Scientists Have Found Out How Long It Takes To Poop Out A Piece Of Lego

So far this year, scientists have managed to get the first ever 'selfie' sent from Mars, possibly discovered a cure for baldness and successfully carried out the first double hand transplant.

All impressive stuff, I'm sure you'll agree, but all those achievements pale in comparison to the hard work undertaken by six paediatric health-care professionals who have discovered how long it takes to shit out a piece of Lego.

Yup, according to an article in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, the team of six all ate a piece of Lego, a mini-figure head to be exact, and then waited...

Well, I say waited, they were actually having to root through their own shite for days until the piece turned up. Not all heroes wear capes, eh?

The study, titled Everything is awesome: Don't forget the Lego, tested used the usual bowel habits using the Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) score and then implemented the Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score (anyone else feel like these guys are just taking the piss now?) to work out how long it took.

The team concluded that it took on average 1.71 days to pass through their systems.

The study reads: "The FART score averaged 1.71 days. There was some evidence that females may be more accomplished at searching through their stools than males, but this could not be statistically validated."

Adding: "This international, multicentre trial identified that small objects, such as those swallowed by children, are likely to pass in 1-3 days without complication.

"This should offer reassurance for parents and the authors advocate that no parent should be expected to search through their child's faeces to prove object retrieval."

The report also said there's 'little evidence to support' the idea that a Lego piece may take longer to pass through a kid, and that, if anything, it may move 'faster in a more immature gut'.

Good to know, I guess.

It wasn't all fun and games for the team who took part, though, one fella was unable to find his Lego piece, despite checking his poop for two weeks prior to swallowing it. So, he's either a rubbish poo-checker or it's still inside him.

Topics: Science, Lego

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19