Why Do Stools Float Sometimes?

Stools, or poop, usually sink to the bottom of the toilet, but sometimes, they can float. If your poop never sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl, you may have too much gas in your intestines.‌

Normally, floating stools aren’t a cause for concern. Read on to learn more about why stools float, what floating stools say about your health, and more.

What Are Floating Stools?

When stools float, it means the poop stays on the surface of the toilet water instead of sinking. Normally, poop sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl.‌

Floating poop doesn’t mean you’re sick, but it can be a symptom of various conditions.

Why Would Stools Float?

There are several reasons why poop floats and never seems to sink.

Too much gas. You may have too much gas in you due to your diet, which can make your stools float. 

Some people think that floating poop is caused by fat, but it’s usually caused by gas. Research has indicated that once floating stools were degassed, they weighed the same as sinking poop. This indicates that gas was responsible for making floating stools float, rather than fat inside the poop.

Gas in your digestive system is usually caused when you swallow air or eat certain types of foods that break down into gas. 

If you eat a high-fiber diet with a lot of vegetables and fruits, you may get floating stools because digesting high-fiber foods releases more air during digestion. This leads to air or gas being trapped in the stool, making it float in the toilet bowl.

Medical conditions. If your poop floats, there’s a slight chance you have steatorrhea, which means you have too much fat in your poop. Steatorrhea indicates you can’t absorb fat properly, and it can be a symptom of the following conditions:

• Celiac disease
• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) due to cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis
• Diseases affecting small intestines such as tropical sprue, Whipple disease, and lymphoma
• Bile acid deficiency

You may also have the following conditions if you have floating poop:

• Gastrointestinal infection
• Malabsorption, which means you’re not absorbing nutrients as well as you should

When To See a Doctor

Floating stools don’t necessarily mean you have an underlying health condition. To determine if a health condition is causing this, you should be on the lookout for other indicators. 

If your floating stools are smelly, sticky, or bloody, for example, you should see a doctor. Your doctor will give you a proper diagnosis and walk you through the process of understanding your condition if you have one. Here’s a closer look at what might cause these symptoms.‌

Smelly and sticky stools. Smelly and sticky stools are typically a symptom of nutrient malabsorption. This means your body isn’t able to completely absorb and digest nutrients from your gastrointestinal tract due to damage to the small intestine, not having enough pancreatic enzymes, liver disease, HIV/AIDs, or other conditions.

If your floating stools are smelly and appear sticky, you should contact your doctor.

Blood in your stool. If your floating poop is accompanied by blood, it could be caused by:

• Bleeding in your anus or rectum
• Cancer of your digestive system
• Blood vessel abnormalities
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease such as Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis
• Ulcers in the stomach or small intestine
• Polyps
• Diverticulitis ‌

If you find blood in your stools, you should see a doctor. If you’re experiencing weight loss, dizziness, or fever in addition to finding blood in your stools, you should talk to your doctor immediately. You should also get emergency medical help if there is a lot of blood in your poop, or if it is maroon or black and tarry.‌

Your doctor will be able to determine what is the exact cause of bloody poop through imaging tests and physical exams.

Treatment

When you visit your doctor, they will likely ask you several questions about your medical history and your current health to determine why you have floating stools. They will also ask you about your diet and how long you’ve been having this issue so they can make any needed diet and medication recommendations.

Prevention

Unless there is a medical condition causing you to have floating poops, there is no need to do anything to treat or prevent them.

Monitor your pooping habits. Always be aware of any changes to your stool and bowel movements. If you’re suddenly pooping more or less, or your poop looks very different, you should report these changes to your doctor. Your doctor will find it easier to diagnose any health conditions you may have if you keep an organized record about your pooping habits.

Changing your diet. Sometimes, preventing floating poop can be as easy as changing your diet, since floating poop can be caused by eating foods that cause you to have more gas.

You should avoid the following foods if you have a problem with too much gas:

• Hard candy
• Fizzy or carbonated drinks
• Gum‌

Keep a food diary so you can keep track of what you eat and narrow down what foods are giving you gas. You should bring this diary to your doctor so you can talk to them about how you can change your diet.

What Does it Mean When Your Poop Floats — TUSHY

Hope floats, but poop really isn’t supposed to. 

So why aren’t all of your stinkers sinkers? And what does floating poop mean? Well, floaters normally mean that your #2 passed through your intestines too quickly, and the nutrients did not have a chance to be absorbed. This can be from having gas, having changed your diet, or even having a stomach bug. But(t) the occasional floating poop is no cause for fear! We’re here to tell you what causes floating stools, and how to make ‘em fall.

Floating Stool: Why Isn’t It Sinking?!

A healthy poo snakes around the bottom of your toilet bowl. It gives us cobra in a basket vibes. So when your BMs aren’t sinking, it’s a sign that your snake may be a little sick. There can be a variety of reasons, ranging from benign to *book a doctor’s appointment*. A floater here and there isn’t cause for alarm, but if you’re routinely dropping brown clouds, it’s worth a closer look.

Here’s the Scoop on Your Floating Poop

When poop floats, it means something is off with the make-up of your bricks. There are a constellation of causes that pretty much center around digestive problems. Unless you’re scarfing down refried beans, it’s likely there’s some sort of tummy trouble causing your poo to ride your toilet’s waves. Here’s more on what is causing your floaters:

Malabsorption

Floating stool generally indicate malabsorption, meaning that your body isn’t absorbing nutrients as the stool passes through your gastrointestinal system. Generally this fast-pass ride through your intestines means the poop will have a high fat content. Just like oil floats in dressing, the fat in your poo makes it float. 

On its own, malabsorption isn’t necessarily a red flag. But some of the main causes are digestive problems, like Celiac disease, lactose-intolerance and pancreatitis. With any of these conditions, you’ll also notice other symptoms — more on that below.

Stomach Bug and GI Infections

Infections that infect the GI tract, like E. coli, Salmonella or norovirus, can cause floaters. These infections can create gas (which floats), or may change your body’s ability to absorb nutrients (leading to fatty floaters). In most cases, a tummy infection is temporary and doesn’t require treatment. Definitely go hard on fluids and rest while you recover. If symptoms don’t improve over time, you’ll want to get to a doctor.

Eating Foods that Give You Gas

Think of foods that make you fart. The worst offenders include beans, milk, raw veggies, or sodas — basically wherever you’ll find large amounts of sugar, lactose, starch, or fiber. They can create so much gas that it gets lodged inside your poos. Air is less dense than water, so the air-pocketed poop floats. It’s kinda like you’ve got tiny balloons in your poo. Hey Pixar, we smell an Up sequel!

Health Conditions that Cause Floating Poop

When stool is fatty (thicc), it may float. The medical term for this is steatorrhea, and it’s got a few origin stories. Here are a few possible reasons your stool is light.

Celiac Disease

Celiac is an autoimmune disease that damages the lining of the small intestine whenever gluten is ingested. Gluten is a group of proteins that exists in grains like wheat, rye and barley. Folks afflicted with Celiac may experience other digestive symptoms, like bloating and indigestion, diarrhea or nausea. 

Cystic Fibrosis

A disease that causes an overproduction of mucus in the digestive tract and lungs. The mucus throughout the pancreas prevents the full absorption of nutrients from stools, which can result in fatty poos that float.

Short Bowel Syndrome

Essentially, some portion of the intestines are AWOL. That is to say, a part of the small or large intestines aren’t functioning optimally, and nutrients in stools aren’t being fully absorbed in their digestive journey.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose is a sugar in dairy products, and your body needs an enzyme called lactase to process dairy properly. Not having enough lactase is the most common cause of malabsorption. With lactose-intolerance, you’re likely to experience bloating and/or diarrhea when you go hard on cheese dips, fettuccine alfredo and other creamy milky concoctions.

Pancreatitis

The pancreas is a large gland next to the stomach that generates digestive juices. When the juices start digesting the pancreas, that’s pancreatitis. Your pancreas isn’t designed to be digested! The damage this causes to the pancreas results in malabsorption. In this case, alongside floating stools, you’ll notice nausea, vomiting and unexpected weight loss.

When to See a Doctor

If peering at your poop reveals floating stools on the reg, you are likely experiencing malabsorption. Say you see buoyant BMs a few times a week for more than a month. Then, it may be time to visit your doctor. They’ll conduct tests to discover the underlying causes of these floating BMs, and may test you to determine what vitamins and minerals you are deficient in. 

If you are only spotting a brown cloud every now and again, your gassy foods are to blame. Rather than a doctor’s visit, it’s time to lay off the beans. And if you’re looking to feel more comfortable on the John, upgrade your pooping position with a TUSHY Ottoman.

Is Your Poop Healthy? See How to Read Your Stool

• Paying attention to your poop can help you build a stronger gut, check your organ function and boost nutrient absorption from the foods you eat.
• The color, shape, texture and consistency of your poop tells you a lot about your digestive system and whether your diet needs adjusting. (Just glance in the toilet. This is not a hands-on exercise.)
• Check out the poop chart below to see where your bowel movements fall on the spectrum. Then, get tips to improve your digestion and gut health.

Right now, you may be ignoring one of your body’s informational super-sources: your poop. Your poop can tell you all sorts of things about your digestive health, including if you should adjust your diet, drink more water or see a gastroenterology specialist. Next time you’re in the bathroom, take a look in the toilet and then check the Bulletproof Poop Chart (below).

A small change could help you build a stronger gut, absorb more nutrients from your food and improve your good gut bacteria—positive changes that can lead to an even bigger impact on how you feel.

Read on to learn what different types of poop and bowel movements mean about your body. Then, learn how you can make adjustments to improve your health.

The ultimate gut health poop chart

If you’re curious about what your poop is trying to tell you, take a look at the Bulletproof Poop Chart. Based on the Bristol Stool Chart, this chart pairs examples with actionable tips. Then, keep reading for more details about the poop chart meaning and steps to improve your health and wellbeing.

