Be honest. When you walk into a bookstore, do you immediately need to poop? Really think about it. If you’re suddenly realizing that that’s happened more times than you can count… you’re not alone.
In fact, you’re so not alone that it actually has a name. It’s called the Mariko Aoki phenomenon — named after a woman who mentioned this feeling in a magazine in 1985. What a legacy!
No one’s entirely sure where it comes from. Could be a Pavlovian response to reading books and magazines, could be all the coffee that’s usually associated with bookstores, and it could also be as simple as the fact that you’re standing up and meandering around — knocking loose whatever’s in your bowels.
Point is, it’s a thing! And if you need to feel less alone, here’s some Tweets confirming that Mariko Aoki’s legacy will never die.
Why do bookstores make people poop?
*asking for a friend*
— nicki.callen (@ncstammer) January 25, 2017
rt if bookstores make u poop
— emilay (@emily_a1len1) December 8, 2016
Hey scientists, how about ONE of you take a break from cancer and try to figure out why bookstores make me poop
— no dana, only zuul (@DanaSchwartzzz) May 21, 2017
does being in a bookstore make you have to poop?
— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) September 11, 2017
@Bill_Nye_Tho can you explain the phenomenon of needing to poop every single time I'm in a bookstore
— Limes n Thot Crimes (@fridakahlol) May 26, 2017
dear lady at the bookstore, I would love to learn more about how join the monthly book club if I didn't have to poop. #SorryNotSorry
— emma bravado (@allligatortears) August 1, 2017
Can you explain to me why I have to poop whenever I'm in a bookstore though, Katey? I am serious.
— ??Stabby Addie?? (@abjornsen) August 4, 2017
This cracks me up because I know someone that immediately needs to poop upon entering a bookstore.
— Renee Hooray (@ReneeHooray) July 24, 2017