12/26/2018, 6:44 pm
Wombats have found a way to produce a square peg out of a round hole! How awesome is that?
Yes, Comrades, this is truly a win for all animal lovers and PETA fanatics (who euthanize all animals donated to them in the hope PETA will find them a forever home). Wombats are standing up to this tyranny in the best way they can. They are the only known species that produce cubic excrement. Aren't they sweet?
The mystery of how, and why, wombats produce cubic poop
Of course it isn't unreasonable to be wondering why these animals evolved such a sophisticated way to produce cubed poo, when no other animal in the world found the need to do the same. Wombats have notoriously bad eyesight, so they communicate using scent markings. The animal's poo frequently acts as territorial markers letting other wombats know who runs a given burrow.
It is hypothesized that because of the importance of poo as a communicative tool, the animal evolved the cube-shaped excretion as a way to efficiently pile up structures of droppings. After all, you couldn't exactly build a large pile out of round droppings as effectively as you could if it were square blocks.
The new research is not just an academic scat investigation either, it may also render quite the pragmatic outcome. Yang suggests that this method could be applied to our current manufacturing processes.
"We currently have only two methods to manufacture cubes: We mold it, or we cut it. Now we have this third method," says Yang. "It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process -- how to make a cube with soft tissue instead of just molding it."
Yes, Comrades, this is truly a win for all animal lovers and PETA fanatics (who euthanize all animals donated to them in the hope PETA will find them a forever home). Wombats are standing up to this tyranny in the best way they can. They are the only known species that produce cubic excrement. Aren't they sweet?
The mystery of how, and why, wombats produce cubic poop
Of course it isn't unreasonable to be wondering why these animals evolved such a sophisticated way to produce cubed poo, when no other animal in the world found the need to do the same. Wombats have notoriously bad eyesight, so they communicate using scent markings. The animal's poo frequently acts as territorial markers letting other wombats know who runs a given burrow.
It is hypothesized that because of the importance of poo as a communicative tool, the animal evolved the cube-shaped excretion as a way to efficiently pile up structures of droppings. After all, you couldn't exactly build a large pile out of round droppings as effectively as you could if it were square blocks.
The new research is not just an academic scat investigation either, it may also render quite the pragmatic outcome. Yang suggests that this method could be applied to our current manufacturing processes.
"We currently have only two methods to manufacture cubes: We mold it, or we cut it. Now we have this third method," says Yang. "It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process -- how to make a cube with soft tissue instead of just molding it."

