How much pee in the pool is fatal?

You may have known that pee combined with chlorine makes a toxic byproduct. So peeing in a chlorine pool actually is unhealthy. But how unhealthy? Like, could it kills you?

The good scientists at arstechnica tried to figure that out. Here’s what they calculated:

Via.

If you and three million other people could get at this pool and unload your pee into it before your bodies melted, before the crowd crushed you to death, and before you drowned from the massive tidal wave of pee... yes, you could feasibly die of cyanogen chloride poisoning originating from chlorinated water and pee. 

Wow. I'm only swimming in lakes and oceans from now on. Oh wait, fish pee... darn it!

The most amazing butt in the animal kingdom?

I just read an amazing article by Gwen Pearson about baby dragonflies.

As you know, they start life as underwater nymphs. (Mosquitoes do the same thing.) And these dragonfly nymphs breathe through the gills in their butts. They also swim with their butts— as Pearson writes, by “un-clenching their rectum, water in the rectal chamber can be jetted out at high pressure, pushing the nymph forward through the water.”

Oh, and they eat with their butts (sort of). First, look at this.

Gah! What just happened? A dragonfly nymph just went all "Alien" on a water bug! Specifically:

The ability of a dragonfly nymph to successfully snatch and grab food is directly related to its anus. The mouth-grabber is hydraulically activated.  The dragonfly draws water in through the anus, clenches, then compresses its abdominal and thoracic muscles against the water-filled rectal chamber. This raises the internal body cavity pressure, and pushes the [jaws] out.

And those jaws are powerful: “the dragonfly nymphs generates a pound WITH THEIR BUTTS.”

Want to know why this sign is necessary?

No, you don't. (Via.)

Do Olympic swimmers pee in the pool?

Short answer: Yes.

Slightly longer answer: ALL THE TIME!

More details from Olympic swimmer Carly Geehr:

You always try to pee before you swim, but sometimes your body defies logic and finds a way to refill your bladder just to spite you. Adrenaline and nerves wreak havoc on your system, and I knew tons of other swimmers that always, regardless of prior planning, had to pee right before a race. So it's not uncommon to splash yourself before you climb up on the blocks, so that extra liquid on yourself and the pool deck affords you an interesting opportunity. (I'll let you finish the rest of that thought.) 

As a swimmer, you just have to accept that you're swimming in pee. I had a teammate that would sit on the wall and announce “I'm peeing!” which was ... disgusting ... but at least she warned us. I'm sure I've swum directly behind people who were just letting it all out. 

The only way you can really tell if someone's peeing in the pool is if they announce it to you or they're really dehydrated/sitting in one spot while they go. It diffuses pretty quickly, and if you're moving, it diffuses even faster.

Let's go to the pool!

Via.

Toilet Fountain Waterfall

You're welcome.

"I take a sheet in the pool"?

I'm pretty sure that's against the rules.

The World Snot-Blowing Championship!

Okay, it's actually the world neti-pot championship. If you're not familiar with neti pots, they jet water UP one nostril. The water then cleans your nasal cavity and jets OUT the other nostril. Hit "Play" and you'll see what I mean.

This is SO crazy, it may just be an ad. If so, I don't mind!

Futuristic Toilets!

Toilet designers in the Ukraine have come up with a new toilet design. And I'm green with envy!

They call it the Hudson, after Sherlock Holmes's landlady. (Sherlock Holmes smoked a pipe that sort of looked like this.)

I don't know about you, but I like it!

Another interesting toilet comes to us by way of Italian designers. It's a combination sink/toilet.

When you wash your hands, the waste-water goes to fill the toilet. Then you poop in it! This means the water is doing TWICE the work as it usually does. Que bella!

Pix and info from De Zeen.

Let's go to the beach!

On second thought, we can go, but stay OUT of the water. After all, this Chinese beach in Quindao is suffering an explosion of algae growth. When that happens, a thick green covering blankets the—

Hey! I said stay out of the water!

Photographs and story

 from National Geographic.

Who peed in the reservoir?

Here in Portland, some of our drinking water is stored in big outdoor reservoirs, like this one at Mt. Tabor. This worked out fine until the other day, when some bonehead was spotted urinating INTO the reservoir.


Why would he do something that stupid? According to this Oregonian article, "I thought this was a sewage treatment plant."


Yes, despite the crystal blue water, lack of any stink, and pretty outdoor setting, this somehow SEEMED like a good idea. Which still wouldn't have been SO bad, except the city of Portland then drained the whole reservoir and "threw it away."


Yep, 7.8 million gallons gone because of six-to-eight ounces of pee. (Which is totally germ-free, BTW.) 


Will the urinating criminal be charged with a crime? A police spokesperson said, "He's not out of the water yet."


Ziiiiinnngggerrrr!

Why does everything drink from the toilet?

This cool shot of a Star Wars Imperial Walker drinking out of the toilet is by Rodrigo Leonardo Batista Ferreira. It's available as a T-shirt over at Threadless T’s. Get a couple for the Number 1 and Number 2 people in your life!

Thanks for the tip!

The new city hall in Chandler, Arizona, has signs up:

Urinals and Toilets are served with gray water

Do Not Drink

Hey, I wonder how many thirsty people went to the restrooms and then came back out, disappointed?

Story and picture from AZ Central.com.

Hey! That CAN'T be right!

The U.S. Geological Survey issued a press release yesterday titled "If the Water Looks and Smells Bad, It May Be Toxic."

What a rip-off! What am I supposed to drink now?