So it doesn’t roll off where they take a dump; and they the take dumps where it’s a bit elevated so that the scent is… easily sniffed?
Also…. How the hell does something like that evolve anyhow?
I bet it has applications in the chicken nugget industry….
Asian Palm Civet: Don’t give them any ideas!
I mean, I was just imagining biomimic extrusion machines to create cubish nuggets.
Maybe I should have specified.
Wombats live in pretty flat lands. I doubt shit rolling has anything to do with it
they poop on top of things like rocks or logs, as a way of marking territory. similar to how dogs piss on things that are upright. By not rolling off it keeps it some what elevated, so the scent spreads a bit further.
That just leaves one mystery: why wombats evolved cubic poop in the first place. Hu speculates that because the animals climb up on rocks and logs to mark their territory, the flat-sided feces aren’t as likely to roll off from these high perches.
As for what the world is supposed to do with this new information, Hu admits that it’s “not going to replace the way we manufacture plastic.” But the wombat’s strategy could help engineers design better ways to shape valuable or sensitive materials, he says.
Patricia Yang, a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology who specializes in bodily fluids
I want Alie Ward to interview her for an Ologies episode, pronto!
ETA: I love that her employer abbreviates to GIT 😁
