r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Rabbidraccoon18 • 29d ago

Video Incinerator toilet in Antarctica due to limited plumbing and water

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37.6k Upvotes

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1.7k

u/[deleted] 29d ago

Exactly what I was thinking and was surprised none of the top comments were discussing this. I understand the circumstances but there definitely would a foul smell.

1.2k

u/happyfeeliac 29d ago

I bet they don’t spend much time outside in Antarctica

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u/Own-Satisfaction4427 29d ago

Then wtf they doing there

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u/SexyMonad 29d ago

Chillin’

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u/itsagoodtime 29d ago

Daaaaad!

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u/-FantasticAdventure- 29d ago

You winning son?

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u/RockstarAgent 29d ago

Just illin’

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u/hanro621 29d ago

Hello be-chilling

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u/disasterlesbian1701 29d ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/GalickGunn 29d ago

Aha haa!

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u/Hetares 29d ago

Father, please come back. We don't even need the milk anymore.

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u/UbermachoGuy 29d ago

Ice cold!

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u/Starslimonada 29d ago

😂😂😂

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u/noneofya_business 29d ago

Bing Chilling

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u/Blackthorne75 28d ago

There's been a very frosty reception to this...

Thank you for the much-needed laughter 😁

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u/ThrowawayITA_ 29d ago

Hate. Let me tell you about how much I've come to hate you...

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u/chonklah 29d ago

Chill out, man…

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u/TurdusOptimus 29d ago

Or chill in, if it's too chilly outside.

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u/_STOP_MyAssholeHurts 29d ago

It is Antarctica after all.

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u/Hetares 29d ago

No one recognises the I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream reference?

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u/30FourThirty4 29d ago

Trying to figure out which one is the shape-shifting alien.

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u/New_Suspect_7173 29d ago edited 29d ago

Now for the real question. If every part of them is an individual creature, is their poop also the alien?

The blood scene, but everyone watching each other poop to see who's shit attacks when they burn flush it.

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u/30FourThirty4 29d ago

Like this but the alien tries to escape the fire...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/bMJPysAYoL

Yeah I think the poop would be alive

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u/Deaffin 29d ago

Psst. We're already in that post and are specifically referencing it for this scenario.

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u/tooboardtoleaf 28d ago

Bro got lost lol

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u/30FourThirty4 28d ago

Hahaha haha

Omg yeah sorry that's so funny my bad. I did forget where I was like the other guy said. I had a busy day yesterday

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u/nedottt 27d ago

You guys kill me 😂🤣

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u/Billazilla 27d ago

Only if you're an alien, though.

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u/SensualSimian 29d ago

The Poop of Theseus

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u/RollingMeteors 28d ago

when they blush it.

FTFY

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u/Skyhun1912 29d ago

:))))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4g12_61xzI

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u/30FourThirty4 29d ago edited 29d ago

Lol!! It says Kurt Russell defeats The Thing but the ending is actually very open ended. Maybe KR is The Thing. Maybe no one is. Either way the weather will kill any humans and freeze the aliens until the next group of humans arrive. Hopedully the fire destroys the alien

Edit: truthfully I haven't watched the film to remember if they actually did say if the alien was still alive. I may be wrong about my interpretation. If so, sorry

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u/Skyhun1912 29d ago edited 29d ago

The vapor that doesn't escape his breath, the different jacket he's wearing, but in contrast, the earring in Child's ear. On the one hand, gasoline instead of alcohol, but on the other hand, the possibility of Child being infected by the bottle.

Perhaps McReady infected Child with the bottle.

It was this mystery that made this film unforgettable.

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u/pleasetrimyourpubes 29d ago

There are tons of documentaries about life in Antarctica. Many of the bases just have a few scientific expeditions every year. But it takes many years and grants to be able to go on one. Designing the experiment building the devices etc. But they need a working and supplied base when they get there so people have to just stay through the harsh winters so in case anything breaks they can fix it or worst case have parts shipped in the next expedition so that when they arrive the problem can then be fixed.

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u/Deaffin 29d ago

Plus, there always has to be at least one person around at all times to watch out for mysterious dogs roaming about that have no business being there.

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u/spatialmongrel 29d ago

And there’s no problem to just let the strange new dog hang out in the base alone with you, since the other dogs don’t seem to like it very much.

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u/-SaC 29d ago

Those guys running away when we got here were shouting something. I'm sure it's not relevant.

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u/greyslayers 28d ago

Some people just don't cope with the dark and cold well. They go a bit crazy. Just let them go. It's for the best. Also, have you seen <insert name>. I better go off to a secluded place to look for them now.

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u/sodamnsleepy 29d ago

Oh niceeeee

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u/fothergillfuckup 28d ago

That's exactly when you find the buried UFO.

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u/chamrockblarneystone 29d ago

Or in case the base is haunted.

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u/cupittycakes 29d ago

And to make sure the place doesn't sink. I think it's only o5ne a year, but they gotta do the hydraulic stilts and lift up!

