But did you read to the end while pooping?

Mammals converged on systems that satisfy the same fluid-mechanics.

I need to know if this is also true of aquatic animals. A blue whale is ~50x the size of an African elephant. Does that mean that a blue whale expels some 2100 gallons (~8000 liters) in 20 seconds?

I too find it somewhat unsurprising, but I guess it's good that someone did a study.

The direct proportionality is interesting, though. Not everything works out this way in nature; for example, many other things follow the square-cube law.

Amazing. Exactly the insightful comments that I hope to see on HN...perhaps not on the current subject but nonetheless

> On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

That was a beautiful design choice to use milk jugs for the visual.

Wait, hold on. Are you saying from lingering smell you're able to determine that there's pathology?

Yes, say something. It's worth the awkwardness to potentially save someone's life. Just approach it delicately.

Reminds me of this story: fan spotted a mole on a hockey team's staff's neck - https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2022/01/03/hock...

> And so the dilemma is, do I say something to him? He looks like he is in awful health and high probability with an awful diet (based on profiling him). But I don’t interact with him or have any type of relationship and saying something would be incredibly awkward. Surely he knows I tell myself.

It's an interesting question—if you have knowledge about human health based on a person's appearance, do you share that information? I think a physician may not do that for a stranger, but I imagine you aren't a physician.

Likely Chron's. Yes, please proceed. But make some effort at being tactful about it, just so the information will be received and faster. This could be life changing for them.

Absolutely tell him. There's two options, let's see what's the worst that can happen in every circumstance:

* He is indeed sick. In this case the worst that can happen is that they will die.

* He isn't sick, you are just imagining things. In this case the worst that can happen is that you made a bit of a fool of yourself. Potentially embarrasing yourself in front of a fellow employee. I guess there's a small possibility of him taking it the wrong way, I suppose.

It's death on one hand versus a personal embarrassment/awkardness on the other. To me the choice is clear.

You'd be surprised how much discomfort people get acclimated to as just being normal and never end up diagnosing until something finally reaches the breaking point to forcing them in to see a doc. If it's been weighing on you for a while, you could probably gently broach it with something to the effect of "Hey man--I know there's no non-awkward way to put this, but I think your body might be digesting its own blood and I was worried about you and wanted to see if you were feeling alright."

There was a time when medicine put a lot of focus on the smell and consistency of bowel movements. There's probably something to it but we have better diagnostics now. That said, normal bowel movements can have a bit of an odor but it should not be strong or particularly foul-smelling. If it is, consider changing your diet or getting it checked out if that doesn't help. I found that just cutting out fast foods made that particular bodily function nearly odorless.

> do I say ... ?

YES. Private, verbally. Intro with your long-ago medical experience in the area. Disclaimer with "obviously that experience is strongly biased toward illnesses, since they were in the hospital". Dunno whether you should mention anything as specific as "Likely he's digesting blood". Close with something about "not my business, but if you have not seen a doctor, then please do so, for your health's sake". Make it clear that he doesn't have to say anything to you in reply - not even a "thank you", let alone an answer or follow-up.

Anonymous note maybe if you really don't feel like talking to them.

have you considered writing a brief but anonymous letter, printing it, and putting it on his desk in a concealed envelope?

Are you sure your coworker hasn't been eating a lot of corn or pineapples lately(possibly leading to visible sores in the mouth?)

If it's so low traffic maybe whenever y'all run into each other you could just do something subtle like a visual cue like a nod or just a "hey how are you?" if they seem to be in a good mood whenever you happen to pass by each other in the workplace.

Not saying you have to be friends with this person but maybe after a few of those small interactions(and a little time) bring it up in a non-direct way...

Best case scenario if he replies to a "hey how are ya?" with "oh good, how about you?" you could casually bring up something like "oohhh, had a patient that came in with (same symptoms as the guy) - we figured out it was this. Don't see that often!"

Hopefully he's drinking at least 50 gallons of water a day, and eating tree bark seems to be a good remedy for GI issues.

Oh wait, is your coworker a human or an elephant?

If he looks sick, that might be enough to nudge him in the right direction, in private. "Are you okay? You really don't look well. Having worked in a GI wing at a hospital, I've noticed a few signs that might point to serious GI issues. I would suggest you see a doctor ASAP, just to be safe." If he asks what signs, you can say "among others, you look ill". That way, you can avoid talking about the smell. You can also say you don't feel comfortable getting into the details, but that you nonetheless felt morally bound to let him know based on your experience.

Or perhaps mention it to your manager. He can then tell your coworker that there has been concern about his health and that he recommends seeing a specialist.

What he does with that information is completely his responsibility after that. You cannot make anyone happy by force, and it isn't any of your business.

How about a general chat and then asking him about his health? If he comes out saying he's not feeling great, that would be an opening for more pointed advice. If not, maybe you could say something like you thought he was looking under the weather.

"Listen, I'm no doctor, but your shit stinks in a way that makes me think you need to see one," said while you're in the stall next to him, or any other time, couldn't hurt.

Leave a note in the bathroom???

Is that why it's the default setting on those motion lights?

Yes: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47280917