Nothing feels better than fully relieving yourself of, erm, a heavy load. It seems no one knew this more than the 9th Century viking who laid such a whopper, it’s lasted for more than 1,000 years and is now thought to be the largest poo known to man, measuring in at nearly 8 inches long. If that doesn’t make your stomach hurt just thinking about it (for various reasons), I don’t know what will.
Linda Spashett/CC-BY-2.0
- It was discovered back in 1972. Now on display at Archaeological Resource Centre in York, England, researchers from the York Archaeological Trust discovered the major turd back in 1972 when a site was being excavated so a Lloyd’s Bank could be built on the land. It’s unclear how they managed to realize exactly what it was and differentiate it from any other dirt or rocks in the ground, but here we are!
- This is a serious whopper. As mentioned, the poo itself measures nearly 8 inches (20 cm) in length and 2 inches (5cm) in width, which is no small feat (though I’m sure those with IBS or who overindulged in Taco Bell would insist they could do better). The researchers were able to further examine the poo and determined that the 9th century Viking mainly ate meat and bread. However, the outside of it was described as “moist and peaty.” Barf!
- The guy had some serious stomach issues. The researchers also found that the piece of poo was riddled with “hundreds of parasitic eggs” meaning he likely had a pretty serious intestinal worm infection. “Whoever passed it probably hadn’t performed for a few days, shall we say. This guy had very itchy bowels,” said Gill Snape, a student conservator on a placement with the York Archaeological Trust.
- This special piece of poo is pretty valuable. York Archaeological Trust employee and paleoscatologist Dr. Andrew Jones said in 1991: “This is the most exciting piece of excrement I’ve ever seen. In its own way, it’s as irreplaceable as the Crown Jewels.” Sounds legit! While the poo was accidentally broken into three pieces during a school trip visit in 2003, it’s since been repaired and is available for viewing if that’s your thing.
