Fun, curious, and even startling facts and stories about the pee we make.
Will eating asparagus make your pee smell funny?
You've heard it said before. Asparagus makes your urine smell. Is it true? In a word… Yes. Well, it makes your urine odor a lot stronger at the very least. Why does this happen? When you eat asparagus the vegetable breaks down and the elements enter your urine and exit your body in your pee. After eating asparagus, your pee will stink pretty quickly, usually within 30 minutes of eating the green stalks.
The really interesting thing is many people can’t physically smell the odor that asparagus causes. Actually, only about 40% of people have the genes to smell this odor! That’s why some people think you’re crazy when you tell them that asparagus will make your pee smell funny.
Can you drink urine?
While many people have claimed some beers tastes like pee, urine is actually supposed to taste salty (due to the trace amounts of chemicals)… we’ll just take someone else’s word for it about the taste of pee. As far as pee being safe to drink… urine is indeed sterile. Your urine is also mostly water. So, that means it’s safe to drink pee? It probably won’t hurt you if you your body is strong and you are healthy. Urine does, however, contain tiny amounts of different chemicals, which can harm a less healthy person. It’s not recommended to drink pee unless it’s a matter of survival. Plus, ewww!
Recycled Urine?
As of November 2008, NASA is using a new water recycling system to purify urine, as well as other wastewater, to create new drinking water for the space station crew. Well, at least they WERE using it, but it kept breaking down. So, how did the recycled urine taste? Apparently, even with blind taste tests, the astronauts could not tell the difference between the purified urine and other water. They say there’s a very faint taste of iodine, but that’s it. They’re hoping to recover 92% of the water from the crew’s urine as well as from the moisture in the air on the space station. So, can you drink pee? No problem when it’s recycled pee. Now, if they can just get the $154 million urine purification machine to keep from breaking down.
Holy Cow Urine!
Gua Jal (cow water) may soon be on shelves in India. What is Gua Jal? Why, it's bottled cow urine, of course. So, the obvious question would be, "Why?". Well, as you may know, Hindus regard cows as sacred, and they will not harm them. Cow urine has been considered by some Hindus as a way to purify the body and treat sickness. This new cow urine drink sounds like a way to get closer to the cows they revere. The drink is being created by a Hindu nationalist group called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (or RSS). Their Cow Protection Department is responsible for this savory sounding urine beverage. They promise it won't actually smell like urine and will be a healthy alternative to those toxin-laden sodas... altough that may not be comforting enough to tempt some people into drinking cow pee. What is perhaps more interesting about this is the RSS is creating this drink as another attempt to rid India of foreign influences and promote Hindutva (or Hinduness). Gua Jal (cow water) is meant to be an alternative to American created sodas like Coke and Pepsi. This particular Hindu group and some of its sub-groups work hard to remove any foreign interest, such as sodas and even non-hindu religions. They have even been accused of violence against Christians and foreign businesses. So, is this urine drink going to displace popular sodas and lure Hindus away from evil non-hindu influences? We'll just have to see.
Do women leave the toilet seat Up or Down?
Do dirty toilet seats gross you out? Now everyone can stand up to pee. Believe it or not, there’s product that allows a woman to stand up and pee like a man. The She Wee lets a woman pee standing up. It’s a plastic funnel-like device that a woman places against her … well, you get the idea. I guess women can be ready to pee standing in any public restroom. Are you going to tote that around in your purse?
So many ways to say … urine
Not many people say, “Hey, I need to urinate”, but they do say, “Hey, I need to pee.” There are many different ways we talk about the need to urinate. We use words and phrases like … Pee, Pee Pee, Pee Like a Race Horse, Pee Like a Raging Fire Hose, Piss, Wee, Wee Wee, Have to Take a Wizz, Gotta Tinkle, Take a Leak, Go Number One, My Bladder is Full, My Eyes are Turning Yellow, My Back Teeth Are Floating, Drain the Main Vein, Tap a Kidney, Play Watersports, Drain the Lizard and, of course, scientifically it’s known as urination, but also micturition, voiding, and, more rarely, emiction. There are some other phrases we use that are not limited to just pee, such as Relieve Yourself, Off to the Loo, Use the John, Go Potty, Gotta Talk to a Man About a Horse.