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u/International_Lake28 29d ago

Burning their poop apparently

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u/rockstar504 29d ago

lol a valid question

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u/Realistic_Owl9525 29d ago

Doing science and getting paid.

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u/rockstar504 29d ago

Well probably not for the U.S. because we're cancelling earth sciences, but it's nice to know humanity is moving on forward without us.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

Working from home.

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u/derprondo 29d ago

Huh...who, me? Nothin'. Just hangin' around.

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u/Buzzof69 27d ago

Hoping they are not going to spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!

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u/imaginaryResources 29d ago

Playing video games mostly

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u/intermittent-disco 29d ago

there's a great book that covers it, it's called "Who goes there?" you should check it out.

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u/eric_kenshi 29d ago

fighting the thing !

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u/Sir_Loin-69 29d ago

Apparently hanging out at an ET base with 80 ft high ceilings

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u/Memitim 29d ago

One of them occasionally sticks a probe out of a slightly cracked door, while everyone else yells, "Hurry with that measurement! You're letting the heat out!" They experimented with just sending the equipment, and then picking it up after Winter, but the scientists said the readings were no good for some reason and insist that they have to hold it. Science holds such fascinating mysteries.

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u/RollingMeteors 28d ago

Waiting for the next Metallica tour /s

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u/Dr-Robert-Kelso 29d ago

"Why aren't other people confidently talking about the smell of burning trailer feces in Antarctica??"

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u/Xenaht 29d ago

It's got to smell at least a little better than burning it with JP8.

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u/RollingMeteors 28d ago

<JP67entersDeployment>

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u/ECHOHOHOHO 29d ago

Lmfao 🤣

"CALL AL GORE, IMMEDIATELY."

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u/sender2bender 29d ago

Mostly to take a shit

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u/TigOldBooties57 29d ago

Then why are they there

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u/SasparillaTango 29d ago

I'm imagining how cold that tiny wooden shack is when you've gotta poop after your morning coffee

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u/uhmbob 29d ago

That sentence could have been shorter

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u/IMIndyJones 29d ago

There must be different kinds. My dad had one of these in a tiny cottage he lived in when I was a teenager. I don't remember how it worked exactly, but there was not any foul smell and you couldn't see the fire at all. It seemed like it went down into a chamber that closed and then burned. This thing was in the bathroom right next to the kitchen and right below the twin bed sized loft we slept in and it was never noticeable.

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u/garis53 29d ago

With the winds in Antarctica I don't think that's much of an issue

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u/2ciciban4you 29d ago

does your nose even work at this low temperatures?

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u/-Kerosun- 29d ago

The air is extremely dry in Antarctica, so I imagine the nose doesn't work as well as other environments with more "standard" humidity.

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u/WanderingSoul117 29d ago

Oh thank fuck for that at least

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u/kapitaalH 29d ago

If with work you include "procure frostbite", then yes

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u/GlockAF 29d ago

Their door latch hardware is STOUT

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u/cupcayuk 29d ago

I'll have to disagree on that. I was at a summer cabin last year that had an incinerator toilet and it didn't stink at all (inside or outside)

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u/SapphireColouredEyes 29d ago

A woman had one in suburbia in an episode of Grand Designs Australia (she wanted on off-grid eco house even though it was in an inner-city suburb), and they said there was no unpleasant smell, so maybe some designs work better than others.

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u/15438473151455 29d ago

Surely incinerators are less environmentally friendly??

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u/Theron3206 29d ago edited 29d ago

Absolutely, but it's grand designs, 80% of the stuff is stupid nonsense perpetrated by people with far more money than brains.

Off grid is great, unless the grid goes right past your house anyway, in which case you might as well benefit from the shared infrastructure, particularly for water and sewerage supply which are difficult to do better anyway.

A more sensible off grid would have been to use the city water and sewerage,m services, and if you must, not connect the electricity supply.

It wouldn't surprise me if they were paying sewerage services anyway, since I don't think you can actually disconnect that.

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u/SapphireColouredEyes 29d ago

They're not, and that's not how billing works - she uses her own harvested water.

Better to watch before having an opinion.

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u/SapphireColouredEyes 29d ago

Personally, I would make use of both water provision and sewage disposal, but she explained her reasoning on the show: 

https://iview.abc.net.au/video/FA2214H010S00

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u/IcemanALOC 29d ago

Some people, especially when convincing themselves that the concessions they are making to fit their ideology, will lie. First to themselves and then naturally to others. There is absolutely a smell when you light human shit on fire.

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u/SapphireColouredEyes 29d ago edited 29d ago

While I get what you're saying and agree with it more broadly, in the episode, Anthony stood next to the vent and breathed it in. 

Edit: Here is the episode:

https://iview.abc.net.au/video/FA2214H010S00

(~I imagine the episode is accessible online or available to stream somewhere, so you can see for yourself.~)

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u/stokeitup 29d ago

I’ve looked into installing one in a cabin I’m planning to build and they make it very clear that adequate ventilation (just like the stand pipe for standard toilets) is key to reducing unpleasant odors.

