# If all you ate was human poo, how long could you survive.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 24, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931 "2009-10-24T02:24:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/1 "2009-10-24T02:24:56Z")
Obviously inspired by this thread: ["THe Human Centipede" - Who would go to see such vile trash? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=537106)
So, lets say I’m a bit of a nut and I decide that from now on all I’m going to eat is human poo. FWIW, that’s going to be my only source of water/fluids as well.
How long till I kick the bucket?
Aside: As if there aren’t enough reasons to think that this movie plot is dumb, the fact that the ‘creation’ is going to be dead PDQ and thus a huge waste of time is the biggest one to me. Perhaps if there was any reason at all to think that a human could live on human poo for any amount of time, I might humour my husband and actually go and watch this with him. (Thats a really big if though. Like, huge.)
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/2 "2009-10-24T02:40:29Z")
Cecil has addressed—well, not exactly this question, but you still may want to take a look at [Is coprophagia dangerous?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2600/is-coprophagia-dangerous)
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### Author:  [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/3 "2009-10-24T04:40:05Z")
Wouldn’t the answer depend greatly on how Dr. Crazy decides to deal with the other set of plumbing? If you are getting fluids from your previous segment’s urethra, I’d imagine you’d live quite a bit longer. Otherwise, you’d probably get dehydrated pretty quickly. I sure hope the movie addresses this issue!
Now I’m going to go throw up and take a shower.
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### Author:  [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/4 "2009-10-24T05:46:07Z")
Your own or someone else’s?
I’m not snarking; are you talking about recycling your own wastes (which will presumably become less nutritious with each trip through, um, you), or having some nice, fresh, never-before-eaten poo at every meal?
As an aside, my experience with the board contract at a certain not-to-be-named college in the 1980’s suggests that the answer is \>4 years.
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/5 "2009-10-24T05:52:22Z")
> [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](#):
>
> Your own or someone else’s?
>
> I’m not snarking; are you talking about recycling your own wastes (which will presumably become less nutritious with each trip through, um, you), or having some nice, fresh, never-before-eaten poo at every meal?
>
> As an aside, my experience with the board contract at a certain not-to-be-named college in the 1980’s suggests that the answer is \>4 years.
Well, as per my link, someone else’s. I’ve got to assume that the idea is that he’s going to make a huge closed circle of people attached ass to mouth who will somehow sustain themselves on the turd of the previous link in the chain. I perpetual motion machine of shit, so to speak.
I submit that the idea is totally stupid in that lower links in the chain would start to die before he could finish his ‘project’.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/6 "2009-10-24T14:17:22Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#):
>
> Well, as per my link, someone else’s. I’ve got to assume that the idea is that he’s going to make a huge closed circle of people attached ass to mouth who will somehow sustain themselves on the turd of the previous link in the chain. I perpetual motion machine of shit, so to speak.
See, now this is something you don’t read everyday. 🙂
Anyway, I have two more questions:
1. Would your body find further sustenance within poop and then…poop out the rest?
2. Would also eating fried sperm extend survival? 😉
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### Author:  [@Montgomery0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montgomery0)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/7 "2009-10-24T16:20:53Z")
Well, if you’re going by the link, you’re eating unprepared feces, I think you wouldn’t last long at all, since the e coli alone would kill you pretty quick.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/8 "2009-10-24T17:15:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> 1. Would also eating fried sperm extend survival? 😉
Frying would add calories in the form of butter or oil. Baked or Raw are the only options unfortunately. 😛
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### Author:  [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/9 "2009-10-24T17:32:35Z")
Here is a [book](http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Pooh-Cookie-Cutters-Adventures/dp/1570822611) that might be helpful.
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/10 "2009-10-24T23:57:26Z")
> [@madtheswine](#):
>
> here is a [book](http://www.amazon.com/cooking-pooh-cookie-cutters-adventures/dp/1570822611) that might be helpful.
bwahahahahahahahaha!!!
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/11 "2009-10-25T00:05:10Z")
I don’t know how long you would live, but imagine the grin you’d have!
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/12 "2009-10-25T04:12:45Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#):
>
> Frying would add calories in the form of butter or oil. Baked or Raw are the only options unfortunately. 😛
I can fry sperm with my Calphalon, with no oils (unless I use lube, and it splatters).
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/13 "2009-10-25T04:13:50Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#):
>
> Here is a [book](http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Pooh-Cookie-Cutters-Adventures/dp/1570822611) that might be helpful.
And the cover illustration looks yummy!
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### Author:  [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-all-you-ate-was-human-poo-how-long-could-you-survive/514931/14 "2009-10-26T14:42:35Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> And the cover illustration looks yummy!
And he has a shit-eating grin.