Valuable excrement sent to dung heap

[Tyr]

One person's poop is another treasure...

A British university has apologized to a Ph.D. student for throwing away his treasured collection of lizard excrement.

Daniel Bennett has told Times Higher Education magazine that he had collected the dung in the Philippines while studying the rare butaan lizard, a relative of the Komodo dragon. The material was to be studied as part of his doctoral research.

Mr. Bennett says the 35 kilogram bag was thrown away by cleaners at his lab at Leeds University in northern England.

He says the dung represented seven years' field work, and its loss “left me reeling.”

The university said Friday it had apologized.

Mr. Bennett says he rejected the university's offer of 500 pounds ($750) compensation and will “see them in court.”

 

[shadowshiv]

I guess the crux of the matter is whether or not he properly identified the bag. If there was just an unmarked bag of poop sitting on the counter, how would the cleaners know whether or not it was being used for something.

If it was marked(and you would think it would be, if he was working on the project for seven years) then he just may have a case.

 

[Tyr]

I guess the crux of the matter is whether or not he properly identified the bag. If there was just an unmarked bag of poop sitting on the counter, how would the cleaners know whether or not it was being used for something.

If it was marked(and you would think it would be, if he was working on the project for seven years) then he just may have a case.

What would you mark it as?

 

[shadowshiv]

What would you mark it as?

I would mark it as being part of a project.;-) Scientists use excrement in experiments all the time, so it would not have looked too strange at all. I would also make sure the bag was marked with "DO NOT THROW OUT!" on it, just so there wasn't any doubt that it was important.

If it was just a plain unmarked bag with the poop inside, the cleaner could have mistaken it for droppings from a pet that just hadn't been thrown away yet.

 

[#juan]

There was a rather appropriate saying I once read in a slightly different context:

"It may be just poop to you, but it's my bread and butter"

 

[lone wolf]

Musta been some really good shyte!....

 

[shadowshiv]

Musta been some really good shyte!....

Who knows? Maybe he thought he could smoke it, and that is why he is so upset.;-):lol:

 

[Risus]

LOL, this thread is 'crap'!