# Is There a "Standard" Turd? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244 "2012-08-31T11:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/21 "2012-08-31T15:06:38Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I saw a documentary about a toilet manufacturing facility once. They use a number of objects to test the flushing success of a toilet, from golf balls, to soaked wads of paper, to a biodegradable dough-like concoction that is meant to simulate, well, a turd. It’s not just one thing, but a whole range of them. Phew, I feel better about my golf ball / cookie dough diet. I was concerned, you see. But it too will pass. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/22 "2012-08-31T15:15:32Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I saw a documentary about a toilet manufacturing facility once. They use a number of objects to test the flushing success of a toilet, from golf balls, to soaked wads of paper, to a biodegradable dough-like concoction that is meant to simulate, well, a turd. It’s not just one thing, but a whole range of them. > [@GaryM](#): > > Watched a show about how toilets are made, maybe on History Channel, and the manufacturer used bean paste sealed in condoms for testing. I’m pretty sure it was an episode of Modern Marvels you all are refering to, try looking up episodes named Toilet Tech and/or Bathroom Tech. From a quick Google search, it looks like you can find clips of it on History Channel’s website and on Youtube. I haven’t seen that episode in a while, but they did have someone on there who demonstrated different models and their flushing capacity. He mentioned using some kind of paste and how it compares to the average human waste in terms of consistency and mass and all. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/23 "2012-08-31T15:34:26Z")
I recall a magazine doing testing on various low-flow toilets. Possibly Consumer Reports. In that case Corn Flakes were used as the test medium. The toilets were compared as to how many cups of water soaked cornflakes they could reliably flush. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/24 "2012-08-31T15:35:56Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I was once taken aside by an English friend who asked if I knew what my name means in his cultural circles (I do). :eek: He also told me that he had seen a cross section of a toilet where you could follow a turd through the mechanism. When it came out a robot arm lifted it up and placed in the bowl again. In the old days before robots, was there a human turdwrangler that handled this job? ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/25 "2012-08-31T15:37:56Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I recall a magazine doing testing on various low-flow toilets. Possibly Consumer Reports. In that case Corn Flakes were used as the test medium. The toilets were compared as to how many cups of water soaked cornflakes they could reliably flush. I recall an earlier Consumer Reports review in which cooked oatmeal was mentioned as one of items used to test flushing capability. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/26 "2012-08-31T15:40:40Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > We don’t 'cotton to no Metric stuff 'round here… we’ll stick with the American Long Ton, thank you very much. Don’t you mean the American Long Turd? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/27 "2012-08-31T15:57:54Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Watched a show about how toilets are made, maybe on History Channel, and the manufacturer used bean paste sealed in condoms for testing. The Gates Foundation uses [soybean paste](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/08/158447235/why-is-the-worlds-largest-foundation-buying-fake-poop?live=1%3Futm_source%3Dfp&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20120810) as well. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/28 "2012-08-31T16:27:26Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I recall a magazine doing testing on various low-flow toilets. Possibly Consumer Reports. In that case Corn Flakes were used as the test medium. The toilets were compared as to how many cups of water soaked cornflakes they could reliably flush. For the record, I do NOT appprove of this. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/29 "2012-08-31T16:48:41Z")
Well, here is a page on stools with (and I kid you not) “the standard Plopp”! Of course, there is always the mini Plopp, too. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/30 "2012-08-31T18:30:17Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > In the old days before robots, was there a human turdwrangler that handled this job? FYI, according to a friend of mine who worked at the San Diego sewage processing facility, they prefer to be called “turdherders.” ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/31 "2012-08-31T18:50:08Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > I recall an earlier Consumer Reports review in which cooked oatmeal was mentioned as one of items used to test flushing capability. And Rice Crispies. Crap, Snackle, and Plop. OK, I’m leaving now… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/32 "2012-08-31T19:04:46Z")
Since there is a [standard kilogram](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilogram), there should also be a standard turd. I propose the [Lloyd’s Bank Turd](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/jun/06/artsandhumanities.arts1). I understand it’s nine inches long and weighs half a pound. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/33 "2012-08-31T19:09:11Z")
Well, [here is a page on stools](http://www.zieta.pl/home/88) with (and I kid you not) “the standard Plopp”! Of course, there is always the mini Plopp, too. (Oops. Forgot the link earlier). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/34 "2012-08-31T19:24:04Z")
[Dave Barry](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-06-24/features/0106240474_1_wimpy-toilets-flush-mature-sheep) on standardized “floaters” and “sinkers”. Heed the warning at the beginning of the column. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/35 "2012-08-31T19:29:16Z")
\*\*Q: Is There a “Standard” Turd? \*\* A: Yes, but, political jokes are not allowed in this forum. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/36 "2012-08-31T19:41:30Z")
If you’re in Europe, it would be the [EFSMI](http://www.efsmi.org/). I believe they are the de facto worldwide certification body as IIRC there was a guy out here in Colorado that had his certified by them. ---
**Author:** ![Blind\_Guardian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Blind\_Guardian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blind_Guardian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/37 "2012-08-31T20:05:47Z")
The Maximum Performance (MaP) Test is a common test of a toilet’s bulk flushing power, and they use soybean paste in 350g increments as a human waste analog. Their [site](http://www.map-testing.com/) goes into detail on their testing protocols. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/38 "2012-08-31T20:11:28Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I was once taken aside by an English friend who asked if I knew what my name means in his cultural circles (I do). :eek: He also told me that he had seen a cross section of a toilet where you could follow a turd through the mechanism. When it came out a **robot arm** lifted it up and placed in the bowl again. Paging **Robot Arm** … ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/39 "2012-08-31T22:03:12Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > When regulatory/certification organizations like CSA, TUV, BSA, etc. evaluate flush toilets, do they use a “standardized” turd to test these appliances? I wonder if there is sch a thing as a CE description of such an object (defining the mass, size, consistency, etc.). After all, it must be possible to objectively test toilest; to do so must mean that you have to test them under the same conditions-hence the “standard turd”. > Just like the chickens they fire at airliner cockpit windows!🆒 This would be a bog standard turd, no? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244/40 "2012-08-31T23:27:56Z")
This was all worked out in the 1800s by that Crapper fellow. The unit for the Standard Turd is the faex. Testing is certified against the number of faeces which can be flushed without residual debris left in the bowl. Modifiers include a measure for stickiness (Unit is the Skid Mark, scale 1-3) and hardness of each faex (Unit is the Pile\* Generator ((scale is 1-3)). Thus, a high quality toilet might be able to flush 35 Faeces with an average Skid Mark of 9 and and a Pile Generator of 3. \*“Pile” as in “hemorrhoid” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-turd/633244.md?page=3)