Have you ever felt the urge to poop while wandering inside a bookstore? If so, you are not alone, as other people also report the strange experience of triggering a bowel movement upon stepping inside a bookstore. This is known as the Mariko Aoki phenomenon.
Potential Causes of Mariko Aoki Phenomenon
Studies made in Japan reveal that at least one in 10 people in Japan feels the urge to poop while inside the bookstore. Although anyone can experience it, people in their 20s and 30s are more affected than other age groups. Women are about two to four times more prone to it, while sporty males have less experience with this sensation. Although no formal scientific study has been made about the Mariko Aoki phenomenon, there are four most-discussed causes of this occurrence.
The gut-brain axis theory suggests a person's mental experience affects his gastrointestinal tract. People tend to feel the urge to poop when they get nervous such as when the restroom is not easily located. Most people also develop the habit of reading in the bathroom. Over time, a person's colon and body establish a subconscious connection between reading in the toilet and the need to defecate.
It can also fire up when they are in places with overwhelming amounts of information, such as museums, grocery stores, and parks. Inside a bookstore, the effect arises when a person feels nervous about facing a vast amount of information on the bookshelves.
Another suggestion is that the smell of ink and old paper triggers defecation. Unlike the effect of onion in making a person cry, it is not the smell of books that is correlated with bodily function. Instead, it is due to the tendency of the brain to link the smell of books to behaviors such as pooping.
Posture is also considered another factor that causes the Mariko Aoki phenomenon. Inside the bookstore, a person needs to bend, squat and twist their torso as they search from piles of books. These postures trigger the angle of the rectum, making bowel movement easier.
Gastroenterologist Dr. Sameer Islam from Texas suggested that this strange experience is purely a psychological problem. He explains that people can have butterflies in their stomachs when they feel anxious. Nervousness can also cause other bowel issues, such as diarrhea, a common indication of irritable bowel syndrome.
READ ALSO: What Are Period Poops? All You Need To Know About the Effect of Menstruation on Your Bowel Movement
Who is Mariko Aoki?
In February 1985, a confession was made by a young Japanese woman named Mariko Aoki in an essay she wrote for the magazine Hon no Zasshi ("Book Magazine"). In this essay, she explained her overwhelming need to defecate while browsing books in a bookstore.
It turns out that the woman is not alone in this experience. After the essay's publication, the editors received testimonies from dozens of other readers who confessed similarly. Hon no Zasshi took advantage of the trend and published a magazine article, "The Phenomenon Currently Shaking the Bookstore Industry!" Although this occurrence has no medical or scientific proof, it has become a sensation even after a few decades.
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