Chew On This

November 22, 2007 7:50 AM

Chew On This. Take a deep breath, swallow hard, and follow the food you eat on its day-long journey through the digestive system.
posted by forallmankind (13 comments total)

Great post! I finally have something I can email my brother-in-law who swears the Taco Bell he eats has a tendency to exit his rectum just 30 min's later.
posted by photoslob at 7:57 AM on November 22, 2007

Hey, thanks! I do like the illustration. Nicely done.
posted by Lockjaw at 8:10 AM on November 22, 2007

It's a comfort to know my red blood cells are smiling. Who knew?
posted by 45moore45 at 8:12 AM on November 22, 2007

alimentary, my dear watson.
posted by bruce at 8:15 AM on November 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

That is wonderful. But 24 hours, top to bottom? Eat a can of niblets, and time it yourself...
posted by Faze at 8:26 AM on November 22, 2007

I've never been able to figure out, if it really takes 24 hours for stuff to pass through your system, how a cup of coffee is able to work its black magic on my lower intestine within a mere five minutes...
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:36 AM on November 22, 2007

It's pharmacologic, the caffeine speeds up peristalsis, liz.

I remember one of those standardized tests I'd been forced to take back in the day, it was either AP biology or the MCAT, the essay question was simply "You're a cheesburger that's just been eaten. Describe what happens."
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:03 AM on November 22, 2007

you are so full of shit
posted by growabrain at 9:05 AM on November 22, 2007

I finished this book this morning. It traces our meals back the other way. A marvelous read. Made me grateful for venison sausage.
posted by haikuku at 9:13 AM on November 22, 2007

With the sublime veneration accorded this august holiday, I should like to offer Ambrose Bierce's definition of "edible";

"Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm."
posted by Tube at 10:22 AM on November 22, 2007

pigs eat snakes?
posted by blue_beetle at 10:49 AM on November 22, 2007

Here's an actual journey through the digestive tract of Phillip Warnell (all except the very end).
posted by the Real Dan at 12:03 PM on November 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

I love this. Reminds me of a t-shirt I once saw emblazoned with a complicated diagram of the digestive system and the words "shit doesn't just happen".
posted by Lezzles at 12:36 AM on November 23, 2007