Paying attention to your bowel movements is especially important if you notice gastrointestinal red flags like hemorrhoids, constipation, pain in your rectum or related symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (aka IBS). Here’s what it all means—and when you want to talk to your doctor:

Start with the consistency

The firmness of your poop suggests a wealth of information about your body. So, is your poop soft, hard or runny?

You’ve probably already noticed the extremes, like runny or hard (which may be accompanied by constipation or hemorrhoids). Now, notice the subtleties: Is it lumpy or smooth? Are there ragged edges or clear-cut edges? Does it come out in soft blobs or more solid pieces?

Compare the consistency with each poop chart meaning for more insights into what your poop says about your health.

If you’re having frequent liquid stools:

Check with your healthcare provider if you experience frequent diarrhea. Generally speaking, here are some tips to help firm up your poop:

• Fiber adds bulk to your stools and makes them easier to pass. Eat plenty of fiber-rich veggies to make sure you’re still getting the nutrients you need, but cook them so they’re easier to digest.
• Try eliminating grains, nuts, legumes, caffeine and alcohol. These foods and drinks can affect your digestive tract and stomach lining and impact the diversity of your gut bacteria. ^[1][2]
• Feed your biome with prebiotic-rich foods like sweet potato, carrots and asparagus. When it’s hard to get enough fiber-rich foods, reach for Bulletproof InnerFuel Prebiotic—it’s a prebiotic supplement with ingredients for immune support.^†
• Experiment with fermented foods like kombucha, sauerkraut and (if you tolerate dairy) grass-fed kefir. These fermented foods contain bacteria and yeasts that may be beneficial for your gut and gastrointestinal health—but keep in mind that fermented foods don’t work for everyone.
• To help eliminate everyday toxins from your gut, occasionally take activated coconut charcoal between meals. Coconut charcoal binds with toxins and flushes them out.^† (Be forewarned that activated charcoal can turn your poop black—more on that in our poop color chart below.)
• Take collagen protein to support your body’s tissues, including the lining of the gut. Bulletproof Collagen Protein Gut Health is specifically formulated for gut support with a blend of ingredients like prebiotics, probiotics and zinc carnosine.^†

Once you start implementing positive changes, track your poop over time. If it begins to look more like a 3 or 4, you’re on the right track, and odds are high that your good gut bacteria are flourishing.

Floaters or sinkers?

Your stool’s buoyancy is especially useful info when you’re eating a lower-carb, high-fat diet like the keto diet because it’s a good test of whether you’re metabolizing and absorbing the fat you eat.^[3]

Generally, poop should sink. If your poop is solid and occasionally floats, it could just be that you ate an especially large amount of fiber that day, which isn’t anything to write home about. But if your poop floats regularly, it could be a sign that you aren’t digesting fat. Watch for:

• Regularly soft, floating poop
• Oil slicks from the poop that coat the toilet bowl (like the grease left in the box when you pick up a piece of pizza. Yeah. That’s gross. Sorry.)
• Mucus in your poop or white stools

If your poop is oily once in a while, it could just be a side effect from eating too much fat. If it happens regularly, check your diet. Did you just switch over to a higher-fat diet? If so, your body can take a couple of weeks to start producing enough lipase, the enzyme you need to break down fat. To help in the meantime, taking lipase for a few days as a digestive supplement may help.

If you haven’t changed anything and your poop floats in an oil slick on a regular basis, visit a doctor to get ahead of any serious conditions.^[4][5]

Related: How to Own Your Gut Bacteria and Fix Leaky Gut Syndrome

Is there food in your poop?

Food in your poop could be totally normal, especially if it’s vegetable matter.

A lot of veggies—especially green foods—contain cellulose, which humans lack the enzymes to digest.^[6] The result is that they come out the same way they go in. The size and consistency depends on how well you chew your food.

Quick side note: Most seeds (like chia seeds and hemp seeds) have a cellulose covering that prevents you from digesting them, and they’ll come out intact. If you’re not just eating them for the fiber, be sure you grind them first to better absorb those nutrients. And for the record, there are much better sources of omega-3s than chia or hemp, like krill and fish oil (found in Bulletproof Omega Krill Complex).

A little bit of food in your poop is fine, but if your poop is mostly undigested food, something’s going on. It’s likely that you lack the good gut bacteria that break down fibers.

What color is your poop?

Keep an eye on your poop’s color. It tells you how well your body is processing the food you eat and can provide clues about your digestive health. Here’s a handy poop color chart for reference:

• Brown, yellow, or green poop: The gold standard for healthy poop. Things look good. The difference in colors depends on what you eat and how much bile you’re producing.^[7] Generally, poop ranging in shades of brown to green is a good sign.
• Pale, clay-colored poop: Light gray, clay-like feces can suggest a problem with your digestion.^[8][9] If your poop is regularly pale and gray, get yourself to a healthcare professional.
• Red or black poop: Did you eat beets or licorice recently? If so, that may explain the change in color. Beets and some other black and red foods can cause your healthy stool to change colors because of their pigments (taking iron supplements can also lead to black stools). But if you haven’t eaten beets and you see red or black stool in the toilet, see a doctor about these irregularly colored bowel movements.^[10]

How often do you poop?

The final thing to note about your poop is frequency: one or two poops a day, or only three times a week?

• Less than three times a week: Take magnesium to help your body send more water to your bowels. ^[11] Speaking of water, drink lots of it. Get your thyroid checked if things don’t become more regular.
• Three or more times a day: You should probably eat more fiber from vegetables. Fiber slows down food passage through your digestive system, which gives you more time to absorb precious nutrients. If you’re getting lots of veggies and still pooping three or more times a day, see a doctor.

If you’re on a fairly regular schedule with your bowel habits, that’s a sign that your digestion is strong. Your poops should also generally feel “complete.” That means you feel like you’ve evacuated everything, and there isn’t more to come out.

What to do if you don’t poop regularly

Not pooping regularly? Try integrating a few of these tips and tricks into your diet, and always consider consulting with your doctor or a gastroenterologist for advice, too.

• Drink more water: Staying hydrated keeps the stool in your large intestines soft, which makes it easier to pass. Not sure where to start? Check out our tips to stay hydrated.
• Add magnesium to your list of daily supplements: It tells your body to send water to your bowels, which helps everything move more smoothly.^[12] You should probably take magnesium, anyway—most Americans are deficient.^[13]
• Be sure you’re getting enough fiber-rich foods to help soften stools: Good examples are berries, avocados and broccoli. Set a goal to eat a plate full of salad greens (or add to smoothies) every day to up your fiber intake.
• Try gut health supplements: Bulletproof Gut Health Collagen Protein is your all-in-one gut health solution, since it features probiotics, prebiotics, gut health nutrients and collagen protein to support healthy digestion.^† Or try Bulletproof InnerFuel Prebiotic if you just want prebiotics to feed your good gut bacteria, plus ingredients for immune health support. ^†

If you’re grappling with chronic constipation, see a doctor. Constipation is one of those situations that can have many different causes, from under-producing thyroid hormones to lack of bile production or nutrient malabsorption.

Poop is a treasure trove of information about what’s going on inside your body. It may seem strange, but taking note of your poop gives you valuable insight into your digestion, organ function, gut bacteria and more.

Keep tabs on your poop (or keep a poop journal, if you’re hardcore). It’s a great indicator of how small changes in your diet affect your gut—and healthy stool lets you know if you’re moving in the right direction.

If you’re feeling bloated, fatigued or just off, it may be time to check in on your gut health. Read on to learn about signs your gut is unhealthy and how to fix it.

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This article has been updated with new content. 

What the appearance if your poop means

When examining the appearance of faeces we use the Bristol Stool chart²  which classifies seven different types of poop, making it easier for you or your doctor to determine what is going on with your health.

This is what the shape of your poop means:

Soft smooth sausage shaped poop

The appearance of your poop is a nice smooth and soft sausage with a slight bend that passes with ease. This is an ideal shape. It means that your fibre and water intake is perfectly balanced. Well done!

Slightly cracked sausage-shaped poop

The appearance of your poop is sausage-shaped with slight cracks around the edges but is soft. This is considered one of the ideal consistencies of faeces (nice and normal), but the cracks suggest that you can still increase your intake of water.

Poop that looks like small, soft balls with clear edges

The appearance of your poop is shaped like small blobs with clear edges. This is not ideal and indicates that you need to increase your intake of water and fibre ASAP!

Lumpy sausage-shaped poop

The appearance of your poop is sausage shaped but hard, dry and lumpy. This is indicative of mild constipation which could lead to a serious case of constipation if not dealt with immediately. Again, increase your fibre intake and be sure to drink a healthy amount of water before you reach pellet shaped stools…

Pellet-shaped poop

If the appearance of your poop is shaped in small, dry, round and often hard balls (similar to nuts or animal droppings) and is hard to pass, this is often a clear indication of constipation. You may be left feeling bloated and experience abdominal discomfort.

To improve the situation and avoid it in future, try to eat more fibre based food such as wholegrain bread as well as fruits and vegetables. Be sure to drink a healthy amount of water each day – this is generally considered as being between 6 and 8 glasses.

If constipation is ongoing and severe thereafter, you should visit your healthcare provider.

 Very soft poop with rough edges

The appearance of your poop is mushy or very soft with lots of rough ragged edges. This is not good. It is a clear indication that you are on your way to the very unpleasant severe diarrhoea shape. Try to balance out your fibre and water intake.

Runny liquid poop with no solid pieces

The appearance of your poop is completely watery with no solid pieces. This is not good at all and means that you have severe diarrhoea. This is often linked to bacterial imbalances, food intolerance and food poisoning, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

If a runny stools persist for more than a few days or occur often, you should visit your healthcare provider right away and remember to stay hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.

