A Truly Once In A Lifetime Event

I always find myself surprised by all the little things in the world that we have names for but nobody seems to know what they. All of these seldom used words, but are things we all see or experience in our lives. For example, the little plastic, or metal piece at the end of your shoelace is called an aglet. This word is so unknown in fact that even this blog does not recognize it as a word. Aglet is obscure no doubt, but I am sure that many people have at least wondered from time to time if that little piece at the end of the shoelace was called something.

What I learned of today however, was something I would have never even fathomed there was a word for it.

The word is meconium.

Now if you already know what that word means then I salute you. It may not be that strange of a word I suppose, perhaps it is just new to me. I'm sure many people in medical fields know what it is, but in this particular context I am not so much concerned with the rarity of the word, more I am astonished that such a word even exists.

Meconium is the first poop you take in your life. The very first bowel movement you have as a newborn. It is special because that particular poo is almost completely sterile seeing as you intestines haven't yet become host to trillions and trillions of bacteria that are so aptly named. . . gut flora.

Sure, I realize it is a significant thing and it will never again happen in your life, but who would ever decide to name that particular event, that specific thing? Is there any real reason for that word to exist? I can't imagine anyone ever saying, "Hey! The very first crap we take as a baby, we should totally give that a name." I mean really, what would strike someone to take such action and even if you did, how do you propose the idea of such a word to everyone else in such a manner that they don't instantly look at you like you're insane?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to have learned a new word, I just wish I could have witnessed how such a word came to be and I wonder if maybe the whole thing started out as a joke or game between some doctors. I probably could, using the power of the internet, figure out the origin of the word, but for now I think it is far better to let my imagination run with this one. Maybe I'll even write a story about how meconium became a word.

The Birth Of The Word For Your First Poop After Birth.

Its a working title, we'll see where it goes.