‘Book Bowels’ Is A Phenomenon That Explains Why You Always Have To Poop At Bookstores

I’m a bit ashamed to admit but it’s been a long minute since I’ve been in a bookstore.

I say this because, I wouldn’t be able to tell you if this happens to me but it seems to happen so much, there is an actual name for it…

Yes, I am talking about the urge to have to poop or go #2 when you enter a bookstore.

The Mariko Aoki phenomenon also known as ‘Book Bowels’ Is A Phenomenon That Explains Why You Always Have To Poop At Bookstores.

This strange (yet common) phenomenon gets its name from a Japanese woman from the 1980s that wrote into a magazine explaining she had the urge to go potty every time she entered a bookstore.

As it turns out, tons of others came forward with the same strange thing and the official name of it was born.

So, why do you always have the urge to go poop in a bookstore?

Well, to this day, nobody really knows exactly why. They just know it’s a thing and one that is pretty common.

Of course, some there are some theories out there…

For one, some people believe the smell of the ink and paper in books resembles that of being at home, on the toilet, reading a newspaper or book while doing the dirty deed.

A doctor actually explains it more as psychological and that the overwhelming amount of information you get in a bookstore, helps trigger an autonomic response in your gut making you go to the bathroom.

No matter what the reason is, just know, if this happens to you, you are not weird, you are normal and it’s a pretty common thing!