Additional factors

Floating poop

Your poop floats and is difficult to flush down the toilet and is greasy. This can be a result of malabsorption of nutrients and healthy fats caused by many factors including stress.

Other causes of greasy floating faecal matter include inflammation of the gut, food intolerance and the consumption of certain drugs.

Sticky poop

Your poop sinks to the bottom quickly and leaves thick marks on the side of the toilet. This can be a result of too much oil in your stool due to the malabsorption of fatty oils.

Food in your poop

Your poop appears to have bits of food in it. This is the presence of food that has not had the chance to be digested. Food like corn can be difficult to digest and break down and seeing this is often normal.

If, however, you notice other bits of food in your stool, it could be an indication that you are not chewing your food properly. Make a point to chew more thoroughly and examine your poop again.

White speckled poop & an itchy bum

Your poop has little white spots (eggs) and your anus is very itchy. This is an indication that you are infected with a parasite. You should visit a healthcare provider immediately.

Parasites can be passed from person to person, so you should increase your bathroom hygiene by washing your hands thoroughly with water and soap every time you use the loo.

Reference

^{2. Nice. 1997.Bristol Stool Chart. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg99/resources/cg99-constipation-in-children-and-young-people-bristol-stool-chart-2 Accessed [23 November 2017]}

5 Ways Your Poop Can Advise You on Health

Poop and your health

(Image credit: Toilet sign photo via Shutterstock)

A person’s poop can say a lot about his or her health. How often you go to the bathroom, and how much waste you expel, can indicate your general digestive health.

“The digestive tract contains more bacterial cells than there are cells in the entire body,” said Dr. Jean-Pierre Raufman, a gastroenterologist at University of Maryland School of Medicine. “It’s very important that our bowels work well to absorb necessary nutrients but also keep out any foods, chemicals and germs that could do us harm.”

While most people probably don’t want to put much thought into pooping, it’s an essential body function that can tell them if something is wrong. A change in bowel movements could be due merely to a change in diet, but it could also mean the body is fighting an infection or dealing with a serious condition.

Here are five hints that your poop could be giving you about your health.

Color

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Stool color is often a reflection of what you eat. While various shades of brown are considered normal, some colors like black or yellow are not.  

“Black stool could indicate bleeding in the stomach or the first part of the small intestine,” Raufman said.

Iron supplements can darken the stool to more of a dark green, he added. Taking bismuth-containing medicines, such as Pepto-Bismol, or eating black licorice or blueberries also may cause black stools.

Bright red stool usually suggests that blood is coming from the lower part of the digestive system, such as the large intestine, rectum or anus.

Pale white or yellow stool also can mean a problem.

“The reason why stool is brown is because of our normal production of bile,” Raufman said. “If there’s a problem with bile flow, that may mean a problem like cancer of the bile ducts, or pancreatic cancer or hepatitis.”

Shape

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

A change in stool shape also could be cause for concern. Stools that are narrow and pencil-thin are thought by some experts to be a symptom of colon cancer.

“It could be a sign of obstruction in the lower part of the colon,” which means the bowel is partially blocked, getting in the way of the fecal matter that is passing through, Raufman said.

Another sign of a potential problem is soft stool. Stool that sticks to the side of the toilet bowl, or is difficult to flush, could indicate the presence of too much oil.

“Oil floats, so you’ll see it in the water,” Raufman said. “They look like fat droplets, which can mean the body isn’t absorbing the fats properly.” Diseases such as chronic pancreatitis block the body from properly absorbing fat.

Whether stool floats depends on how much gas is in it. “Generally, stool that sinks or floats don’t mean there’s a problem,” he said.

Smell

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Though the smell of poop can be rather unpleasant, smells that are particularly strange or foul shouldn’t be ignored. 

“It’s hard to tell people that stool can smell even worse, but it can,” Raufman said. “If there is a change in your stool that persists or is unusual, you should see your doctor.”

Stool is made up of undigested food, bacteria, mucus and dead cells. It usually smells bad because of the bacteria and parasites, but it also can have compounds that produce an especially unpleasant smell.

“If you have blood in your stool, that usually comes with a particular strange odor,” he said. “Also, stool with a lot of fat can smell particularly bad.”

Reasons for a foul smell could include certain medications, having food that’s been stuck in the colon for too long, or having an infection, he said.

Constipation

(Image credit: Devin_Pavel / Shutterstock.com)

Dry, hard stools that are hard to eliminate are a sign of constipation. People who are constipated may have bowel movements fewer than three times a week.  

Constipation is a common complaint, and most people experience it at least once in their lives. More than 4 million Americans have frequent constipation, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Constipation could be caused by a number of factors, including a poor diet, lack of exercise, certain medications, lack of fluids or various bowel disorders.

If ignored, constipation could lead to complications such as hemorrhoids or rectal bleeding. The best way to relieve symptoms is to follow a well-balanced high-fiber diet, drink plenty of water, try to exercise regularly and go to the bathroom when you feel the urge.

Diarrhea

(Image credit: Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock)

Diarrhea happens when loose, watery stools pass through your bowels too quickly. Generally it lasts one or two days and goes away on its own. 

“It’s a normal way for the body to get rid of toxic substances, like bacteria or viral infections,” but it also can lead to dehydration, Raufman said.

Parasites found in water and food can enter the body and disrupt the digestive system, causing diarrhea that can last several days.

Diarrhea also can suggest a more serious problem. Diarrhea that lasts for at least four weeks may be a sign of a chronic disease, such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease.

But diarrhea also could be a sign of chewing gum that contains sugar alcohol, such Xylitol or sorbitol. Raufman said, “Someone who chews one or two packs of sugar-free gum a day could also get diarrhea. “

What Your Stool Says About Your Health

You do it several times a week, and you’ve been doing so your whole life. It’s shape, size, frequency and even color can vary, and you’ve probably questioned the way it looks once or twice before.

Apologies for the bathroom talk, but we’re talking about your poop.

We don’t typically discuss our bowel movements with others, but your stool can say a lot about you — about your health and diet, in particular.

Dr. Eamonn Quigley, gastroenterologist at Houston Methodist, is here to answer those bathroom questions you’ve never been brave enough to ask but have always wanted answered.

Q: Which stool is healthy?

Dr. Quigley: As you probably already know, there’s variety when it comes to your stool.

When physicians talk about stool, we reference what’s called the Bristol stool scale — a chart that segments stool into seven different types. Type 1 is stool that’s hard and pebble-like, while type 7 is stool that’s completely liquid with no solid pieces. These types are associated with constipation and diarrhea, respectively.

In general, stool types three and four are considered “normal” — with type 3 being firm (but not hard) with small cracks in the surface, while type 4 is softer and smooth, but typically still shaped as a single piece.

However, this doesn’t mean that having another type of stool on occasion is a sign that you’re unhealthy.

Rather than thinking of stool in terms of what’s healthiest, I recommend knowing which changes in your stool are a signal that something could potentially be awry with your health or diet.

The three features of your stool to keep an eye on are:

• Its consistency
• Its color
• If it floats instead of sinks

Q: When should you be worried about your stool consistency?

Dr. Quigley: When the consistency of your stool changes significantly, you’re either experiencing diarrhea or constipation.

Diarrhea is when your stool is watery, or very loose, and lacking clear shape. In addition, it can be when you find yourself having to use the bathroom more than three times per day, even if your stool isn’t completely watery each time.

Constipation is when your stool has a hard, lumpy or pebble-like consistency. Often times, the stool is so hard that it’s difficult or painful to pass. Constipation is also characterized by passing stool less than three times per week.

It’s always worth noting changes in your bowel habits, but the occasional diarrhea and constipation aren’t always a cause for concern.

For instance, stool consistency and frequency can be temporarily affected by:

• A change in your diet – consuming more fat or less fiber than usual
• Increased stress – situational events that cause excess stress to your mind and body
• Travel – whether driving, flying or sailing, traveler’s constipation or diarrhea can occur with disruptions to your usual routine

If diarrhea or constipation persists and can’t be tied to one or more of the above, talk to your doctor — especially if you’re also experiencing abdominal pain or notice blood in your stool, as these together can be a sign of a more serious illness or health condition.

Importantly, if you’re experiencing diarrhea accompanied by a fever or blood in your stool, visit your nearest emergency room. This can be a sign of infection, which can quickly become serious. Severe diarrhea can also lead to dehydration faster than you’d probably think.

Q: When are changes in the color of your stool concerning?

Dr. Quigley: Your stool is the end result of the many things you eat and drink, as well as the chemical reactions these foods undergo as they are metabolized and travel through your body. This is why your stool can vary in color (and scent) from time to time.

The only two colors you need to worry about are:

• Pale stool, which can be a sign of a bile duct blockage or other problems with digesting and absorbing your food
• Black, tar-like looking stool, which can indicate that blood is present in your stool

Talk to your doctor if you notice either of these color changes occurring in your stool.

Otherwise, the in-between shades of brown and even the concerning-looking green stool that sometimes occurs are nothing to worry about.

Q: What does it mean if your stool floats instead of sinks?

Dr. Quigley: For the most part, healthy stool is a stool that sinks.

Stool that floats can be a sign of malabsorption — in which your body is not adequately digesting and/or absorbing nutrients from the food you’re eating and drinking. If you notice that your stool is floating more often than not, it’s important to be evaluated by your doctor. In this situation, you may also notice that your stool is oily.

Q: Can your stool tell you anything about your gut health?

Dr. Quigley: Recently, gut microbiome stool testing has become a popular trend. People are either looking to their gut microbiome composition to help explain stool changes, or are simply curious about their gut health.

Right now, however, stool analysis to study the gut microbiome is not yet clinically useful — apart from using clinical analyses to detect concerning infections, such as with C. difficile, Salmonella and Shigella.