Can your pee heal you?
Well, sometimes relieving yourself feels like it will make everything better. Seriously, there is a question of whether or not using urine can help your body. Urine Therapy is the process of using urine or pee to help your body. Some people massage urine or pee into the skin, and some people even drink pee to realize health benefits. Some people even claim that drinking pee or rubbing pee into the skin can help prevent cancer. More practically, pee might be used to alleviate itching or stinging by rubbing it into the skin. Have you ever heard that you should pee on a sea urchin or jellyfish sting? It has been shown to help reduce the intensity of the sting. Some people claim drinking pee can help with a sore throat…. I think I prefer to use some Chloraseptic. Now, if you’re going to try drinking urine, there are certain guidelines to urine therapy. First, make sure you continue to drink water while engaging in urine therapy. You need to be well hydrated. Urine is very salty, and you don’t want to leave those minerals concentrated in your body. Make sure you drink the pee in small amounts, not all at once. Also, some pee is better for urine therapy. You should use the first pee of the morning. Also, try not to use the beginning or the end of the stream of pee. The midstream pee is the best for urine therapy. Now, let’s move on to less salty subjects.
Where do you pee?
About 45% of people admit to peeing in the shower. We guess that more people pee in the shower than are willing to admit. Also about 45% of people admit that they pee in the ocean. Only 28% admit that that pee in the pool. We’re sure the use of pee indicators that change the color of the water have reduced the number of people peeing in the pool.
How long can you hold in the pee?
Long car rides almost always elicit a cry of, “Can we find a bathroom? I need to pee!” The general rule is, when you have to go to the bathroom, you should go to the bathroom.
In general, the average adult bladder can hold about 16 ounces or 2 cups of liquid at maximum. Typically, you feel the need to pee when your bladders fills to about 8 ounces.
There’s a tragic incident where a woman tried to hold it too long… and died. In a recent radio contest for a Nintendo Wii, a woman actually died from Water Intoxication (water poisoning). The contest was called, “Hold your Wee for a Wii.” The idea was to see how much water a person could drink before they had to pee. The person who could drink the required amount and hold in the pee the longest would win the Wii. What the radio station did not anticipate, however is that someone could actually die from this. You can read more about this tragic event here. Water intoxication happens when electrolytes in the body get too low. This happens when you are working out too much without replenishing electrolytes but still drink large amounts of water, or it can happen when you drink massive amounts of water in a short period of time or without urinating to release excess water from the body. Most healthy adults will never experience water intoxication unless they are taking part in a water drinking contest. Infant babies are at risk due to low body mass, and it would be easy for a baby to absorb too much water in relation to its body size.
A baby’s first pee
Many people assume that a baby’s first urination happens when it comes out of the mother’s uterus. In fact, however, a baby will pee while still in the womb. You might be astounded to know that the kidney of a fetus is developed well enough by 14 weeks in the uterus, and the baby will start peeing into the amniotic fluid at that time. Pretty impressive considering the baby fetus is only the size of a lemon.
A Cure for Thrush?
It’s said that when a baby has thrush, you can treat it by taking the baby’s wet diaper and wiping it inside the baby’s mouth on the areas with the thrush. If you are going to try this home remedy, we recommend you avoid doing this with the diapers that have moisture absorbing gel. Why would this work? Well, thrush is basically a yeast infection. The theory is that the ammonia in the baby’s pee will kill the thrush yeast infection. Personally, we’re a little skeptical about trying this home remedy out on our kids. It just sounds kind of disgusting. I guess it depends on how desperate you are to get rid of your baby’s thrush. At least we could say it’s an all-natural thrush remedy. Now, remember, it’s only the baby’s pee that might help. Try to pass on the other diapers.
A New Way to Highlight
Are you tired of the same old pale yellow healthy urine color? Do you want to add a little excitement to your pee? Try vitamin B12. If you take high dosages of vitamin B12, you may notice that your pee turns neon yellow.
Oh, those magic cats
Ok, this one is about cat urine, but it’s still worth mentioning. Cat pee will glow under a black light. I guess that’s one way to find out where the cat has peed on the carpet. Just be warned, you may find it in places you never wanted to know about. Now, the cat urine odor just might give away the location even if you don't have a black light.