Scientist Gets High, Another Goes Cuckoo From Sniffing Penguin Poop

Yes, a penguin looks adorable and harmless but whenever you are near one, watch out for its poop as it generates laughing gas.

When researchers from China and Denmark were studying the effect of melting glaciers and the greenhouse effect on penguins, they found out that climate change has led to something resembles a feedback loop with the influx of penguins means more poop and more greenhouse gas.

What scientists were not prepared for is the laughing gas they inhaled while surrounded by the birds’ feces.

According to Bo Elberling of the Center for Permafrost at the University of Copenhagen, after several hours, one of the scientists got a headache, another went cuckoo.

The research site, the South Georgia island in the South Atlantic. In the last 50 years, the glaciers of the island have been retreating. It is estimated that the island has lost 1 km of ice compared to 1993.

South Georgia island is the ideal habitat for penguins. In fact, it is home to the largest number of king penguins with approximately 300,000 birds. When there is less glacier, the birds advance deeper inland.

However, as the population grows, the amount of poop they produce also increases. Penguins’ feces when released emit carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide to the soil.

The scientists took sold samples from five sites and analyze their content. The result is the sample closer to the penguin colony contains a higher level of nitrous oxide, a substance that can make humans feel euphoric and relaxed.

However, this is not to say that penguin poop directly releases nitrous oxide. The feces contain nitrogen and over time, the soil will turn the substance into laughing gas.

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