Along similar lines, people often take a probiotic to promote good gut health. But if you’re using probiotics to alleviate symptoms of chronic diarrhea or constipation, certain probiotics are more effective than others.

For instance, a probiotic made primarily of Lactobacillus can help diarrheal illness, especially in children. Whereas, a probiotic containing the yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii has been shown to be effective for diarrhea related to antibiotic usage.

Lastly, data supporting the usefulness of probiotics in alleviating chronic constipation is limited, although Bifidobacteria may be helpful.

What It Means When Your Poop is Green, Black, Floats, and Everything Else Your Doo-doo Could Be Trying To Tell You

I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries here, guys, but I think that we should talk about how your poop looks. Sorry — too much, too soon? Should we have had some warm-up talk about Mockingjay or Scarlett Johansson’s secret wedding or something? Well, it’s too late for any of those formalities; I am very sorry about that, but we’re going to talk about everything you need to know about your poop, and we’ve gone too far to stop now. After all, for something we end up spending two to three years of our lives making, most of us know surprisingly little about what our poop might be trying to tell us. I mean, consider this for a minute: Do you really know what the different textures of poop mean? Why it’s sometimes green, black, or red? Whether eating cheese actually makes you constipated? Why there are certain times of the month when women poop more? Or why, for that matter, saying the word poop still makes you giggle?

I thought not. Come along with me, as we investigate why your poop looks the way it looks, why it does the things it does, and what it might be trying to tell you when it changes form. Are you there poop? It’s me, slightly grossed out.

FLOATY POOP

Usually, you poop sinks to the bottom of the bowl like the Titanic. But sometimes, your poop floats near the surface of your toilet, like Kate Winslet in Titanic. What’s up (sorry) with that? The occasional floating poop is usually caused by gas — and gas-inducing foods like bean sprouts or cabbage can make your poops rise. It’s only a health issue if you find you’re having floating poops frequently, or they’re accompanied by an oily residue, which means your body might be having a problem absorbing fats from foods. But otherwise, don’t worry — your fart will go on (sorry AGAIN).

LIGHT-COLORED POOP

Surely among the grossest and most startling poop types around, light-colored poop — the kind a doctor would refer to as “clay-like,” because doctors are, frankly, totally foul — is usually caused by a medication you’ve taken recently, primarily Pepto-Bismol and other anti-diarrhea drugs. If your poop stays light-colored for a while, it could mean that you have a bile duct obstruction or other internal issue, so go see your doctor.

GREEN POOP

Green poop is so common, it even got a shout-out in the “Mr. Hankey” song. We’ve all had green poop because we’ve all eaten leafy green vegetables, one of the primary causes of green poop. The other culprit behind poop that makes it seem like it’s St. Patrick’s Day inside your toilet bowl? Bile, the chemical in our stomach that helps us digest fats. Bile is yellow-green, and when food moves through our intestines too quickly —because, say, we have diarrhea — bile doesn’t have a chance to break down completely, leaving you with some festive poop. Food coloring and some iron supplements can also leave you with jolly green poops, but green poop is almost never a cause for concern.

BLACK POOP

We’ve all had the occasional black poop, and usually, it’s nothing to worry about — food additives like the dye that turns licorice black can tint your poop, too, and in some cases, Pepto-Bismol (really, again?) can even turn your poop black. But if you’re getting consistently black poop, and haven’t been consuming anything with black dye, hit up your doctor — it can be a sign of internal bleeding, which can be caused by scary health issues like an ulcer, or even colon cancer.

RED POOP

As anyone who has eaten a beet salad, forgotten about it, and then had a red-colored terror poop a day later knows, the foods you eat can color your stool. Beets and red-colored dyes, like the ones found in popsicles, can often turn your poop red and make you falsely assume that you are dying of internal hemorrhaging. Of course, actual blood in your poop is a serious matter — it can signify anything from an anal fissure to hemorrhoids to cancer. But the next time you freak out over a red-tinted toilet bowl, try very hard to remember what you ate in the past few days. Like the skit says: it’s probably beets.

PERIOD POOPS

So why does getting your period tend to make you poop so much? Well, a group of hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins are how your body communicates to your uterus that it’s time to contract and slough off the uterine lining. But prostaglandins can go also astray … and hit you right in the bowel. And when prostaglandins hit your bowel, your bowel contracts just like your uterus, creating the common “wave of non-stop pooping” that can enrich our menstrual lives. Fun!(?)

LOOSE POOP

Poops that don’t look like the traditional cartoon poop — meaning anything from small mushy lumps, to poop with a near liquid texture — are usually diarrhea. But what causes diarrhea? It’s actually what happens when your body is cleaning toxins, viruses, or bacteria out of your intestinal tract, and most adults get it about four times a year. Foods and drinks can also cause diarrhea — and yes, I am talking about the infamous “beer sh*ts.” But booze isn’t the only thing making you run to the can: caffeine can also cause diarrhea, and so can fructose, which is why your attempt to “get healthy” by eating ten oranges in one sitting ended in tears. You can usually just wait out diarrhea, though if you’re getting it often, you might want to rethink some elements of your diet.

POOP WITH STUFF IN IT

Does your poop reveal whether you got the mild or corn salsa the last time you went to Chipotle? If so, don’t sweat it: corn, seeds, tomato skins, and other pieces of healthful fiber are supposed to come out in your poop. It’s totally normal, and doesn’t mean that your body is having any kind of difficulty breaking down food, so just roll (or poo) with it.

FREQUENT POOPING

Frequent pooping can be a sign of a health problem, like Crohn’s or hypothyroidism, but in those cases, it’s usually accompanies by other symptoms, like abdominal pain, or rectal mucus, so don’t automatically assume that frequent pooping is related to illness. Frequent poops can also be due to positive lifestyle changes, like exercising more often, or consuming a more fiber-filled diet. In which case, good for you! And you may want to consider getting some more magazine subscriptions (you know, for the times when you forget your phone).

HARD AND/OR MARBLE-SHAPED POOP

Nobby, lumpy poops that are painful to pass are the second-worst thing to ever happen in bathrooms (the actual worst is, of course, when you find a spider in the shower after you’re already in the shower). Whether they come out in gross little compact nuggets, or as one big lumpy turd that feels like it is tearing you open, hard poops are a sign of constipation. But contrary to popular belief, constipation doesn’t mean that you rarely poop —even if you poop every day, if those poops are consistently hard and/or small and marbly, that means that you’re probably constipated. Happily, you can soften up your poops by eating more fiber, staying hydrated, and exercising.

Of course, plenty of people (including Alicia Silverstone) believe that eating a lot of cheese will stop you up like the majestic Hoover Dam. But is that actually true? Turns out there’s not a magical element in cheese specifically that plugs up your pump; cheese is just one of many low fiber foods that can cause constipation. So feel free to keep housing those string cheeses; just make sure that you’re also eating a lot of high fiber foods as well, and staying active (exercise helps you stay regular, which may explain why, no matter how noble and spiritual your intentions, you will probably fart during yoga class).

And remember: Ain’t no shame. Everybody poops.

Images: Carolyn Sewell/Flickr, Giphy (9)

90,000 Phenomenon of floating and sinking feed pellets

Figure 1. The extrusion process allows the production of sinking, floating feed, or a mixture of both

Extruded aquaculture feeds, typically “100% sinking” or “100% floating” (Figure 1). But sometimes a small part of the product shows deviations from the norm. Some pellets, instead of floating, sink, or vice versa. A related quality control problem is that at the time of inspection, the feed sinks as it should, however, after a few days, some of the feed becomes buoyant.This is the so-called phenomenon of sinking and floating pellets.

Archimedes’ law states that the buoyancy force acting on a submerged object is equivalent to the mass of the displaced liquid. This means that the object floats when its density is lower than that of the liquid, and sinks when it is higher. In our case, the density of each granule is important. However, feed manufacturers use a more traditional measure of batch density. The density of a batch directly depends on the density of the granules, but is also related to the peculiarities of the location of the granules in the sample container (Figure 2).Batch density is an indirect, imprecise measure of pellet density, but easy to measure (Table 1).

Figure 2. Determination of the density of the batch of the product and the density of the granules

Table 1. Targets for the density of the batch (kg / m3)

Direct Expansion Process

The density of the pellet (and, accordingly, of the batch) is determined during the extrusion process, through direct expansion, which ensures the porosity of the internal structure of the pellets (Figure 3).

The extrusion melt is passed through a die at high pressure and (usually) temperature. Once the melt passes through the die, the liquid in the product is converted to vapor, resulting in rapid expansion. Direct expansion can be divided into three stages. This process is schematically illustrated in Figure 3 and discussed in detail in Forte and Young, 2016.

Figure 3. (a) Direct expansion process during extrusion and (b) Changes in product size (diameter) and product temperature as a function of time

The transformation of a structure from a melt to a solid mass occurs at a specific temperature called the glass transition temperature (Tg).This temperature depends on the composition and, more importantly, the moisture content of the mixture. An example of a phase transition curve for corn starch is shown in Figure 4. Shown is the melting point, Tm.

Figure 4. Phase Change Curve for Corn Starch

Due to the dynamic nature of the extrusion process, the melt flow is not uniform. This results in granule size variability, Figure 5. The degree of process control reflects the degree of granule size variation.

Figure 5. Direct Expansion Process Leads to Pellet Size Distribution

Pellet Drying Process

Another important step in feed production is pellet drying (post-extrusion).Drying leads to the desired moisture level, or rather the moisture gradient of the pellets. They are very dry on the outside and damp on the inside (Figure 6).

If drying is carried out very aggressively, for a short time, at a high temperature or speed, the product has a very strong shrinkage. The core of the pellet, hot, retaining its molten state, is compressed by the outer dry layer (Figure 7). This can lead to excessive stress within the pellet.

