Short Stuff: Mariko Aoki Phenomenon | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh there's Chuck and Ben's here too. sitting in for Dave and this is short. stuff the new. reality that's right I'm glad that you. found this because I have experienced. this in a slightly different way and I. never knew that it was a thing and now I. do yeah I had no idea it was a thing. either I don't remember where I heard of. this I'm guessing Yumi it just seems. like the kind of thing she would have. sent me but we have to shout out Mill.

University IFL science and science times. for helping round this idea out or this. story out but we're talking about. something called the Maro Aoki. phenomenon which is a very specific. phenomenon it's where some people go. into a bookstore and are overwhelmed. with the urge sometimes an urgent urge. to poop in that bookstore not like in. the aisles of the book store but to go. to the bathroom in the bookstore to poop. yeah so here's my story oh in high in.

high school uh my still one of my very. best friends Jim Isa you know Jim uh Jim. and I had a afternoon radio show which. was over the intercom of the school and. it was basically instead of the. principal reading the daily. announcements we asked if we could take. it over and round it out with jokes and. top 10 list and what have you so we had. wrhs was our dumb little show so wait. this was officially sanctioned it wasn't. pirate School radio no no no it was it. was us in the principal 's office like.

on the microphone that cute every day I. mean that was looking back it was the. start of stuff you should know which is. funny oh wow uh but we did uh when we. would meet to to to write the show every. day we would meet in the empty. Auditorium where they did school plays. and every time we were in there both of. us had to poop and we used to laugh. about it and talk about it and now that. I see sort of the some of the. similarities between that empty quiet. Auditorium.

and a sort of a large maybe cavernous. quiet. bookstore I now know this is a thing I. was not expecting a personal anecdote. from you for this one yep I mean this. goes back to the 80s Jim and I he'll. laugh when I tell him this is an actual. thing well that's appropriate because. the Maro Aoki phenomenon goes back to. the 80s too all right yeah so we should. probably talk about where it came from. right yeah it came from a Japanese woman. named Maro Aoki that's right and she. sent a letter uh to a magazine in uh.

what 1985 in the issue of uh Han no. zashi is that right close enough what. how would you say it Han no. zashi is that what I said yeah okay uh. and she wrote a letter to the you know. like a letter to the editor kind of. thing where she said I'm not sure why. but since about two or three years ago. whenever go to a bookstore I'm struck by. an urge to move my. bowels uh they printed it just the. letter to the editor and they got so.

many responses from people saying me too. that the next issue had a 14-page. feature article on uh the headline was. the phenomenon currently shaking the. bookstore industry yeah and it became. like such a thing that that it it it. took her name Maro Aoki even though. there there has been um people have. turned up mentions of this kind of thing. as far back is the 50s could not find. any um original Source material of that. but I think think I'm willing to take.

IFL science on their word if they were. the one where I got it from but um in. Japan it kicked off like a trend right. so there were kind of like game show. informal studies um of what exactly was. going on and they did turn up some data. not exactly like you know peer review. worthy data but they found that about. 10% of the the respondents in Japan feel. the urge to poop when they go into the. bookstore so the maroke aoke.

phenomenon uh is is covers about 10% of. the population I'm squarely in the 90%. you're apparently in the 10% well I mean. I haven't tested it with a bookstore but. there are similarities between for us it. always felt like like Jim's theory was. that it was a big a very being alone in. a very big large empty quiet space like. a colon I guess so but you know a. bookstore isn't empty but it's not like. going to a concert right uh it is. generally pretty quiet so uh and there's.

like some there's a privacy aspect I. think to a bookstore uh I mean I'm. thinking larger book stores not like you. know the tiny Mom and Pops which I love. yeah um so I don't know that was hisy. thereally so I guess I'm in that 10% I'm. I'll go to a bookstore and I'll let you. know we report back for sure as a matter. of fact we should live stream it on. stuff you should know like uh one of our. social media it's true oh my God uh I'll. be right back should we take a break. yeah all right we'll come back and talk.

about some of the theories right after. this if you want to know you're in luck. just Len up to. and I Chuck I think I I speak on behalf. of at least half of the people listening.

would you and Jim go poop at the same. time or would you like take. turns I don't remember that part I don't. even know if we went and pooped or if it. was just like oh I gotta poop I see I. see okay yeah so uh yeah anyway we're. back yeah we're back um there is no um. like serious science probably about this. but there are a lot of pretty. interesting theories and one of them is. something that we've talked about uh in. fact we did a whole show.

