# Why hasn't Kal-el's e. coli killed us all? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303 "2008-12-02T04:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/1 "2008-12-02T04:48:21Z")
I mean, besides the fact that Superman is fictional and all. Follow me here: Kal rockets to Earth with a full load of Kryptonian intestinal flora, which would enter the Earth’s biosphere with his excreta. Why haven’t they killed all of us by now? Super-powered bacteria are nothing to mess with! ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/2 "2008-12-02T04:49:37Z")
Great. Something new to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/3 "2008-12-02T04:50:11Z")
That’s what the white kryptonite is for. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/4 "2008-12-02T04:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by [Howstuffworks.com](http://Howstuffworks.com) > > Much of Superman’s power comes from the Earth’s yellow sun Remember that Superman’s intestinal flora are living, well, where the sun don’t shine. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/5 "2008-12-02T05:02:56Z")
But Supe is still super even at night, or in a subway, or in an enclosed office, or… ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/6 "2008-12-02T05:55:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But Supe is still super even at night, or in a subway, or in an enclosed office, or… Unlike that horrible pansy in Part 4 that Supes ended up… throwing… into… the sun. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/7 "2008-12-02T12:20:39Z")
Superman’s super-metabolism uses 100% of all materials he ingests. He does not excrete, therefore the Kryptococci do not escape into the environment. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/8 "2008-12-02T12:38:47Z")
Well, newborns don’t have any intestinal flora; it takes a few days of exposure to the environment and taking in fluid for those to develop. So, depending on how soon after his birth his parents sent him to us, his GI tract might have been sterile. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/9 "2008-12-02T13:37:11Z")
E. coli is an Earth bacteria. They don’t have it on Krypton. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/10 "2008-12-02T14:36:21Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But Supe is still super even at night, or in a subway, or in an enclosed office, or… yes, but only because he has been exposed to the yellow sun, and it wears off slowly. The coli in his intestinal tract have never been exposed. .. at least until they’re excreted… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/11 "2008-12-02T19:07:38Z")
Just because they’re super doesn’t mean they’re pathogenic. His bacteria are equally devoted to Truth, Justice, the American Way, and the Lack of Horrible Intestinal Squirty Diseases. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/12 "2008-12-02T19:39:09Z")
Kryptonian powers are only found in higher-order vertebrates, not bacteria. If you need a fanwank. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/13 "2008-12-02T19:52:24Z")
Krypton’s e. coli need the super nutrition from super feces to florish. Our ordinary feces are unable to sustain them. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/14 "2008-12-02T19:52:25Z")
But, depending on how Silver Agey we’re being, Kryptonian powers are inherent in _everything_ Kryptonian – including inanimate objects. Anyway, this sort of stuff is why Kryptonians come equipped with x-ray vision. Kal just has to give the ol’ stink-eye to his stinky pie, irradiate the whole mess, and the world is safe for humanity once more. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/15 "2008-12-02T19:54:55Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Kryptonian powers are only found in higher-order vertebrates, not bacteria. If you need a fanwank. There’s a lot of space between vertebrates and bacteria. How about a Super Tapeworm? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/16 "2008-12-02T20:58:05Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That’s what the white kryptonite is for. I didn’t realize any form of kryptonite came in a roll like that. Learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/17 "2008-12-02T21:00:49Z")
On a related note, how does Supergirl’s hair stay styled? Does she have some kind of super-hairspray? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/18 "2008-12-02T21:10:09Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > On a related note, how does Supergirl’s hair stay styled? Does she have some kind of super-hairspray? Chuck Norris round kick’s her hair. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/19 "2008-12-02T21:16:09Z")
Superman’s intestinal flora cannot flourish on Earth. Their own superpowers prevent them from doing so. Consider: under a yellow sun, Superman himself does not need to eat. Therefore, there is every reason to assume that his intestinal bacteria do not need to ingest nutrients either. And just as Superman does not suffer from constant hunger pangs, his superpowered \*K. coli \* likewise do not experience any impetus to metabolize; all their energy needs are already satisfied. Since they never actually absorb any nutrients, they never increase in size and never reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303/20 "2008-12-02T22:12:19Z")
More than that, Terrifel, intestinal flora are usually looking for specific proteins to eat and it’s rather iffy that they would turn up on Earth. If he had any they probably died out harmlessly and been replaced by Earth bacteria a long time ago. Though I do wonder what happens when you expose Kryptonian bacteria to red kryptonite. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-kal-els-e-coli-killed-us-all/475303.md?page=2)