Over time, during drying, the moisture gradient flattens out (Figure 8a).Moisture migrates to the surface, the total moisture remains the same, but the surface is moistened and softened (glass transition temperature decreases). Depending on the degree of shrinkage, which was noted earlier, the residual stress may weaken, so the granules swell. The swelling usually lasts 2-3 days. Although not visually noticeable, does it affect the sinking / floating pellet phenomenon?

Figure 6. During the drying process, the moisture gradient flattens out. The average moisture is correct
Figure 7. If the drying is too aggressive, there is a strong shrinkage of the granules
Figure 8.Moisture migrates inside the granules and balances. This leads to the swelling of the granules

The effect of changing the size of the granules on the density of the granules

Density of granules (for cylindrical granules) is defined as:

ρP = m / Vp = m / [πR2L]

Let’s look at an example. Data obtained from a random sample of a running extruder:

Target granule diameter, D = 8.0 mm

Radius, R = 4.0 mm

Target granule length, L = 12.0 mm

Granule volume, Vp = 603.2 mm3

Mass of the collected sample, M = 330 g

Number of collected pellets, # = 510

Hence, the average mass of granules, m = 0.65 g per granule

Average density of granules, ρP = 1072.7 kg / m3

Granules with the correct geometry and, accordingly, the correct density of the granules, sink in fresh and sea water. What happens if the geometry of the granules changes due to shrinkage or swelling?

Suppose the radius of the granules increases by δR = 3% (total 0.12 mm), then the volume of the granules will increase to Vp = 639.9 mm3. The density of the granules will be ρP = 1011.2 kg / m3, they sink in fresh, but will float in seawater. If the length of the granules increases by δL = 6% (only 0.72 mm), then the volume of the granules will increase to Vp = 639.4 mm3. The density of the granules will be ρP = 1012.0 kg / m3, they sink in fresh water, but they will float in seawater.

These small, visually imperceptible changes in the size of the granules (especially the radius), due to direct expansion or drying processes, lead to a significant change in the density of the granules from sinking to floating.

Conclusion

Minor changes in the geometry of the granules, especially the radius, lead to significant changes in the density of the granules and, therefore, determine the buoyancy.

The dynamic nature of direct expansion during extrusion determines the size distribution of the pellets. The degree of process control determines the range of this distribution. Therefore, poor control leads to the fact that even with the correct batch density, some pellets sink and some float.

In addition, poor drying control leads to the development of internal stresses that cause the granules to swell a few days after production. Hence, pellets that sank directly after production become buoyant after a few days.

——

Dennis Funk. Understanding Sink / Float Phenomenon in aquadeeds. Aquafeed. vol 10. issue 1. 2018

Why does your dog like to roll on other people’s stinking feces

• Richard Gray
• BBC Earth

June 16, 2017

Photo by Ulrike Schanz / naturepl.com

Why is your pet dog doing this? And why are his wild brethren with the same pleasure covering themselves with the pungent smell of other people’s feces? Answering these questions turned out to be more difficult than the correspondent of BBC Earth initially assumed.

The sun shines high in the sky, birds chirp, insects buzz … A wonderful day! Your dog happily runs deeper into the park, jumping up and down with excitement.

Sniffing the ground along his route, he suddenly stops and begins to roll with enthusiasm (as it turns out, worthy of better use) on the grass.And then it comes back to you.

You bend over to pat him on the withers approvingly, but my God, what is it? Your dog smells disgusting. He did not just roll on the grass, he collected other people’s excrement on his wool.

Most dog owners have encountered this while walking. But why do domestic dogs have such joy of smearing the faeces of another animal all over their bodies?

Photo by Petra Wegner / naturepl.com)

Photo caption,

Dogs love to roll on the ground – especially if there is something, from our point of view, smelling vile

“Dogs have a sense of smell at least a thousand times more sensitive than ours, says Simone Gadbois, an animal behavior and odor expert at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

“We find it hard to believe that they want this scent coming from them – a scent that my nose just can’t handle. But that’s exactly what they do.”

Gadbois, who studies wolves, coyotes and foxes in Canada, uses domestic dogs to track animals in the wild.

One of his best hunting dogs, the Border Collie, Zayla, loves to dump herself in beaver excrement – she does this almost every time Gadbois goes out with her on a mission.

“If you have no idea how beaver feces smells, then I’ll tell you: terrible, disgusting. And the smell does not disappear for weeks,” says Gadbois. “I never understood why Zayla was doing this.”

“It was logical to assume that this stench would prevent her from tracking other animals by their smell, but surprisingly, this does not affect the results of her work!”

Humans began domesticating dogs about 15,000 years ago, and since then we have lived side by side with them.

Volumes of research have been written about canine behavior, but amazing! – you can find very, very little about this strange passion for other people’s feces.

Moreover, dogs will ride on anything – from fox and badger excrement to goose droppings and the remains of rotten fish. If only it stank.

Photo by Robin Chittenden / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

Close-up: red fox stool

We decided to ask BBC Earth readers for help in this matter – maybe some of them know the reasons for this behavior our smaller brothers?

Most of those who responded to our request believe that this behavior is a kind of belch of evolution, a reminder of the days when the dog was a wild animal.

As suggested by Vesa Valenius and James Turner, this behavior is inherited from wolves that ride on other people’s feces in order to mask their own smell and thereby deceive their future prey when they sneak up on it.

It is true that wolves behave like this, but several studies of their behavior, published in 1986, cast doubt on this theory.

Biologists from Canada studied the phenomenon of rubbing foreign smells into wool on two groups of wolves living in captivity.They gave the animals different flavor options to choose from.

To the surprise of scientists, the wolves were not at all interested in the excrement of herbivores – sheep or horses. Any food didn’t fit either.

But they really liked the artificial smells – for example, perfume or motor oil.

The fact that a predator, which, in theory, should mask its presence near its prey with a smell, chooses scents that are completely alien to the natural environment, amazed the researchers.

Photo by Angelo Gandolfi / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

A gray wolf rubs against a dead badger

However, scientists have found that the second most attractive wolves have is the smell of feces from other predators, such as bears and cougars.

“I very much doubt that this very skating to rub in other people’s smells has anything to do with hunting,” says Pat Goodmann, senior specialist at Wolf Park, Indiana, who spent several years researching the phenomenon.

“Here at Wolf Park, these animals love to pick up the smells of other canines (or wolves) and even domestic cats in their fur.Which suggests that wolves living not in a reserve, but in the wild, behave the same way. And you can’t disguise yourself with this while hunting. “

Goodmann points out that although wolves sometimes attack from ambush, the more usual way of hunting for them is pursuit, and there you really don’t need to be invisible.

In fact, dogs, throwing themselves out in something that smells strongly, can pursue another goal – also inherited from their wild ancestors: to pretend to be another predator, larger and more dangerous.

Photo by Patricio Robles Gil / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

This idea seems to be supported by research by Max Allen published in September 2016. Allen, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, recorded several cases of unusual behavior of gray foxes using cameras installed in the Santa Cruz area of ​​California.

Normally solitary, these foxes regularly visited places that were marked by male cougars.

The footage shows the foxes rubbing their cheeks on the surface of the ground, where the male cougars have just left traces of their odorous urine.

Allen believes that foxes use the scent left by larger predators as camouflage to help them hide from coyotes.

“Coyotes are much larger than foxes and see foxes as competitors for resources,” Allen says. “Foxes cannot fight them, so they use the smell of cougars as a camouflage. This smell may give them extra time to hide from the coyotes. “

The idea is, of course, interesting. However, it does not explain why such powerful predators like wolves also like to smell of other people’s smells.

Photo by Jane Burton / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

And why do dogs like it? They do not admit …

Stephen Harris from the University of Bristol (UK), who studies red foxes, disagrees with the fact that they use someone else’s smell as camouflage.

In his opinion, animals, as a rule, try to spread their own smell, and not collect strangers.

“Foxes use their saliva and secretions of glands located in the region of the lips for this,” he notes. “We do not know exactly the function of these glands, but we can often see how foxes rub their faces and necks against different objects. do it in response to some pungent odors. An unfamiliar aroma stimulates them. ”

Just as Pietr Maynard wrote on Facebook, his dog is trying to drown out other people’s smells with his own, in order to show who is the owner of this territory.

However, domestic dogs rarely stop at just rubbing their heads against the smelly stuff they find – they have to roll out in it so that the whole body smells.

Philippe Baines said that her dog Holly loves to stretch out on a cow cake, and even how to roll on it to smell like that …

Goodmann has another explanation for this. She believes that wolves in this way can transmit information about where they were to the rest of the pack.

Photo by Roland Seitre / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

Wolves (Canis lupus), like dogs, like to ride on strange and odorous things

Goodmann’s colleague, founder of the Wolf Park Erich Klinghammer suggested that the discussed phenomenon might a way to tell other wolves what they found delicious when they traveled alone on the prairie or through the forest.

Goodmann’s experiments showed that wolves, when they find a large piece of meat, such as elk, do not just eat it. They also ride side by side, rub against him.

“I suppose that the smell of food from the mouth of the wolf and on its fur lets other wolves know that they have something left,” she says. “You just have to look.”

Supported by Tyne Howe on Facebook. In her opinion, dogs ride on other people’s excrement in order to bring home, for other dogs, the smell of wild animals.

Hyenas also like to ride in carrion – and after that they attract more attention from other members of the pack.

A study of Ethiopian wolves has shown that they are not averse to rolling on the ground after eating – however, they also like to lie on human feces.

There seems to be a social function of rubbing odors into the wool, but Gadbois thinks it might be much simpler.

In those packs of wolves that he studied in Canada, the leader, as a rule, was the first to ride in a strong-smelling place, and only then the others followed his example.

