# Psychological link between bowel movements and department stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618 "2006-11-24T05:40:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/1 "2006-11-24T05:40:44Z")
I’m not sure precisely how to put this, but among some of the more interesting thanksgiving dinner conversations it came to light that several members of my family report that upon entering a department store they feel the urge to move their bowels. They claim it’s a common phenomenon. I’ve never heard of it (or experienced it) and it sounds pretty bizarre. Anyone know anything about this? Is it real, and if so why? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/2 "2006-11-24T05:53:42Z")
Some of my family members report this, too. I think it is a manifestation of low-grade anxiety, generally present in the personality. “Oh no! So many things to look at! Oh no! Pressure of making a choice!” These same people grind their teeth, moan in their sleep, and have chronic acid reflux. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/3 "2006-11-24T05:56:33Z")
[QUOTE=cainxinth] I’m not sure precisely how to put this, but among some of the more interesting thanksgiving dinner conversations it came to light that several members of my family report that upon entering a department store they feel the urge to move their bowels. They claim it’s a common phenomenon. I’ve never heard of it (or experienced it) and it sounds pretty bizarre. Anyone know anything about this? Is it real, and if so why? [/QUOTE] It’s probably the perfume you have to walk through to get in. It might remind them of something or someone. On the other hand, it might just be becuase of how they make it so difficult to find the department you really want to go to. Finally you give up, and decide that you might as well use the restroom while you’re there. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/4 "2006-11-24T08:06:53Z")
This happens to me at Costco. And yes, **Sattua** , I grind my teeth and have chronic acid reflux. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/5 "2006-11-24T09:47:55Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] This happens to me at Costco. And yes, **Sattua** , I grind my teeth and have chronic acid reflux. [/QUOTE] Hmm. I find this strange, because Costco seems so logical to me. It’s big, but you can instinctively find the section you want immediately. Macy’s, on the other hand, is rife with shopper traps. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/6 "2006-11-24T11:37:11Z")
I used to have the problem at a specific used book store … after a while we determined that it was because it shared a building with a dry cleaning facility and the really low subsonic rumbles of the equipment was doing it. Although for some reason, I also get the same issue at a price club [sort of like a cost co] so maybe it is the ventillation system rumbling that is doing it? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/7 "2006-11-24T11:51:22Z")
Happens to me in libraries. ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/8 "2006-11-24T12:19:11Z")
It probably will come as no surprise that David Sedaris is keenly aware of a related behavior, a practice he has labeled “chain-store defecation.” He commented on this phenomenon for Ira Glass’s “This American Life” (original air date, 2 December 2005). > [@](#): > > **Act Three.** _Adventures at Poo Corner._ David Sedaris uncovers a disturbing and hidden trend that’s taking place where small-minded people collide with big retail stores. (5 minutes) You can listen to it at > **[This American Life](https://www.thisamericanlife.org)** > > A weekly public radio program and podcast. Each week we choose a theme and put together different kinds of stories on that theme. (A direct link is [here](http://tinyurl.com/wek5y). The segment takes place at about the 51:00 mark.) – Tammi Terrell ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/9 "2006-11-24T14:46:26Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] Happens to me in libraries. [/QUOTE] Me, too. Did I mention I’m a librarian? More seriously, when I worked at the mall for several years, just walking in would make my eyes water and turn red. Either it was cleaning products, or I got seriously allergic to retail. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/10 "2006-11-24T15:27:48Z")
I think it happens to you when you go into any store that excites you. Love books and reading? Bookstores and libraries make you all poopie. Love video games? Watch out in EB. Music lover? Better go before you enter the CD outlet. Movies your passion? They don’t like you using the bathrooms at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. With me, I always have to go if I enter _any_ store that doesn’t have a public bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/11 "2006-11-24T15:42:57Z")
I get this sometimes, and determined it was certain stores, like a bookstore, which have a relaxed, serene atmosphere, not a lot of noise, that feel “cozy”. I never experinece it at big loud stores like Wal-Mart or Kroger. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/12 "2006-11-24T15:46:16Z")
Never happens to me. I have the most well-trained set of bowels and bladder on the planet. I _never_ go to a public bathroom unless it’s a real emergency. (I’m shy-- I don’t like to eliminate if others can hear.) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/13 "2006-11-24T16:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] Happens to me in libraries. [/QUOTE] Yep, libraries & bookstores do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/14 "2006-11-24T16:56:34Z")
Subliminal reaction to the thought: “I can’t believe they’re selling this shit!” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/15 "2006-11-24T17:28:45Z")
It used to happen to me in one specific library. My university had built a huge new main library, and whenever I went in, I would promptly have to go. I’m not sure it can be put down to excitement, since I had really loved the old stacks and wasn’t too fond of the new building. It’s never happened to me in any other library, and I’m a librarian and visit libraries wherever I go. I’ve usually chalked it up to the newness of all the materials in the place–maybe some low-grade chemical fumes or something? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/16 "2006-11-24T17:41:49Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] Yep, libraries & bookstores do it for me. [/QUOTE] And I thought it was just me! ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/17 "2006-11-24T17:46:23Z")
I’ve heard several people claiming that this happens to them in bookshops. Maybe people who read on the toilet unconsciously associate books with defecating? ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/18 "2006-11-24T17:53:02Z")
It used to happen to me in libraries, but not recently. And I’ve never been a bathroom reader. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/19 "2006-11-24T18:10:08Z")
I used to be a bathroom reader, but I can’t say it’s happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618/20 "2006-11-24T22:13:01Z")
I’d say we’ve got some pretty strong anecdotal evidence to confirm this is real. So the question is why does it happen? I’m getting a hunch it has more to do with confirmation bias than anything else. I’m sure you walk into a store a hundred times without feeling anything, but the few times you do feel the urge to go you assume the two things are connected. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychological-link-between-bowel-movements-and-department-stores/381618.md?page=2)