Poo-Poo to Navel-Gazing: Look Lower

Poop isn't just joke fodder, Leslie Crawford writes in Salon, it can also be a vital way to assess your health and well-being, and Americans are being prompted to scrutinize (and rhapsodize over) what they produce in a variety of media. From Oprah to the popular book What's Your Poo Telling You?, the virtues of a good bowel movement might never have been more widely extolled.

The book also broaches the topic of the euphoria that can accompany defecation, Crawford writes: "To some, it may feel like a religious experience, to others like an orgasm."  But party-poopers say so much focus isn't healthy. "If you're reading a book that has you focusing on your poop, you need to get out more," says one doctor. (More poop stories.)