“It looked like he was setting what the whole flock would smell like,” says Gadbois. “I’ve seen this on both coyotes and foxes.”

This was also observed in African hyena dogs: females rolled on the ground where males from the flock they wanted to join had urinated.

Similarly, dogs in a pack regularly rub against each other, trying to smell the same.

Photo author, Christophe Courteau / naturepl.com

Photo caption,

Hyena dog (Lycaon pictus)

However, in response to our request, more outlandish ideas were expressed, with the help of which readers try to explain the behavior of their pets.

For example, it has been suggested that dogs and their wild cousins ​​use strong odors as insect repellants (although excrement is clearly not the case here).

And someone thinks that the oiliness of the stool makes the animal’s coat waterproof.

Robert Reppy and Crystal Parks have an interesting idea: animals use disgusting odors in much the same way that humans use perfume.

Animal behavior specialist Michael Fox supports this idea in his book Dog Body, Dog Mind .Fox suggests breaking the dog’s excrement habit by lightly sprinkling it with your cologne.

Veterinarian Stanley Coren believes that this behavior of dogs is akin to the behavior of those people who wear bright Hawaiian shirts or something else, excessively colorful and unusual.

He is partly echoed on Facebook by our reader Frances Mahan: it just turns on dogs. They get a kick out of it, like children who understand: they are doing something clearly forbidden. And they are delighted with it.

Anyone who has watched the behavior of a dog that has just fallen out in other people’s poop will agree with this point of view.

“I suspect they are experiencing a strong rush of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that induces feelings of pleasure and satisfaction,” says Muriel Brasser of the Oxford Center for the Study of Animal Behavior. , now it’s also incredibly fun. ”

As Gadbois explains, once upon a time there were some very important reasons for this habit.”Over time, these reasons disappeared, but animals still do it. Smell is a very important part of their world, and we do not understand anything about it.”

All this, of course, does not sound comforting at all for dog owners.

Just imagine: you are returning home, guests will come to you now – and then your dog is arranging this with him! And after all, not a single dog shampoo will help you quickly get rid of the nasty smell …

In this regard, some of our readers offer unusual methods of fighting the stench.

For example, Lynn Mee recommends tomato ketchup. No, not inward, but rub it on the affected part of your dog’s body and then rinse it off. To be honest, we didn’t have time to check if it works.

And in conclusion – a sweet and ingenuous explanation of the phenomenon, which was given by the reader Kate Dumont: “Just because they are … dogs, mongrels – Translator’s note ) “.

Maybe so, Kate. But not all of them?

To read the original of this article in English, visit the BBC Earth website .

Frequently Asked Questions

How to plant a tree correctly?

The ideal time for planting trees and shrubs is the dormant period – in the fall (usually October), when the leaves have already fallen, and in early spring (usually April), before the buds open. The weather at this time is cool and allows plants to take root in a new place before spring rains and summer heat stimulate active growth of aboveground parts.However, tree seedlings grown in a nursery with a closed root system (in a pot, with a lump of soil) can be planted at any time during the growing season. Proper planting and maintenance is the key to a healthy future for trees and shrubs.

Instruction:

1. Dig a shallow, wide planting hole.

Make the hole wide, wider than the diameter of the coma or the roots of the seedling, but never deeper than the height of the coma. The width of the hole is important because the roots of the newly planted tree will need to grow into the surrounding soil.This is especially important when planting a tree near houses in the city, since on most sites after construction, the soil is compacted and unsuitable for normal root growth. Digging the soil over a large area around the tree allows young roots to grow freely into loose soil, which in turn improves survival.

2. Locate the root collar.

Root collar – the place where the trunk of the tree passes into the roots, usually the first lateral roots begin under the root collar.The root collar should be flush with the ground when planting. This is important, because if you plant a tree deeper, the trunk will rot, and smaller ones – the roots will be exposed and dry.

3. Level the tree in the hole to make sure the tree is upright.
4. Fill the hole with earth.

To fill the hole, use the same soil that you dug when digging it. Use soil additives (eg humus) if the existing black topsoil is depleted or destroyed.Fill in the rest of the hole by carefully compacting the soil with your feet to fill any voids that could dry out the roots. Add soil a little at a time and sprinkle it with water. Continue this process until the hole is completely filled. Provide props if necessary.

5. Mulch the trunk circle.

Mulching material acts as a protective layer that retains moisture, evens out temperature fluctuations on the soil surface and inhibits the growth of herbaceous plants, which will become the main enemy of the young tree in the following years – the grass can simply drown out a fragile tree.Good mulching materials are litter (litter), dry straw, chopped bark, peat chips or wood chips. The layer of mulching material should be 5 – 10 cm.

6. Provide follow-up care.

Water the trees at least once a week, excluding rainy weather, and more often at high temperatures. Continue watering until fall, reducing the frequency and intensity as daytime temperatures drop. Remove large weeds near the tree and cut tall grass.

When planting trees in your garden, try to think about whether the tree will interfere with you when it grows – for example, if you plant a large tree (elm, oak, spruce, pine) on the south side of a small plot, it will shade during the day the whole site; check if there are underground utilities under your landing site.

What trees should be planted in the city?

Conifers feel the worst in the city, with rare exceptions.Our native European tree cannot be found in the city, except in large forest parks, and even then not in all, and also occasionally on the outskirts of the city. This is due to the fact that the air and soil in the city is much drier than in the forest, and our spruce is very demanding on the humidity of both. In addition, conifers are more sensitive to air pollution due to the fact that pollutants accumulate in perennial needles, while deciduous, shedding foliage, get rid of pollutants every fall.

It is not difficult to plant and grow poplars, because, firstly, they grow quickly, and secondly, they can withstand quite significant pollution. But the problem of poplar fluff is known to everyone, so planting poplars should not be recommended.

In general, planting is best done primarily with local breeds, while maintaining breed diversity in cities. From this point of view, planting of broad-leaved trees can be recommended in most cities of European Russia and partly in Western Siberia.These are oak, ash, linden, maple. All of these breeds have suffered greatly in the course of human development, and their number has been greatly reduced. They also continue to disappear from cities – for example, during the implementation of Moscow construction projects, especially commercial ones, dozens of ash trees, which are already rare in Moscow, as well as oaks and maples, were destroyed.

Is there a problem of deforestation in Moscow at all? After all, compensation landings are provided!

There is certainly a problem, and no compensation plantings will solve it.”Compensatory planting” is generally a purely bureaucratic formula; in fact, it is impossible to compensate for the felled forest with anything. The reason is simple – it takes a few minutes to cut down a tree, and it takes several decades for it to grow. Planting young seedlings in no way compensates for the cutting down of mature trees, and planting large trees means that they were simply transplanted from somewhere – that is, there is a “compensation” in one place due to removal in another.

Of course, this does not mean that there is no point in greening free urban areas.This is necessary, because sooner or later the seedlings will begin to fulfill their function – of course, provided they are well cared for. You just need to remember that the concept of “compensation” is, strictly speaking, inapplicable here. By the way, the poor survival rate of seedlings in the city is another factor that aggravates the problem of deforestation and other green spaces in Moscow.

Is it true that birches grow only where oak or coniferous forests have been burned or cut down?

Not really. Birch is a tree that begins to bear fruit quite early and produces many small and light seeds that are carried by the wind.Therefore, birch easily takes up various disturbed places. In addition to clearings and burnt-out areas, it can also be abandoned fields and meadows, roadsides.

But there are also birch forests. Birch is cold-resistant, tolerates waterlogging. Therefore, there are alpine birch forests, birch groves in Siberia and boggy birch forests. Finally, birch also finds a place in old natural forests. The older the forest, the more different species it contains, because in the process of development of the forest ecosystem, the conditions inside it become more diverse.Old large trees die and fall, due to this, in some places it temporarily becomes lighter, and in the place where the tree grew, a hillock and a hole are formed. Large fallen trunks slowly decompose, mushrooms, insects, mosses, and later young trees settle on them. Badgers and foxes dig holes, rip off the grass to get to the roots, wild boars, beavers dam the rivers. All this creates places in a natural forest with a variety of conditions. Therefore, natural forests, with a few exceptions, consist of many species.Birch also finds its place in such forests.

Is it true they say that “a forest does not grow without an ax”?

It is very simple to answer this question in this formulation, if we remember that the forest as a natural phenomenon is about 300 million years old, and man created the ax only a few tens of thousands of years ago. Accordingly, for nearly 300 million years, the forest did well without an ax.

Such a statement has some basis only if it is clearly defined that we are talking about exploited forests intended for the intensive cultivation of wood resources.For such forests, this statement is true, but only in the sense that in order to accelerate the production of high-quality wood, the forest area requires intensive care, including with the help of an ax. But at the same time, there should be quite a lot of forests intended for completely different purposes, and there are a great many of these purposes. And the main one is the maintenance of the environmental-forming role of the forest, that is, its influence on the climate, the cycle of water and other substances, biological diversity, etc. Among these goals are also protective, recreational, scientific and many others.In some cases, such forests also require care with an ax, sometimes quite intensive, only the nature of this care should differ significantly from that in forests intended for intensive wood cultivation. And if such special care cannot be carried out for some reason, then in many cases it is better not to meddle in these forests with an ax at all.

Is Russian business involved in the conservation and restoration of forests, or is it just for them to get rich?

In accordance with the current forest legislation, a timber industry company that has leased forest plots is obliged to carry out reforestation and forest maintenance work on the entire leased area.It is another matter that the full-fledged, timely and high-quality performance of all these works by the company in the current conditions is more the exception than the rule. And not only business should be responsible for this. Having made the tenants fully responsible for the complex of works on the maintenance and reforestation of the leased territories, the state did not take enough care of a high-quality regulatory and legal basis for this activity (see above). Therefore, although a short answer to this question can be “yes”, then you need to put a “but” and continue.The timber merchants themselves believe that the burden of obligations imposed on them is too great. And you can agree with them, at least in part.

