# TMI warning: What does shit taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983 "2003-07-21T19:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muldoon_s_Squishiness)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/1 "2003-07-21T19:18:01Z")
This question entered my mind after getting a lovely and charming spam e-mail that promised me that _Slutty Young Japanese Shit Eaters Want Your Cock!!!_ I would think that they would want something **else** from me, but maybe I’m wrong. Anyhoo, that got me curious as to what shit tastes like. I have no desire or intention of finding out firsthand, and unfortunately Divine passed away about 10 years ago, so I can’t ask him. (Divine ate dog shit in the climax of John Waters trash/cult classic film **Pink Flamingos**.) When I’m talking about shit, I mean human shit, not dog or cat. I’ve seen dogs eating poo, both their own and other dogs, and none of them threw up, but their sense of taste/smell is **way** different then ours. Does it depend on what a person eats? Is the taste worse then the smell, vice versa or the same? Enlighten me, my fellow Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/2 "2003-07-21T19:49:45Z")
Mmmmmmmmm…shit. Tastes like chicken! ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/3 "2003-07-21T19:54:40Z")
Considering they massive amounts of bacteria and such in human fecal matter, I’m pretty sure it is lethal…unless you cook it properly. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/4 "2003-07-21T19:59:12Z")
In a recent thread, **mangeorge** fried up his spooje in a pan, in the interest of furthering our understanding of the subject, but I bet even he will draw the line at this one. Even so, I’m curious. I suspect our negative perception of the smell of shit is an evolutionary adaptation (those who avoid their waste are more likely to survive to breed than those who enjoy it and wallow in it), and I’d imagine the taste factor is similar, but that’s just speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/5 "2003-07-21T20:12:43Z")
The taste depends on what you ate the day before. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/6 "2003-07-21T20:16:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xgxlx \* > \*\*Considering they massive amounts of bacteria and such in human fecal matter, I’m pretty sure it is lethal…unless you cook it properly. \*\* Google “toilet slavery” and let us know what you find. WARNING: Do not perform this search at work! ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/7 "2003-07-21T20:17:29Z")
When I was a really little kid, I remember putting a piece of my poop in my mouth because I thought it was a chocolate chip. I spit it out right away, but I did get a taste of it. Surprisingly not that horrible. A little tangy? I don’t remember why the poop was out to begin with though. Shit happens I guess. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/8 "2003-07-21T20:21:35Z")
Corn. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/9 "2003-07-21T20:25:16Z")
I’ve seen the previously mentioned dogs eat human feces as well (don’t ask). It must not be that much different from the canine variety. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/10 "2003-07-21T21:22:25Z")
I read a really, really disgusting coprophilia email of dubious provenance that was doing the rounds in 1996. It said poo tasted like “a ripe blue cheese”. You puke the first few times (apparently) and then you start to appreciate it. Where’s the barf smiley? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/11 "2003-07-21T21:25:10Z")
"I’m pretty sure it is lethal…unless you cook it properly. " Oh, don’t hold back, how do you cook it properly? Probably tastes like billirubin. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/12 "2003-07-21T21:43:04Z")
I remember reading somewhere that when people asked Divine what the dogshit he ate tasted like, he replied, “What do you _think_ it tasted like?” ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/13 "2003-07-21T21:49:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*Oh, don’t hold back, how do you cook it properly? > \*\* Well, in a large bowl, gently but thoroughly combine the shit with the chopped ribs, the Berbere sauce and the grilled onion… ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/14 "2003-07-21T21:56:58Z")
Apparently sour, depending on the freshness :dubious: Hey, it was some bizzare wildlife show on public TV, ok? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/15 "2003-07-21T21:59:47Z")
I heard it tastes like shit. ---
**Author:** ![Ad\_Noctum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@Ad\_Noctum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ad_Noctum)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/16 "2003-07-21T22:00:12Z")
here’s a good digression– If roses smelled like fecal matter, and fecal matter smelled like roses, would the roses still smell good because they are beautiful, and the shit still smell bad because we are kinda instinctively programmed that shit is bad thing? (poop is generally a non-talked about [taboo] thing in western cultures, and plus, it’s a bodily excrement so really, I mean, shit’s nasty) ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/17 "2003-07-21T22:06:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xgxlx \* > \*\*Considering they massive amounts of bacteria and such in human fecal matter, I’m pretty sure it is lethal…unless you cook it properly. \*\* Consider as well that those bacterias ALREADY live in your digestive tract, (w/ your own shit anyway). Whatever harm the bacteria can do to your system, they have already done. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/18 "2003-07-21T22:56:58Z")
I cant’t speak from personal experience, this is just a logical guess. In the first place, all or most of the sugars would have been digested on the first pass, leaving the rest with a bitter taste. In the second place dead blood cells are disposed of through fecal matter. Thirdly, the remaining fecal matter consists largely of undigested roughage, which intestinal bacteria has acted upon Fourthly, it would contain various digestive juices, such as bile. Therefore, I should imagine, shit would taste like a combination of vinegar, blood, rotten vegetables and vomit. But that’s just speculation. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/19 "2003-07-21T22:59:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ad Noctum \* > \*\*here’s a good digression– > > If roses smelled like fecal matter, and fecal matter smelled like roses, would the roses still smell good because they are beautiful, and the shit still smell bad because we are kinda instinctively programmed that shit is bad thing?\*\* Trust me (don’t ask) I have smelled enough shit up close and personal in my time on this earth and I can tell you one thing with 100% certainty: shit smells REALLY BAD. I mean disgusting. There is no question about this. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983/20 "2003-07-21T23:13:42Z")
Most things taste more or less like they smell. Shit is aromatic enough that I feel I have a fairly clear idea of what it might taste like. Clear enough not to want to try it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tmi-warning-what-does-shit-taste-like/189983.md?page=2)