WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Will the Paper of the Future Be Made from Poop?

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

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>another classic from our archives. For many of us, life

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<v Speaker 1>is increasingly digital and paper increasingly rare. But what if

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<v Speaker 1>paper could be more environmentally friendly and a little grosser

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time. Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren folk Bomb

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<v Speaker 1>Here it's become an evergreen piece of advice for aspiring writers.

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<v Speaker 1>Put your button the chair and write a first draft,

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<v Speaker 1>no matter how crappy. Now, thanks to a breakthrough in

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<v Speaker 1>chemical technology, that first draft can be literal crap, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least printed on it. Researchers announced at a meeting

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<v Speaker 1>of the American Chemical Society in March that it's possible

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<v Speaker 1>to turn manure from cows, elephants, goats, and other grass

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<v Speaker 1>munchers into yes paper. As you may already know, paper

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<v Speaker 1>is made from cellulos that usually comes from trees. Not

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<v Speaker 1>every place has a lot of trees, But as we

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<v Speaker 1>all know, everybody poops, and some of those poopers leave

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<v Speaker 1>patties around for stepping in or collecting if you're of

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<v Speaker 1>a mind to collect poop like these. A c S

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<v Speaker 1>scientists are one of the researchers who presented this idea

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<v Speaker 1>at the a c S meeting. In question, Alexander Bismarck, PhD.

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<v Speaker 1>Was driving around crete and watched goats eat grass and

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<v Speaker 1>poop it out. He thought that maybe the goats were

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<v Speaker 1>doing to the grass what paper manufacturers due two trees,

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<v Speaker 1>turn it into cellulose that could be made into paper,

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<v Speaker 1>because of course that's what you think of while you're

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<v Speaker 1>driving around an idyllic island. Cretion excretions. Some animals, it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out, do a pretty good job pooping out paper

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<v Speaker 1>ready cellulose, depending on which animal is doing the manure manufacturing,

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<v Speaker 1>Bismarck said in a press statement. Up to that manure

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<v Speaker 1>is cellulose, which is then easily accessible to make paper

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<v Speaker 1>from trees, The trees have to be ground way down

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<v Speaker 1>by a machine into a pulp before being made into

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<v Speaker 1>proper paper. Goats do that work for free every day

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<v Speaker 1>of their grass munchoned, poop leaven lives. The only thing

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<v Speaker 1>they require is more grass, which makes more poop, which

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<v Speaker 1>makes more paper, and they need some water to drink

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe scritches on their little chins. But either way,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a more environmentally friendly process than traditional paper making,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's not just goats. The researchers moved onto piles

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<v Speaker 1>of patties from horses, cows, and elephants. To elephants in

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<v Speaker 1>wildlife parks in Africa are number one at going number

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<v Speaker 1>two at the San Francisco Zoo alone, an adult male

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<v Speaker 1>African elephant can produce three hundred pounds. That's thirty six

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<v Speaker 1>kilos of pooh. That's a lot of potential paper. The

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<v Speaker 1>first uses for this poop paper would probably be industrial.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the researchers, it could filter wastewater before it's

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<v Speaker 1>released into the environment, which seems fitting. But poop pyrus,

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<v Speaker 1>or nanopaper, as the researchers rather boringly call it, could

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<v Speaker 1>also be used to write on. So don't give up,

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<v Speaker 1>fellow writers, Our first drafts could soon be really truly crappy.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article poop Pyrus Eco

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<v Speaker 1>friendly paper made from poop on how stuff Works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Kristen Hall Geisler. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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