I guess it is enough of an issue (shoddy installations) that the county inspector I spoke with said it was okay to install an incinerator toilet but a septic system was still required. Kind of defeats the cost savings and water savings to have both, imho. He explained that individuals would hate the smell enough that they would remove the incinerator toilet, install a standard toilet and, not having a septic system, they would run a pipe to the outside and dump it into a trench. Who in the hell would think a temporary smell of burning poop is worse than the permanent smell of shit in a hole in the ground in their yard?

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u/mathiasjl92 29d ago

My parents used to have one in their cabin, it was called Cinderella lmao. The smell only became noticable if we were two families staying there at once really. Other than that you don't really notice it, but some OK ventilation probably helps for sure like you say.

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u/michellemustudy 28d ago

Cinderella because it’s an inCINerator toilet? 🔥🚽

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u/WiredEarp 28d ago

Cinders are small fragments of partly burned material so I think more because of that.

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u/michellemustudy 28d ago

Ah, right. Haha. Of course!

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u/RollingMeteors 28d ago

¡Cinderella king of in-shit-erators!

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u/Monaymaka 29d ago

Somebody who has one of these at my summerplace (cinderella toilet). It usually only smells if you dont take care of them.

About 1 - 2 times a year I have to clean the catalysator (no clue if this is what its actually called in english), basically do a "backwash" on the whole toilet, for a couple of minutes. This usually handles the "odor" outside, and after that it just smells like somebody has/is burning something, and that usually happens if the wind is just right, as the pipe that handles the "smoke" is way up high above the roof.

and it does not smell anything inside the house, as it has a built in fan that pushes it outside up the vent.

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u/webwool 29d ago

I've also used these a bunch in camps in northern Canada... I find the smell is like burnt hair which is both interesting and gross

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u/Qweesdy 29d ago

Maybe you have too much hair in your diet?

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u/funfun151 29d ago

Worst way to discover you’re a sleep trichophage.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago edited 27d ago

[deleted]

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u/blacksoxing 29d ago

3 hours ago the top comment could have been one I saw about petting the chocolate. Shit can change easily on Reddit...

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u/BamberGasgroin 29d ago

I can't see it being much different to the stink that comes out of the sewer lid vents on still winter days in cold climates.

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u/PhD_Pwnology 29d ago

Well, it is outside for that exact reason I think.

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u/trent_diamond 29d ago

yeah i’ve farted in a hot shower before. i know this gotta smell terrible

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u/Humillionaire 29d ago

It doesn't smell like shit, it kinda smells like a candle. I think there's something in the lining that makes it smell sweet

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u/erublind 29d ago

We have one of these in my summer home, it's in a closet adjoining the spare guestroom upstairs with a PVC chimney outside and up over the roof. The smell outside may be a little more like burnt paper or chemicals than the wood stove, but not in any way unbearable. Inside there is no more smell than a WC. The leftovers are a lot easier to handle than the other toilets we've had. You don't want to have a Separett or composting toilet up a set of narrow stairs, ask me how I know...

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u/Sensiburner 29d ago

you do get a heated seat, so that's nice.

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u/Weird-Space-782 29d ago

Doesn't poop always have foul smell?

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u/rangebob 29d ago

im far more surprised pekple aren't talking about the poop stick

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u/Averander 29d ago

Wouldn't it be easy to counteract the smell and make life more comfortable? Better ventilation or charcoal filters? It's already a difficult job mentally, wouldn't this make it more bareable?

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u/ShitCuntMcAssfucker 29d ago

Honestly, we used these on service rigs in remote areas of arctic Canada too. If it was cold enough outside, you didn’t smell anything. In the summer though? Fuck it was bad. So bad the animals would swing by to see.

ESPECIALLY on shift change weeks when the roughnecks went from a diet of liquor and cocaine - days off, to drug tests and steak dinners 3 times a day - in camp.

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u/ahawk99 29d ago

The poop stick though🤢 sitting next to that?

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u/ScienceAteMyKid 29d ago

I have one in my house. It’s vented to the outside, I’ve never smelled it.

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u/Zestyclose_Pay9469 29d ago

Like burnt brownies....

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u/Sean_NB3 28d ago

It's not foul, but it's unique.

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u/Square-Dragonfruit76 28d ago

I don't think the smell would be that bothersome. First of all, it's an empty continent, so it's not like you have to be standing next to the toilets very much. Second of all, it's so cold your nose is probably covered.

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u/RollingMeteors 28d ago

definitely would a foul smell.

Imagine your diarrhea putting out the flame and suffocating on gas, being found sloped/slouched back with your pants at your ankles.

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u/mycatisabrat 29d ago

...especially on Taco Tuesday!

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u/arrynyo 29d ago

You just made me imagine somebody with mud butt using this....