Here's how long it takes a Lego head to pass through your body

For science!
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
Here's how long it takes a Lego head to pass through your body
Researchers swallowed Lego heads in the name of science. Credit: Getty Images

Discovering that your kid has swallowed Lego is pretty annoying as a parent, but these researchers did the same thing in the name of science.

The study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, had six paediatric professionals from a group called Don't Forget The Bubbles swallow a Lego head to see how long it would take for it to pass through their body.

Prior to swallowing the heads, researchers were required to keep track of the quality of their poop, measured as Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT).

How long it takes for the Lego head to come out the other end was measured on the Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score, and the average among the small group was 1.7 days.

The participants, unfortunately, had to search through their own poop to find the Lego head. One participant couldn't find their Lego head, even after two weeks.

And yes, there's video of the researchers swallowing the Lego.

While the research proves that it seems to be mostly OK if you end up swallowing a Lego head, the speed in which it exits the body would possibly differ for children, who are most prone to swallowing foreign objects.

Oh, and of course it goes without saying: Don't try this at home.

Topics Health

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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