Current:Home > Back6 doctors swallowed Lego heads for science. Here's what came out-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
6 doctors swallowed Lego heads for science. Here's what came out
View Date:2024-12-23 21:10:22
Editor's note: This episode contains frequent and mildly graphic mentions of poop. It may cause giggles in children, and certain adults.
When Dr. Andy Tagg was a toddler, he swallowed a Lego piece. Actually, two, stuck together.
"I thought, well, just put it in your mouth and try and get your teeth between the little pieces," he says. The next thing he knew, it went down the hatch.
As an emergency physician at Western Health, in Melbourne, Australia, Andy says he meets a lot of anxious parents whose children succumbed to this impulse. The vast majority of kids, like Andy, simply pass the object through their stool within a day or so. Still, Andy wondered whether there was a way to spare parents from needless worry.
Sure, you can reassure parents one-by-one that they probably don't need to come to the emergency room—or, worse yet, dig through their kid's poop—in search of the everyday object.
But Andy and five other pediatricians wondered, is there a way to get this message out ... through science?
A rigorous examination
The six doctors devised an experiment, and published the results.
"Each of them swallowed a Lego head," says science journalist Sabrina Imbler, who wrote about the experiment for The Defector. "They wanted to, basically, see how long it took to swallow and excrete a plastic toy."
Recently, Sabrina sat down with Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber to chart the journey of six lego heads, and what came out on the other side.
The study excluded three criteria:
- A previous gastrointestinal surgery
- The inability to ingest foreign objects
- An "aversion to searching through faecal matter"—the Short Wave team favorite
Researchers then measured the time it took for the gulped Lego heads to be passed. The time interval was given a Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score.
An important exception
Andy Tagg and his collaborators also wanted to raise awareness about a few types of objects that are, in fact, hazardous to kids if swallowed. An important one is "button batteries," the small, round, wafer-shaped batteries often found in electronic toys.
"Button batteries can actually burn through an esophagus in a couple of hours," says Imbler. "So they're very, very dangerous—very different from swallowing a coin or a Lego head."
For more on what to do when someone swallows a foreign object, check out the American Academy of Pediatrics information page.
Learn about Sabrina Imbler's new book, How Far the Light Reaches.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact checked by Anil Oza. Valentina Rodriguez was the audio engineer.
veryGood! (9411)
Related
- California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor
- Tiger Woods, Nike indicate a split after more than 27 years
- Gillian Anderson wears dress with embroidered vaginas to Golden Globes: 'Brand appropriate'
- Stock market today: Asian shares advance following Wall Street rally led by technology stocks
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- Beef sweeps nominated categories at 2024 Golden Globes
- Clock ticking for Haslam family to sell stake in Pilot truck stops to Berkshire Hathaway this year
- Inside Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet's PDA-Packed Date Night at the 2024 Golden Globes
- Steelers' Mike Tomlin shuts down Jayden Daniels Lamar comparison: 'That's Mr. Jackson'
- Was Selena Gomez Gossiping About Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet at Golden Globes? Here's the Truth
Ranking
- A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
- The Excerpt podcast: Are we ready for the next pandemic? How scientists are preparing.
- A 5-year-old boy was shot and killed while getting his hair cut, Alabama police say
- How much snow did you get? Maps show total inches of snowfall accumulation from winter storm
- Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
- iPhone that got sucked out of Alaska Airlines plane and fell 16,000 feet is found on the ground – and still works
- From Taylor Swift's entourage to adorable PDA: Best Golden Globe moments you missed on TV
- Madewell Added These Bestsellers to Their Sale-On-Sale & I’m Building My Winter Capsule Wardrobe Now
Recommendation
-
Will the NBA Cup become a treasured tradition? League hopes so, but it’s too soon to tell
-
Love is in the Cart With This $111 Deal on a $349 Kate Spade Bag and Other 80% Discounts You’ll Adore
-
Bradley Cooper, Charles Melton and More Stars Who Brought Their Moms to the 2024 Golden Globes
-
Congressional leaders say they've reached agreement on government funding
-
Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
-
Bill Hader asks Taylor Swift for a selfie at the Golden Globes: Watch the sweet moment
-
New Jersey lawmakers to vote on pay raises for themselves, the governor and other officials
-
Israeli defense minister lays out vision for post-war Gaza