while sitting on the futon & knitting while i waited for my laundry to finish so i could start scrubbing down my (shamefully disgusting) shower, i seemed to notice a lot of commercials for pull-ups on tv. you know which ones i’m talking about, those cute commercials with the little kids giving their tips on how to potty train: “don’t forget to flush!”
somehow that made me think about how much pressure those poor kids are put under. i mean, it can be a seriously stressful time for a child. the little things have happily been pooping or peeing whenever they wanted to and now they’re being told that they have to change their elimination routines to fit societal rules.
that’s when i started thinking about how different life would be if our ancient ancestors hadn’t started using designated areas, away from their living spaces, for bodily functions. what would the world look like if we shat or pissed whenever the urge struck, just like animals? i don’t think there’d be wall-to-wall carpeting, for one. i also think we’d have a very different olfactory system — either much more sensitive (to filter through all the fecal odours) or much less descriminating (to block out anything offensive).
no, really. this is the kind of thing i think about.