As I was jogging past the group of giggling teenagers on a stoop, something struck my shoulder.  Curious, I picked up the offending projectile: a plastic bag, tied and filled with a dark, crumbly material.  The kids on the stoop burst out laughing.

“So what’s in the bag?”  I asked, playing along.

After a pause, one of them blurted out,”it’s sh*t.”

“I see,” I replied.  “Is it yours?”

“Uh-huh.”  More laughter.

“Oh?  Well here – take it back!”  I flung the bag back in their direction.  It tore as I threw it, flinging the contents (which, for all I knew, could have been only dirt) in all directions.  Thanks in part to the mood-enhancing endorphins generated by my run, we all had a good laugh.

“That was a good one!”  One of the kids shouted as I waved and continued on my way.

This harmless practical joke was unusual for the Baltimore neighborhood where it took place, but plastic bags filled with human feces – flung out windows or onto the street – are not uncommon in urban slums of the developing world.  According to the World Health Organization (2006), an estimated 18% of the global population resorts to defecating in open spaces.  In areas that lack basic sanitation, these “helicopter toilets” are often the most pragmatic waste disposal method available.

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