“You just swallowed, what?!” If you have ever been in a panic over the LEGO that your child swallowed, this recent article (Six people swallowed LEGO and pored through their own poo for science) should put you somewhat at ease.
The researchers (three men and three women) swallowed LEGO figure heads and then examined their poop to figure out how long it would take the plastic toy to pass.
This is one of those great little factoids that you file away until one day you’re writing a character like Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman, in Rain Man (1988) or Ray Boyd, played by Jonathan Lipnicki, in Jerry Maguire (1996). Your character can say, “Did you know that if you swallow a LEGO head, it takes approximately 1.7 days for you to find it in your poop?” It’s a line you and the audience won’t soon forget and — bonus — it’s a gross/fun/cool science fact!
Or
What about a new gang member who wants to impress the big boss with a “creative” way to hide their latest contraband. “We could hide the diamond in a LEGO and make the mule swallow it. It will take almost two days to recover the diamond and by then, we will all be out of the country!”
Just a couple of first thoughts that came to mind.
Who wants to talk more about how you can use this idea in your current or next story?
You must be logged in to post a comment.