LEGO heads swallowed and passed for science so you won't have to

It's a sad and unavoidable fact of life that innocent as well as not so innocent toddlers love putting things into their mouths. Most of the time it's food but other times it involves things they may perceive as delicious delights. It is a parent's worst nightmare or at least one of them, and yet toy companies keep on producing potentially dangerous pieces of plastic. That is why a group of pediatricians has taken it upon themselves to go through the weirdest test ever to find out how long it will take for a kid to poop out a LEGO head in case the little one manages to swallow one.

Yes, six adults, all doctors by profession, agreed to swallow yellow pieces of plastic, both for science as well as for the children. While LEGO blocks and even mini figures are too large and sharp to swallow, LEGO heads are tiny, round, and candy-like. Their facial expressions almost beg to be swallowed.

But swallowing is only one part of the test. Even a toddler can do that. What makes this "study" both curious and, to some people, disgusting, is the fact that the six participants searched to each and every bowel movement to search for the heads for days. The goal: to record how long it would take for the piece of plastic to pass from one end to another through the deadly maze known as the human digestive system.

The answer? It could take an average of 41 hours for a LEGO head to show its now ugly mug again. If it's not yet painfully obvious, it's not something either grownups or kids should try on their own. These are trained professionals from the "Don't Forget the Bubbles" pediatric website who, patients would be glad to know, have a healthy sense of humor.

The participants (one of which never record his plastic head) admit that "Don't Forget the Lego" is hardly a foolproof scientific study but isn't without its merits either. More than just a way to pass time (or pass LEGO heads), it also more or less tests the safety of the toy parts. Of course, they say prevention is better than cure, so don't take it as a green light that it's ok to start swallowing heads.