Friday, July 13, 2012

Would You Rather...

The other day, a co-worker posed an interesting hypothetical question that I have subsequently analyzed to death (when you go on a 21 hour streak of doing absolutely nothing at work, these are the type of things you spend your time doing). He asked, “Every time you sneezed for the rest of your life, would you rather shit your pants or throw up?”

First things first, I need to clarify the parameters of this question. In this instance, “shit your pants” constitutes a moderate shart. One where a small amount of poo sneaks out and essentially stains your undergarments but lacks the size and consistency of a standard stool. For instance, if you were standing when the sneeze occurred, you may not even notice the fecal matter in your drawers, but upon sitting down the presence would be undeniable. When it comes to the vomit, it would be roughly the size and length of a vomit after being drunk, full and shotgunning a beer, where the vomit is mostly just the last beer that went down, and maybe a little bit more. Nothing gut wrenching or overpowering, but still a significant vomit. Finally, multiple sneezers, people who sneeze more than once almost everytime they sneeze, should be treated as standard one time sneezers. So each sneeze session would constitute one shart or one boot. However, if the sneezes total more than 3, bonus sharting or vomiting will ensue, with each additional 2 sneezes leading to another shart or boot (4 sneezes = 2 shart/vomit, 6 sneezes= 3, etc). This takes into account allergy season and must be considered.

Ok, now that I have laid down the ground rules, it’s time to start the analysis. When this question was first posed, I quickly declared I’d prefer the vomiting option. As a male college student, vomiting is something I am inherently used to. In my prime (sophomore year, the first peak of every college guys career), I would probably be booting at a minimum two nights a week, with a maximum of 5. With such experience, the act of vomiting does not bother me all that much and a few a day (I probably sneeze on average 1.75 times a day) would be manageable. I have not sharted nearly as much, not to say that I haven’t. One time I did walking to my house from campus, right in front of the sorority dorm. Oh, yeah and I was going commando due to my natural inability to do laundry more than once every month. It was miserable as I had to squat-run home a moderate distance, hoping nobody would walk behind me. That experience put the fear of shart in my heart, and I hope to never deal with that again. Other side advantages I thought of the vomiting options: getting out of work for being “sick” would come in handy if one were to sneeze-barf in front of co-workers or bosses. The smell of the vomit could be easily concealed with some mints or gum or even a stash of mouth wash, unlike a shart, which is an undeniable odor. Who wants their friends, family and coworkers knowing they shit themselves on the reg?

After some thought provoking discussion with some friends, I think I may have been swayed to the other side. One, the constant vomiting could possibly lead to some malnutrition and weight loss issues (which I guess would be a plus for all the insecure ladies out there). Second and more importantly, the vomit would be very hard to conceal and would be pretty embarrassing in many situations (i.e. job interview, first date, sex, your child’s baptism, an AA meeting, when your wife asks you how she looks, etc). A shart, however, would go unnoticed to the untrained eye. The smell probably wouldn’t be overpowering right away, and with some odor-preventing adult diapers, could be essentially untraceable. The adult diaper possibility is a game changer in my mind, as it will properly contain the poo, keep the smell manageable and gives some more flexibility in how much time you can take before you change.

Without the adult diaper, I would probably stick with the vomiting, just because it’s much more socially acceptable to throw up than poop yourself as a grown man, but they exist and must be considered. However, everything in the adult diaper/sharting world would not be gravy. First, studies have shown that you are 100% more susceptible to diaper rash when you are wearing diapers as opposed to when you are not. Nobody likes rashes, especially near their nether regions. Babies hate them, so I think there is an innate human hatred of diaper rashes, meaning they suck for people of all ages Second, I am not too familiar with adult diapers, but I imagine they are just baby diapers sized for old people. This would mean they would probably make sounds and be puffy. A wise observer would be able to notice the adult diaper. Being caught wearing adult diapers would be just as embarrassing as being caught shitting yourself, given the transitive property (shitting yourself all the time = everyone making fun of you and hating you, wearing adult diaper = shitting yourself all the time. Therefore: wearing adult diapers = everyone making fun of you and hating you). Finally, poops are meant to be cherished and enjoyed in the privacy of one’s own home or stall. The constant sharting would probably instill a phobia of good farts and poopig which no adult male wants.

In the end, both scenarios would suck. While I am still sort of torn between the two, I would probably have to go sharting, simply because of the ability to conceal them with an adult diaper. Like all the greatest questions posed by philosphers, leaders and societies throughout the history of mankind, we may never discover the true answer to this question. It shall remain a mystery until death. I don’t believe in an afterlife, but if I did, I would hope to rise to heaven and be greeted by Jesus. I would then ask him this as well as other questions that have tormented society for  years (What came first, the chicken or the egg? Should you stand or sit when you wipe your ass? How about fold or scrunch the toilet paper? And so many, many more).



Shartfully yours,

Abraham Froman

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