“The ingredient Americans excrete the most was caffeine….”
Scientists can now drugtest a whole city by testing a spoon fulla municipal waste.
From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070822/ap_on_sc/citywide_drug_test :
“‘Wastewater facilities are wonderful places to understand what humans consume and excrete,’ Field said….
“…She said that one fairly affluent community scored low for illicit drugs except for cocaine. Cocaine and ecstasy tended to peak on weekends and drop on weekdays, she said, while methamphetamine and prescription drugs were steady throughout the week.”
“‘The EPA will ‘flush out the details’ on testing, Benjamin Grumbles joked.”
(Thanks Debra Jean for that one!)
By the way, I remeber reading where someone (I’m pretty sure it was either Ray Kurzweil, or Alvin Toffler) suggested toilets that analyze your leavings to monitor your health and make a doctor’s appointment for you if there’s a reason to.
August 24th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
This idea comes up in the cheesy Hollywood flick “The Island” I believe, which takes place in a so-called utopic future society. People are constantly monitored and if they’re the least bit unhealthy, they get supplements or treatment from the gov’t (?) I think?