You learn something new everyday…

…even the very weird stuff.

Say you’re interested in figuring out the exact (or as near to exact as you can find) route taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition when they famously ventured into the western frontier.  Given this was the very first exploration of said frontier, their maps were made on the fly and suspect.  Further, given the participants of this expedition are long dead, how would you go about finding the exact places they camped at?

Why, by digging up the many latrines along their general route, examining the deposits within them, and following the trail of Laxatives specific to the expedition, of course!

I kid you not.

Presented below is a link to an article by Esther Inglis-Arkell detailing that very fact and how Lewis & Clark’s expedition’s route was traced by their …um… droppings:

http://io9.com/archaeologists-tracked-lewis-and-clark-by-following-the-1727887223

Fascinating, fascinating -albeit strange- stuff!