From a study that looked at the effects of ecstasy on octopuses , to an analysis of the deaths in Game of Thrones , a range of weird and wonderful research studies have been carried out over the last year.
But the latest study could top the list as one of the weirdest studies we’ve ever written about.
Researchers from Kent State University in Ohio have attempted to make a knife from frozen human faeces.
Yes, you did read that right.
While this might sound like a pretty strange thing to do, there was some logic behind it - the team was testing a method used by an Inuit man, described in the 1998 book, Shadows in the Sun.
In their study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science , the researchers, led by Metin Eren, wrote: “The ethnographic account of an Inuit man manufacturing a knife from his own frozen feces to butcher and disarticulate a dog has permeated both the academic literature and popular culture.
“To evaluate the validity of this claim, we tested the basis of that account via experimental archaeology.”
In the study, the researchers experimentally tested various knives made from frozen human faeces, and unsurprisingly, they didn’t work.
The researchers added: “Our experiments assessed the functionality of knives made from human feces in controlled conditions that provided optimal conditions for success. However, they were not functional.
“While much research has shown foragers to be technologically resourceful, innovative, and savvy, we suggest that this ethnographic account should no longer be used to support that narrative.”
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