVELS THROUGH THE DIGESTIVE TRACT, IT BECOMES BROWN.  JUST LIKE WE SAID WITH PEE A FEW MINUTES AGO, IF YOUR POOP DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT, PLEASE TELL A GROWN UP.  

O:  SOME PEOPLE POOP MORE OFTEN THAN OTHERS.

D:  THE NORMAL AMOUNT OF POOPING IS ANYWHERE FROM 3 TIMES PER DAY TO ONCE EVERY 3 DAYS.  ANY MORE OR LESS FREQUENT POOPING SHOULD BE DISCUSSED WITH A DOCTOR.  

O:  IT’S TIME FOR THE GROSS ANIMAL POOP FACT OF THE EPISODE.

D:  THERE IS A FISH CALLED THE PARROTFISH.  IT’S A BEAUTIFUL FISH, SO ASK YOUR GROWN UP TO PULL UP A PICTURE FOR YOU.  WELL, PARROTFISH HAVE VERY INTERESTING POOP.  THEY POOP SAND!  THAT’S RIGHT… WHEN PARROTFISH POOP, SAND COMES OUT.  THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE SAND BEACHES IN HAWAII COME FROM LOTS OF SOURCES, BUT ONE OF THE LARGEST SOURCES IS THE POOP OF PARROTFISH.  OKAY OLIVIA, SPEAKING OF POOP, LET’S GET TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT COLOR IS A NEWBORN BABY’S FIRST POOP, ALSO CALLED MECONIUM?  

O:  MECONIUM IS DARK GREEN AND IT IS THICK AND STICKY. 

D:  ANOTHER INTERESTING THING ABOUT MECONIUM IS THAT IT DOESN’T SMELL BAD.  IT DOESN’T REALLY HAVE A SMELL AT ALL.  

O:  BEFORE WE GO, CAROLINE ALSO ASKED ABOUT POTTY WORDS.

D:  I’M NOT SURE WHY KIDS SOMETIMES LIKE POTTY WORDS.  MAYBE THEY ARE JUST CURIOUS AND TRYING TO TEST THEIR LIMITS.  EVERY POTTY WORD HAS A BETTER, NICER, AND MORE SUITABLE WORD THAT CAN BE USED INSTEAD.  IF YOU ARE TEMPTED TO USE A POTTY WORD, TRY ASKING A GROWN UP FOR A MORE APPROPRIATE WORD YOU CAN USE INSTEAD.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  132 - PEE AND POOP.

D:  GREAT JOB, OLIVIA AND GREAT JOB, CAROLINE FOR THE FUN TOPIC SUGGESTION.  IF YOU LOVE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA.  WE CAN BE FOUND ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.  ALL OF THE LINKS CAN BE FOUND IN THE SHOW NOTES.  ALSO, IT WOULD MEAN SO MUCH TO US IF YOU COULD LEAVE US A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS.  IT REALLY HELPS US GET NOTICED BY NEW LISTENERS.  NEXT WEEK, WE ARE GOING TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT SCORPIONS FOR LISTENERS IN TORONTO, ONTARIO AND ORLANDO, FLORIDA.  FOR THE RECORD, I THINK SCORPIONS ARE WAY MORE GROSS THAN PEE AND POOP.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.