sort of didn't we about the gut brain. axis we did I don't it's something about. like when you approach your the front. door of your house that's the brain. bladder connection oh okay I think this. is kind of similar though right no. totally I think the second theory the. smell of books which we'll get to is. more brain bladder connection but the. gut brain axis would have come up in I. guess like I can't remember what it was. but we talked about like a whole episode. about how there's neurons in your gut. and like your brain and your gut your. central nerve system and your inic.

nervous system communicate to one. another and so that's probably the. likeliest explanation for why somebody. would feel the urge to poop in a. bookstore yeah um there are some other. you know to me I think it's all of these. things added together um there is that. there is also the sort of connection of. like people like reading on the toilet. has long been something that people do. right uh people are on their phones now. but in the old days you had that mag. azine rack I still got a magazine rack.

next to my toilet and we'll read a good. magazine so that that connection uh. maybe that subconscious thing of when. you're among those books your sphincter. just unlocks just a little bit maybe. yeah for sure so that that whatever it. was whatever if it's like the smell of. books that's kind of usually put forth. um whatever it is that you associate. with the book store and then you poop in. the bookstore that's where your gut. brain brain axis would take over and you.

develop this Association so when you. walk into the bookstore your brain goes. hey gut we're in a bookstore you better. get busy pooping yeah makes sense uh. another one of course is a bookstore. often times there's a lot of squatting. yeah if you want a book down on that. bottom shelf or you want to peruse for a. little while on the bottom you're going. to be squatting down and uh. humankind didn't evolve to poop like we. poop now you're you're supposed to squat. and if you've ever been in that dead.

squat position with your butt just. barely above the ground and all your. weight like everything lines up in such. a way to where your body goes oh this. it's go time it's time yeah and it. goes so you're you're in there already. it's. quiet uh you got the smell of the books. you're. squatting yeah how could anybody not. poop you may have a coffee that's a big. one a lot of people say yeah people. drink coffee in bookstores and coffee. makes you poop yeah so I think it's like.

all this stuff sort of adds up to oh my. God I'm in a bookstore I've got to go. there's another theory that um isn't. specifically identified as from Japan. but if it's not from Japan I will eat my. hat and I don't even have a hat I'll go. buy a hat to eat it if this isn't a. Japanese theory that because life is. stressful when you walk into a bookstore. a book store is very calm and so um you. feel relieved and so you want to relieve.

yourself I don't think I've ever seen. you wear a hat I've got a like a Mud. Hens hat that man my hair has to be. pretty messed up for me to wear it but. that's my hat I don't think I've ever. seen you in a hat in 16 years well. that's by Design I've seen you in shorts. maybe twice that was by Design as well. what' you. think you got some nice legs thanks and. then of course you have to to think. about or at least consider the frequency. illusion aspect of this it's a type of.

confirmation bias whereas once you know. this is a thing you start to just it's. in your head all of a sudden and you're. making that connection where it. previously didn't. exist uh so you know you have to kind of. consider that for sure yeah that's what. Skeptics say they say there's no such. thing as the maroke Aoki phenomenon that. actually it's it's people just have. heard of it and maybe she had some sort. of pavlovian training where like the. smell of books made her want to poop but. just talking about it it getting.

published it becoming a thing in Japan. then traveling around the world people. started saying like oh yeah I've pooped. in bookstores too so then anytime they. poop in a bookstore from that point on. they notice it it confirms their theory. that they're Su susceptible to the. maroke Aoki phenomenon and it just. becomes like a self-fulfilling prophecy. but at the same time they're also. ignoring all the times they go to the. bookstore and don't poop or they go to. right Petco and have to poop you don't. want to do although you could just poop.

in the aisle and blame it on a. dog but still that's part of the. frequency illusion yeah for sure so I'm. curious to hear from people two types of. people uh people that have experienced. this whether in a bookstore or like my. situation like a large empty room uh or. bookstore employees who are like dude. you don't know that the nightmare that. we live yeah I can imagine you know yeah. hadn't thought about that man. thought for the bookstore employees huh.

wasn't there a Seinfeld where George had. to go to the bathroom in a bookstore. yeah he found the Pastoral scenes very. conducive to and then Elaine Cuts him. off he had to buy a book because he took. it in the bathroom that's funny there. you have it yeah a book of impressionist. paintings uh if you well no this is not. a regular stuff you should know episode. even though in this episode we found out. the origin of stuff you should know even. I didn't know the origin story and since. I'm so hyped I think that can only mean.

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