WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why is Bird Poop White?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, I'm Lauren voc Obam, and I've got a

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<v Speaker 1>classic episode for you today from our former host, Christian Sagar.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's one of those gross but pressing questions about

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<v Speaker 1>the world around us. Why is bird poop white? Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager. Today's question is pretty gross. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>let's give it a go. Have you ever washed a

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<v Speaker 1>car just to have a bird poop on it a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes later? It's sad when you think about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite the wealth of technological and social innovations across the

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<v Speaker 1>span of human history, we still can't stop birds from

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<v Speaker 1>flying around crapping on whatever they want anytime anywhere. A

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<v Speaker 1>bird actually pooped on my dog's head the other day.

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<v Speaker 1>And look, this is not normal poop. It's white, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>with a dark spot in it. But why why is

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<v Speaker 1>bird poop white? Well, the answer here is it isn't.

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<v Speaker 1>At least, bird poop isn't all white. It's a mix

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<v Speaker 1>of colors, and it can vary with the species of

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<v Speaker 1>the bird or its diet, but there's definitely white stuff

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<v Speaker 1>in there. Right. Well, it all comes down to streamlining.

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<v Speaker 1>Birds are like any other animal they take in food,

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<v Speaker 1>process it for energy and excrete waste. However, where mammals

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<v Speaker 1>like deer elephants or bill murray have two different excretion

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<v Speaker 1>systems like urine and feces, bird biology ain't got time

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<v Speaker 1>for that. Birds don't even have separate exits for their

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<v Speaker 1>waste and reproductive systems. Instead of the genitalia anous combo

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<v Speaker 1>so popular in the mammalion world, birds have a one

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<v Speaker 1>stop shop called the cloaca. It's the entrance exit point

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<v Speaker 1>for the intestines, urinary tract, and reproductive system. Yep. Think

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<v Speaker 1>about that for a second. Birds also process the food

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<v Speaker 1>they eat in a different way. We mammals break down

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<v Speaker 1>protein and produce nitrogenous waste, but we make it into urrea,

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<v Speaker 1>which we dissolve into water and excrete as urine. This

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<v Speaker 1>takes a lot of water, which means we have to

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<v Speaker 1>drink lots of it and also means we don't do

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<v Speaker 1>well in places without much water. Birds take a different approach,

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<v Speaker 1>and one that conserves water. Instead of dissolving that waste

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<v Speaker 1>into urine, they primarily excrete something called uric acid. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a solid pasty junk that's the white stuff in a way.

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<v Speaker 1>Birds aren't just pooping on our cars, statues, buildings, and

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<v Speaker 1>occasionally very unlucky people looking up with their mouths open.

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<v Speaker 1>They're also peeing. And here's why. Remember how earlier I

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned this was all about streamlining. Birds aren't trying to

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<v Speaker 1>conserve water out of some strange sense of environmental responsibility.

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<v Speaker 1>They've evolved to reduce their weight and carrying all that

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<v Speaker 1>extra water around to produce urine. It just doesn't make sense.

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<v Speaker 1>There are also, and I can't believe I'm saying this,

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<v Speaker 1>pros and cons to bird poop. Pro it's a great fertilizer. Con,

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<v Speaker 1>it can carry a wealth of diseases. Also, it's been

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<v Speaker 1>used as a cosmetic of facial cleanser. True story. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if it's a pro or con, that's up to you.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Ben Bolan and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radios

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other gross but interesting topics, visit our home planet how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot com. Plus for more podcasts for my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.