Why Do Children Around the World Laugh at "Poop''? -- A Serious Investigation of an Extremely Unserious Phenomenon --
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper explores why children often find the word “poop” funny. It examines possible explanations involving language, cognitive development, repetition, social reactions, taboo, and incongruity. The paper also introduces the deliberately speculative “Ancient Poop Hypothesis”: the possibility that toilet humor may be one of the oldest forms of humor in human history. By taking an extremely unserious subject seriously, this paper explores the relationship between humor, language, social expectations, and human cognition.
Author: Sugawara, Akihito
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208808067
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