Atlas Obscura has a story about the opening of a new museum in Williams, Arizona. It's dedicated to the study of coprolites, which is fossilized poop. Dinosaurs did it, birds do it, bees do it, fish do it... even we do it, all animals do it. Mazon Creek coprolites are fairly common. So, what does it tell us? It turns out the waste of yesteryear is very valuable when it comes to understanding animal' behavior and, of course, its diet. They were noticed by Mary Anning as early as 1824, when she found bezoar stones in the abdominal region of ichthyosaur skeletons. When she broken them open, she often found fossilized bones and scales. Those observations led William Buckland to theorize they were fossilized feces.
Have you ever had a close up and personal visit with dinosaur poop? (Surprise: some of it will look very familiar!) If you’re driving through Williams, Arizona along Highway 40, possibly on your way to the Grand Canyon, here’s your chance.
The Poozeum (get it?) is weird and scientific, doesn’t smell bad, and will thrill any dinosaur-loving kid and adult. It has dozens of displays of big and little poop, and a four-foot-long plop from the Titanosaur, the world’s largest pooper. (It’s a replica, but still…)
The museum’s curator knows his poop. He’s been collecting the stuff since he was 14 years old. He’ll tell you where he collected the poop, explain the size of each of the poops (and describe the original pooper), how the poop got its shape, why it has that poop-ish color, and with a little prompting, let you touch some of the poop.
Like any good museum, there’s a gift shop with T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other poop-related paraphernalia.
Note: Thanks go out to Gretel Monreal who sent this in as a suggested post!
