Okay, maybe not EVERYTHING. But a lot of this year has been, well, a shit show.
Something to keep in mind, though. We often think of poo as a bad thing. Describing something as a “shit show” doesn’t exactly suggest rainbows and sunshine, right? And yet, feces is fascinating. Just ask a biologist or paleontologist. You never know what you’ll find when poking around human and animal poop.
Recently, while doing my own research (not poking around in poop, to be clear), I learned the term for fossilized feces: coprolites. These types of fossils are very rare since they tend to decay long before they are ever discovered. And they are very valuable. Scientists can unearth a lot of information about the diet and behaviour of a species—and its environment—from its fossilized excrement.
I mean, seriously. The stories that a pile of dino dung has to tell…
And it just so happens that the discovery of the world’s largest coprolite, most likely belonging to a T. rex, was confirmed this past March. Measuring over 2 feet in length, the colossal coprolite was found on a private ranch in South Dakota. Curious? Feast your eyes on this feces. You’re welcome.