It’s gross. Worse — it’s an academic exploration glorifying grossness. That’s why it has “kid” written all over it. Squeamish parents beware: On Saturday, Carnegie Science Center will open the burping, flatulent, mucus-dripping exhibit “Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.” Based on former science teacher Sylvia Branzei’s popular book — with elementary-schoolers, at least — the traveling exhibit forays into every possible scientific aspect of the human body a polite society would prefer to ignore. But it is science. And interesting, if you can get past your initial revulsion. “It really takes (science) from a perspective of gases and liquids,” says Ron Baillie, director of education at the Science Center. “Because it really does address younger kids. It doesn’t talk about microbes — things they can’t see. It’s things kids know, in very concrete things that everyone does.” Some facts gleaned from the exhibit include the following: Body odor isn’t because of sweat. It’s from the bacteria that feed on the sweat and produce waste. A similar bacteria feeding frenzy goes on inside the mouth during the night. Hence, vile morning breath. Long noses might have developed on people in desert areas to better moisturize the air they breathed. In tropical areas, where air is humid, people developed short, flat noses. Do you smoke• Eat fast• Talk with a mouth full of food• You’re swallowing more air and are more likely to burp often. By the same token, fatty foods cause more acid build-up in the stomach, hence more burps. Here’s one for the kids: Burping is easier when lying on one’s stomach, with elbows propped up. Or when lying on one’s right side. These facts in the exhibit come from posted signs and speaking robots such as Professor Nigel, whose stuffed-up head is a giant dripping faucet. But that drip coming out of the faucet isn’t water. A pinball game offers facts on gas build-up in the colon, with the ball representing bacteria. Another game allows kids to cannon fire ping-pong balls — representing dust — into the nostrils of a giant nose. A giant, walk-in nose sneezes — it’s just air, though — on people exploring replicas of blood vessels and cilia within it. Cranking a pump fills a spherical tank representing the human stomach with soda until the pressure from gas bubbles forces a loud ”buuuuurrrp” from the cartoonish, slack-jawed man to which it is attached. He does excuse himself, at least, which he does in a goofy redneck drawl: “Excuuuse me! Ah wonder where that came from?” “Grossology” runs no risk of being called “tasteful.” But that is probably why kids ages 5 to 12, and some adults, are chomping at the bit to see it. “A woman with her kids came up to me at the gas station,” Baillie says. “She saw my (Science Center) shirt, and said, ‘Oh, that slimy exhibit is coming.’ It engages kids where they are (in age).”

Gross facts

Hydrochloric acid in the human stomach is strong enough to dissolve nails and stainless steel razor blades. Fresh urine is cleaner than the human face because it hasn’t been exposed to bacteria yet. Every day, about 1 liter of saliva enters the mouth. The mouth is the most unsanitary part of the body. More than 100 million microorganisms live in it at any given time. And morning breath stinks because those microorganisms have been feeding and producing waste undisturbed in the mouth all night. The reason the line for the women’s restroom is longer than the one for the men is not just because of pantyhose and the number of stalls. Men take an average of 45 seconds to urinate, and women take an average of 79 seconds. Your nose can sense smell best when you are about 10 years old. That might be the reason kids notice foul smells faster than adults. Source: The “Grossology” book series, by Sylvia Branzei

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---