The Mystery Of Asparagus Pee

The Mystery Of Asparagus Pee 573,295 viewsApr 14, 2016 MinuteEarth 2.69M subscribers Get a 2-meal discount from Blue Apron here: http://cook.ba/1W7fRdC The Survey Results: http://bit.ly/29boaUB If you liked this week’s video, we think you might also like this blog post about asparagus pee: http://bit.ly/1TOEBHZ FYI: We try to leave jargon out of our videos, but if you want to learn more about this topic, here are some handy keywords to get your googling started: Asparagus: a delicious, edible plant Odor: a smell, aroma Gas chromatography: a scientific technique used to separate and analyze compounds Sulfur: a yellow chemical element with the symbol S Asparagusic Acid: a sulfur containing compound present in asparagus People featured in this video: - Marcel Proust - Benjamin Franklin - John Arbuthnot ___________________________________________ Thanks to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth : - Today I Found Out - Maarten Bremer - Jeff Straathof - Mark Roth - Tony Fadell - Muhammad Shifaz - 靛蓝字幕组 - Jagdtiger - Alberto Bortoni - Valentin - Nicholas Buckendorf - Antoine Coeur ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: Rachel Becker (@RA_Becks) Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar) Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert) Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Omkar Bhagat, Peter Reich, David Goldenberg Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder Image Credits: Purple, white and green asparagus - iStock.com/PicturePartners Viceroy Butterfly - Wikimedia user PiccoloNamek https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Eggs and Asparagus - Michelle Hooton (used with permission) https://www.flickr.com/photos/_hoot/8... _________________________________________ Like our videos? Subscribe to MinuteEarth on YouTube: http://goo.gl/EpIDGd Get early, exclusive access to our videos on Vessel: https://goo.gl/hgD1iJ Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ Also, say hello on: Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And find us on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ References: Eriksson, N., Macpherson, J. M., Tung, J. Y., Hon, L. S., Naughton, B., Saxonov, S., . . . Mountain, J. (2010). Web-Based, Participant-Driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits. PLoS Genetics PLoS Genet, 6(6). Retrieved from http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics... Mitchell, S. C. (2001). Food Idiosyncrasies: Beetroot and Asparagus. Drug Metabolism & Disposition, 29(4), 539-543. Retrieved from http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/... Mitchell, S. C., & Waring, R. H. (2014). Asparagusic acid. Phytochemistry, 97, 5-10. Retrieved from http://www.silae.it/files/Asparagusic acid.pdf Pelchat, M. L., Bykowski, C., Duke, F. F., & Reed, D. R. (2010). Excretion and Perception of a Characteristic Odor in Urine after Asparagus Ingestion: A Psychophysical and Genetic Study. Chemical Senses, 36(1), 9-17. Retrieved from http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cont... Waring, R. H., Mitchell, S. C., & Fenwick, G. R. (1987). The chemical nature of the urinary odour produced by man after asparagus ingestion. Xenobiotica, 17(11), 1363-1371. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10... Buy MinuteEarth merchandise $49.00 DFTBA $29.00 DFTBA $29.00 DFTBA $10.00 DFTBA $29.00 DFTBA $29.00 DFTBA 629 Comments rongmaw lin Add a comment... MakeMeThinkAgain MakeMeThinkAgain 5 years ago What amazes me is how fast it changes the smell of your pee. I've never timed it, but it seems to be almost instantaneous. Writing the above makes me wonder, for the first time, if it could be your sense of smell that changes rather than your pee. Now that would be tricky to test. 2 scottswan scottswan 6 years ago I'm always amazed at how fast my pee smells after eating asparagus, like just a few minutes. 6 Diogo Tito Diogo Tito 6 years ago 1. death 2. life 3. universe 4. cats! 5. #asparguslivesmatter 356 Melora Foy Melora Foy 4 years ago We had a big asparagus patch when I grew up, and I never noticed a difference in my pee. Neither does my mother smell a difference in hers. We haven't smelled each other's (ick). Never heard my brother of father mention it. If it's genetic, maybe none of us smell and/or produce. limors limors 1 year ago The benefit of re-watching this video years later is that this time I remembered to check the link for the survey results- it was a very interesting read! red mercury red mercury 6 years ago the first time i ever ate asparagus, i thought something was wrong with me because i could actually smell my pee!! i never told anyone and only found out what was really going on because somehow the subject came up one day amongst friends. good to know im ok Zogg from Betelgeuse Zogg from Betelgeuse 6 years ago My alien organism seems to process aspergus in a different way : When I eat but one aspergus plant, I pee about two liters of a smelly ultraviolet acid that burns through three titanium-coated saucer decks down to the cattle hold in about a minute. It seems to be neutralized by bovine dung, though, which is quite fortunate when the accident happens in high orbit. I don't eat aspergus anymore. 155 LETZUPLOADIT LETZUPLOADIT 6 years ago good to see you guys grow love your channel keep up the good work :) 5 Nagi 61 Nagi 61 4 years ago I hadn't noticed the smell until recently watching this video; apparently there should be one more variable to control in the experiment. siprus siprus 6 years ago "unanticipated aversion to urine" Somebody has had sense of humor writing that paper. 71 sinephase sinephase 6 years ago scishow already covered this, I'll say the same thing: it's like that with coffee too, some people have coffee smelling pee, others don't, etc. microbes and metabolization are the most likely reasons it does/doesn't smell TheStigma TheStigma 6 years ago I can't say I eat a lot of asparagus - but this phenomenon definitely happens to me with coffee. Thankfully it doesn't make a stink - it's more of a strong sweet'ish aroma. Haven't really had the opportunity to sniff other peoples coffee-pee to compare :D Legion of Weirdos - ADHD & more - Christopher Mast Legion of Weirdos - ADHD & more - Christopher Mast 6 years ago I learned not all asparagus is green. Hmm... 167 The Pink Envelope The Pink Envelope 5 years ago I love this! Thanks for such a great video. I think I might have an addiction to subscription boxes! L Broderick L Broderick 6 years ago So funny I'm coming across this because my daughter and I were just talking about this. Until my daughter told me about this I was not aware of asparagus pee. I've eaten asparagus lots of times and I can't say that I noticed any difference but then maybe I just can't smell it, LOL! Esther Hwang Esther Hwang 6 years ago I love your guys scientific puns at the end! Very clever! Stonylogray Stonylogray 6 years ago I am a child, but I can't stop myself from giggling every time the phrase "stinky pee" is used in this video. Christian Bossart Christian Bossart 6 years ago Can we get an "I sniff pee for science" t-shirt? 32 Quantum The Engineer Quantum The Engineer 6 years ago For science! My gut microbes also turn grapes and raisins into large amounts of gas so quickly that it pains me because it is produced at a distance from where it may be vented. yonigrin1 yonigrin1 6 years ago You guys are awesome! Love your channel(s)! PatriotPigeon PatriotPigeon 6 years ago Farmed Maitake mushrooms also make my pee and poop smell different consistently. I won't say stinkier because I actually enjoy the smell a bit more than the usual smell of my poop or pee. Josiah Baumgartner Josiah Baumgartner 6 years ago I either don't make it or can't smell it. I've heard of asparagus making your pee smell but I've never noticed anything even though I eat asparagus fairly regularly.