Now about getting rich. The timber industry in Russia is currently one of the least profitable, which cannot be compared, for example, with the oil and gas sector, not to mention the banking system. So the forest business is still mainly occupied by people who are interested in the forest in itself, and not only as a source of income.

Nevertheless, after the 2010 fires, WWF received many offers from timber merchants to participate in financing reforestation work. The conclusion is clear – business cares.

Does reforestation help to revive a damaged ecosystem of a deforested forest, or does an artificial forest form a completely new natural complex? Maybe artificial plantings are harmful? What is the difference between artificial afforestation and “wild” forest? Can an artificially planted forest be considered a forest, or is it more of a park?

There is no single answer to these questions, it all depends on the specific case – on the conditions available, the selected breeds, planting technologies.Most often, of course, reforestation is a benefit for the environment as a whole. One of the clear exceptions to this rule is if reforestation is carried out by planting species alien to the area. Such plantings can indeed harm wildlife, as the consequences of the cultivation of alien species are unpredictable. For example, new dangerous pests can “come” with them, and even they themselves can turn out to be such. Therefore, with sustainable forest management, it is proposed either to completely abandon the planting of alien species, or to use them under strict control.

If plantings are created solely for the purpose of obtaining wood resources or other products produced by trees (bark, fruits, cellulose), then such an ecosystem has little in common with a natural one. Experts in most cases share the concepts of “forest” and “forest plantations”, “forest plantations”, “forest plantations”. Including because the landings require special efforts to maintain them in the required condition. However, they perform protective functions and functions of climate regulators.

In recent years, there has been a growing number of reforestation initiatives around the world. Most often, these are forest plantations, the creation of which does not pose the task of reconstructing ecosystems close to natural ones – such forests are called upon to play, first of all, a protective role. However, in some cases, the task is precisely to recreate natural ecosystems. How successfully it is being solved – the future will show.

Why are you fighting for the preservation of forests at all – after all, there is a lot of forest in our country, and officials say that forests are cut down much less than it grows?

It depends on which forest.Yes, in terms of the area occupied by forests, Russia ranks first in the world. Why, at the same time, the amount of wood obtained from one hectare of Russian forest is several times less than the amount that is obtained from a hectare of forest, for example, in Finland? But because in Finland, in contrast to Russia, intensive care of the exploited forests is carried out …

However, let’s not forget that intensive forestry in Finland, Sweden and other countries, carried out over several decades, led to the fact that these forests have lost almost all of their biological diversity.And it turned out that this loss must be made up, and this is necessary, among other things, for purely economic reasons.

How to check if the felling is really sanitary or is it just using this pretext to get timber?

According to Russian forestry legislation, sanitary felling and thinning (clarification, cleaning, etc.) are aimed at improving the quality of plantings by removing old and diseased trees in the foci of pests and diseases.These fellings provide for the felling of low-value trees, the maintenance of plantations that are most susceptible to forest fires, etc.

Clear or selective sanitary cuttings are planned on the basis of forest pathological survey materials with the subsequent introduction of the necessary adjustments to forestry regulations and forest development projects (in the case of sanitary cuttings in leased forests). Thus, the basis for sanitary felling is an act of forest pathological survey, a forest declaration (for the lessee) or a sale and purchase agreement.The forms of these documents can be found in our publication.

The problem is that, in reality, thinning and sanitary felling are often appointed unreasonably, through conspiracy: in absolutely healthy and ripe plantations with a high supply of valuable commercial timber, located in protective forests, in specially protected natural areas, and species, the only legal the possibility of harvesting which is sanitary felling. In many cases, under the guise of thinning and sanitary felling, only commercial timber of the most valuable species is harvested, which leads to a significant deterioration in the condition and productivity of plantations.

Such logging is common because economically accessible forests in many parts of Russia are already severely depleted, but this does not prevent unscrupulous loggers and corrupt individuals managing natural resources from making money.

Can an ordinary person engage in forest restoration (planting)?

Of course, maybe, at the same time, he will be not just an ordinary, but also a good person!

However, when planting trees in a village, you should first consult with the local authorities whether it is possible to plant trees on a specific site, or is it intended, for example, for rapid development.When planting trees in the forest, you should consult with the forest authorities (forestry) to make sure that your tree will not be planted, for example, near the place where the forest will be cut and it may be damaged.

Where to call about garbage dumps that appear in the forest?

Responsibility for clearing forests, protecting them from littering and organizing illegal dumps lies with government bodies and forestry organizations.

How the responsibilities for the protection and cleaning of forests from littering are distributed between different state bodies and forestry organizations depends on the category of land and on whether the forests are leased. It is not always easy to define this, but this is precisely the task of the state authorities.

You can complain about littering the forest to the local forestry where the garbage was found, to the local administration, as well as to the regional authorities responsible for forest management.It is necessary to contact government authorities when littering becomes widespread, or when illegal spontaneous dumps and landfills are formed in the forest.

For more information on how to properly prepare your appeal to public authorities, see the publication “How to Complain about Disorder in the Forest and Get It Eliminated”.

Technological progress does not stand still, and in windsurfing it is especially noticeable.Once you start learning to windsurf on one of these newest boards of unimaginable width, you should automatically understand the many features of short board riding. In this case, you don’t have to read further. Or not read everything. If you studied on a “classic” centerboard board with a length of about 330-370 cm, then switching to a short boardless board will take a decent amount of energy from you … And this article is for you. What lies in wait for such a classical student like you on the way to the coveted front loops?
First of all, it is assumed that the transition to the short board is objectively conditioned.In other words, you got bored on the centerboard. This means that you have already at least felt the sweetness of planing, you are quite confident in riding a trapeze, and even tried to get into loops. As Britney sings: “I” m not a girl, ain “t yet a woman”) This is you – no longer a “teapot”, but not yet a master. Prepare yourself for a number of surprises.

Raise the sail
You will immediately feel that the board is much smaller. You will feel it in the very first second, and you will feel a dozen more outings on the water.Elementary lifting of the sail for the start sheet will turn into a problem: the board will spin under your feet in different directions. It turns out that before you simply did not notice that when raising the sail, you press completely differently on your right and left legs. Now this will have to be learned. And more importantly, you have to learn how to start from the water. After all, you’re going to ride in a strong wind, aren’t you? This means that the waterstart must be worked out “iron”. At first, after swallowing a fair amount of water, flying over the board in uncontrolled “body drags”, dragging the sail to the stern for the hundredth time, you will spit on the whole thing and climb onto the board to pull the start sheet as usual.Do not worry. After some time, it will become easier for you to start out of the water than to climb up … A moment of miraculous insight will come when, falling back into the water, you suddenly accidentally leave your hands up, on the boom, and … in a couple of seconds you will again find yourself on the board. Oops! .. As if by magic.

Speed ​​
Forget about a leisurely glide on the water – after all, you have switched to an unbroken horse (for now)! With the slightest increase in wind, the board will shoot forward at the speed of a rifle bullet; just hold on there! Do you think you’ve skated fast before? Hmm … From THIS speed you will forget that you also need to breathe at least occasionally! You, stupefied with happiness, will hang on the trapeze, afraid to move, so as not to upset the precarious balance.But with time you will get used to this speed … Everyone gets used to it. You will understand that it is not at all necessary to stretch all the muscles, like the bowstring of a crossbow, you will learn that this flight can be absolutely controlled.

Course
After training on a centerboard, you carry a charge of bad habits and misconceptions. Is your new board moving sideways for some reason? How would you like her to move in such a weak wind and on such a sharp course? Only sideways … After all, there is no centerboard, have you forgotten? A powerful force of lateral resistance arises on the fin only in planing conditions, therefore, if you are not planing, you will be actively drifting into the wind.Hence the conclusion – roll away, my friend, roll away. And you, I remember, were surprised when someone said that he could not be caught. Now you will know it from your own experience. Better before the start go along the bank higher to the wind.

Steering
Before, you could stand anywhere on the board. Well, almost anywhere. Another bad habit. Try it now! The board is influenced not only by the position of your feet, but also by the position of your hips and torso. Kicking is an integral part of short board riding.You must learn to stand in a new way. Yes yes exactly. Now, be kind enough to distribute the weight not only between the front and back legs, but also between the heels and toes. You will pull your socks like in a ballet school. I relaxed, forgot, transferred the weight of the body to the heels – the board turned to the wind, and you fell.

MFP
Truly a cult word. The backbone of the basics. Atom nucleus. Repeat in a reverent whisper: mast foot pressure. Must-foot-presha. And so on until you memorize so that you wake up at night – I would rattle off three funny letters.Do you want to accelerate faster? MFP. Problems getting into loops? MFP. Can’t work on the trapezoid? MFP. Does the board turn to the wind for no reason? Again it is, this is a cryptic word. And it just means: pressure on the hinge of the board from top to bottom. It implies the ability to “hang” on the boom, that is, to transfer your weight through the boom and mast directly to the board. You will feel it yourself: you are standing with a pillar, a boom in your hands – the effect is zero. Hanging out on the trapeze – adding a little bit of MFP to my life – starting to move.I leaned back – added some more MFP to the fire – unloaded my legs – the board flew. I-a-ahuuu !! Hanging in the trapeze, transferring your weight forward, walking to the hinges, standing in the hinges – you fly. Adrenalin. Pure MFP. Kawabanga !! Keep it that way. On a short board, you will very quickly understand whether it is there, this pressure on the hinge, or not, and what is the difference between these two states.

Trapezoid
What nonsense !? Trapez-sheets are falling off the hook! Raise the boom higher. Are the sheets a little short now? Not at all, it’s just that the wind isn’t strong enough.What’s the point of jumping up and down trying to hook when you’re standing straight? When it inflates, and you willy-nilly have to move to the stern of the board, that’s when you will comprehend the hidden meaning. And you will want to shorten the trapezium sheets even more! Have you ever seen a cunning device – a pantograph? What, did not study geometry and drawing at school? If you studied, then imagine a parallelogram, in all corners of which there are hinges. At least put it out of the matches. Move the parallelogram back and forth on these hinges, the long sides of which are your mast and you, and the short sides are the board and boom.The sharper the angle, the closer the top of the shape is to the bottom. Attach the trapezoid sheets at the top, and you will understand why they seem to be longer when you REALLY have to retreat to the stern. You just can’t understand where the trapezoid sheets should be located on the boom? And it seems like a proven method – you take your hands off the boom and see where the sail will pull … And all the same … You move the sheets back and forth, and the sail still pulls here and there. Again, the wind is not strong enough. When it really inflates, you will instantly determine the correct position of the sheets.Without any technology, just by force on the back and front hands.

Hinges
You’ve been trying to loop on a long board for quite a while. It is very likely that you rode a trapeze, but not in loops. Or vice versa. When, finally, you combined both, you decided that you can do everything. Yeah … How … Now you have to learn to get into the loops on a short board. After all, its volume is one and a half times less, which means that the feed sinks under your weight one and a half times faster. And even being in the extreme forward position, the hinges will be out of reach for you for some time.And when you do accelerate enough (and this will happen soon), you will not immediately have the courage to take your foot off the deck and push it into the loop.
If all of the above did not scare you, and you did not decide to give up buying a short board for the next season, then … hmm … you probably will succeed! Good luck. And may MFP be with you … Ugh! … Power!

Sergey “Crab” Sablin

Menu for carp. Simple wisdom of a special rybolov – to fifth-grader Stas

Stas, our educational program is gradually coming to an end, and therefore we will return once again to the fifth rule – to bait.

End

Odorless porridge

Remember, when fishing, bait is not a panacea, it does not work if there is no one to eat it. The bait is just a catalyst that accelerates the natural course: the angler throws the fishing rod (the bait is small, it is not visible, the fish swims to the side) – the angler throws the bait (the fish pays attention, comes closer) – the angler catches fish (the fish picks up the bait together with the bait) … This is such a banality that I had to comprehend myself in your years.

Just two examples. The beginning of May, the water is cold, the carp is warming up in the upper layers of the lake. How to attract, and most importantly, keep in the place of fishing the fish, which, after the first capture, run away? In this case, there is absolutely no point in feeding steamed cereals that quickly sink, which are poorly soluble in cold water (no smell) and quickly end up at the bottom. Fish upstairs! In these cold conditions, dusting is most effective – the constant tossing of soaked crumbs of ordinary bread, which sink relatively slowly and create a smell (dregs) in a pounded state.I caught it – I got dust, I caught it – I got it and I didn’t catch it – I also got it…

Or, on the contrary, summer, the water is warm. As a rule, in our lakes there are several times less large fish than small things, which, like piranhas, devour all the bait at a time. Especially this fraternity flocks to store food with all sorts of flavors, which, in turn, spread with the “speed of sound” in warm water.

In this hot season, it is more expedient to use friable less smelling baits, which do not immediately pull together hordes of 200-300 gram fry.These include steamed cereals: wheat, oats, and field “collective farm” corn is especially good, which, due to its hardness and considerable size, is simply too tough for growing carps. And since the groundbait remains uneaten, then there is a chance that a large one will do. Here again, we return to the first rule: feed only where this very large one is possible.

Well, the most popular, most often used groundbait is steamed store cereals, which we ourselves, homo sapiens, are not averse to having in the form of porridge.Millet, pearl barley, semolina, various slices, peas – this is an incomplete list that we always soar in order for the fish to bite, and not to “soar” our brains.

Stas, some culinary specialties for you. Field corn (grains) is evaporated for up to 6 hours. When steaming peas and millet, peas (the grains are larger) are first dipped into the water, after half an hour millet is also there. All this is constantly stirred over the lowest heat. On average, daily fishing is a bucket of bait (2 kg of peas, 2 kg of millet, a can of corn, 2 loaves of bread).This is quite enough to work on 6–8 windows in the reeds.

Seasoning for the hook

Attachments, like baits, are used based on the same conditions: the seasonality of fishing, the characteristics of the reservoir, the size of the fish, and so on. The difference between baits and baits is that the fish eats bait with great appetite everywhere and always, but it has no particular desire to catch a huge hook and rough line. Therefore, carp treats baits selectively: it often happens that in one lake the fish prefers corn, in another – pasta, and in the third and generally bites only on bread.But this is a common lake “kitchen”, and it also happens when the fish begins to be harmful, especially regarding the weather, and then the fisherwoman has to turn on the cook’s imagination. For example, in addition to standard bread, you have to mix (naminate) either boiled potatoes, then “tourist’s breakfast” (corn sticks), then halva, then bananas or garlic. Moreover, on the same reservoir, each time all seasonings can work in different ways, but still there are basic constants in the nozzles.

Nozzle recipes

Canned corn.For the nozzle, the best thing is “rotten”: pour “bonduelle” into a glass jar (without water), coarsely chop the garlic (head), fill it with sunflower oil (2-3 tablespoons) and leave to ferment. After a day, it turns out so sour that even a hungry boar will turn his nose up. And the carp, on the contrary: serve a delicacy!

Boiled semi-raw potatoes (rubber) – the ideal bait for fishing in reeds, where there are a lot of hungry trifles. Small carp, cut into cubes or “boilies” (for fish), can neither gouge nor suck.It can only be swallowed, and this requires an appropriate fish mouth. Thus, with such a nozzle, even with infested young carp, you can wait for your scaly jackpot!

Decoy. Even in early spring and autumn (cooled water), when the carp still (or already) ignores the plant nozzles, semolina remains almost the only one of the “rastishki” that continues to work on a par with bloodworms. Everyone cooks it differently, here’s my recipe. Add sugar, caramel or whatever to taste to boiling water (a third of a metal mug), and then, stirring constantly in a mug, add semolina until you turn the spoon.Then we remove from the stove and, having greased our hands with sunflower oil (so as not to stick), we begin to knead the resulting “dough”. Add dry semolina, mnem. We also add cereals and mimic again until we get the desired consistency …

Barley is rarely used when fishing for carp (trifles prevail), but sometimes, in “bad” weather, when the fish is capricious, it is it that brings success.

Pasta (shells, stars). Depending on the size, they are boiled in boiling water for only 8-15 seconds. For more “tasty” after boiling, stew like corn, in oil under garlic.

Bread crumb (wrapper, pinch) – one of the most effective attachments! Disadvantage – quickly soaks and flies off the hook.

Fried bread crust (or just crust) – floating attachment. The disadvantage is that the first 10 seconds (in water) is very hard, and if the fish in the window is active (the reeds are shaking), then in order to avoid coming off the hook, it is better to wet the crust first.

Animal baits (worms, bloodworms, fry and others) for carp fishing are used only on ice, in early spring or autumn, when the water cools down.

Fishing roads

And yet, Stas, always catch only as much fish as you need for food, plus treat your neighbors with friends and pamper your relatives. The main thing is, never take a carp up to a kilogram, let it go, and then in the future you will be rewarded with this very fish!

These are all common simple wisdom that can lead you to catch a carp. And this is what I want to tell you in parting. Every time you find yourself on the pond, do not be an ordinary boot “zombie” with a stubborn gaze at the float.Look, peer around, listen to the lake and always analyze what you see, compare what you have learned: why, what and how … Remember: only through the work of the lake is a full-fledged experience, from which intuition is born over time, or, to put it simply, a fishing “scent”! It was him who was passed on to us by our distant ancestors at the genetic level, he lives in every person, but he sleeps soundly. And you can wake him up not with a tub of cold water or fabulous techniques for sleeping beauties, but with sincere curiosity for nature, love for her, mother, and respect for her.

And you and I, Stas, will definitely meet. Not because the world is small, but simply the Earth is round, and all our fishing roads lead to one lake-river Rome! And if we don’t meet, then write letters, you know the address yourself: “To the village of the fisherwoman grandfather …”

Diary of a fisherman June 25 – July 2

Well, wow! Finally, the aliens who are stoking our sun, apparently, have run out of wood! Freshened up a little, sprinkled with rain, but for how long? They say they got a whole ship of coal from Alpha Centauri again!

June 25 – Lake Kremenkul, perch.We fished from 6 pm, went on a motor throughout the entire water area, but the best bite was, as always, on the beach, which is not far from the gardens. We caught on a lead (green relaxation), the hundred-gram “sailors” pecked at each cast, and only occasionally did they come across a perch for 200 g. In general, we frolicked after a busy, hot day!

June 27 – Sineglazovo lake, perch. This is always the case: you constantly drive for carp, you get used to it as to work, and there is no desire to rebuild to another fish.But as soon as you change the float to a spinning rod, you will try “predatory” fishing, and that’s it, the soul of all carps is ready to forget.

We were fishing from the side of Voznesenka (evening), not far from the coast on a branch lead. At first, the engine oil worked, then the poisonous orange turned on, and only at the very curtain began to peck at everything. Total: 7 kg, the largest – 370 g.

June 29-30 – Kaldy lake, carp. So we got our ancient titanium spinning rods (donks), otherwise all the fishing rods and floats.Tired of feeding mosquitoes in the reeds, and the carp, having swept aside, has already left the shallows.

They fished at night five hundred meters from the shore (a carp was jumping), closer to the village of Taskino, they bite once an hour, but little things were not enough. And vice versa, as soon as the morning dawned, 300-500-gram “piranhas” immediately swooped down, and we were going home. Result: 9 heads, the largest – 3.6 kg.