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As an adult, the most common LEGO-related injury you have to deal with is probably a sore foot caused by a stray piece you stumbled on in the dark. But when kids are involved, you might be less worried about the injuries you can see and more concerned about them swallowing one of those plastic pieces — not least because it means spending the next few weeks taking careful note of everything else that comes out of them to make sure the LEGO emerges safely.

In the name of soothing those fears, a new study published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health set out to discover how long it takes for a LEGO head to pass through a digestive system and if any risks are involved. For insight on the research, we spoke to study co-author Dr. Tessa Davis, a consultant in pediatric emergency medicine at the Royal London Hospital, and co-founder of Don’t Forget the Bubbles, a website and conference dedicated to pediatric care whose team conducted the study. Warning: You might want to save this for later if you’re eating lunch (at least if you’re not munching on LEGO bricks).

The Background

Although the researchers applied scientific methodologies, the study itself is not your usual totally serious medical paper. “We were looking for a lighthearted study to do in the run-up to Christmas, but with a serious underlying message,” explains Davis. “Ingested foreign objects are a really common presentation to children’s emergency departments: I probably see around one child a day who has swallowed something they shouldn’t have.” As the authors note, previous research on the subject has mostly covered coins. They cite an earlier study which found that coins take 3.1 to 5.8 days to pass through a digestive system. However, that was from 1971, so it seemed like the time was ripe to revisit the issue with a toy that kids today are more likely to come into contact with.

The main point of the study, Davis tells us, was to set concerned parents’ minds at ease. “Parents often wonder when to worry and when not to bother. The reality is that most objects when swallowed don’t cause any harm — once they make it to your stomach, they will just pass out with no problems. If it gets stuck on the way down, then that’s a problem, or if you develop any symptoms of pain, vomiting, or constipation, that can suggest it’s causing a blockage. Most objects are fine, but something like button batteries or magnets can cause serious issues, and these will very likely need to be removed quickly — so parents must bring their kids to the emergency department.”

The Methodology

Using children as guinea pigs was obviously not an option, so six courageous adult participants stepped up to the task. In the study, the authors acknowledged the possibility that the results might be different in children, but added that “there is little evidence to support this” — if anything, the LEGO piece might make its way through a child quicker. The candidates all worked in pediatric hospital care, and were only considered eligible if they had not previously had gastrointestinal surgery… and were open to ingesting a LEGO head and then searching for it in the days afterward.

In the three days before swallowing the LEGO, each kept a diary monitoring their bowel movements, so the researchers could see if the quality and quantity would affect how long it took to pass the LEGO head. All participants swallowed their individual LEGO heads around the same time, between 7am and 9am, since time of day could affect digestion. They were then tasked with searching for it on its way out, using whatever method they chose. The main factor was how long it took the piece to reappear after swallowing it, a measurement the researchers called the Found and Retrieved Time (FART). (We know.)

It took an average of 1.71 days and an average of two bowel movements for the participants to recover their LEGO heads. The shortest time was 1.14 days (27 h 20 min), while the longest was 3.04 days (72 h 35 min). One unlucky participant had to continue with the experiment for two weeks before the researchers called off the search, assuming he would never find his LEGO head. “Either he missed it,” Davis notes, “or… it’s still up there.”

The Takeaway

As you can tell, the study was done in good humor, but the results do prove a useful point for parents and caretakers who have worried about a piece of LEGO that’s vanished into a kid’s mouth (and beyond). “The aim of the study was to reassure parents that most objects [when swallowed] are fine and that there is no point searching through your child’s poo to find them,” Davis reassures us. “If a respected academic pediatrician can’t find a LEGO head in his own stools, then who can?” That said, she emphasizes again that some objects and reactions are a cause for concern. “If your child swallows a button battery or a magnet, or has symptoms after swallowing an object, then please seek medical assessment.”

As for what’s next for the team, should they return to this subject, in the study, they suggest comparing coins and LEGO, preferably with some participants swallowing both at the same time, and also comparing different parts of LEGO figurines, including legs and bodies. “We’re considering upgrading to Duplo,” Davis adds.

In case you were worried, the brave participants who put their bodies on the line in the name of advancing our understanding of this important medical issue are doing fine. “We are all very proud of our involvement in this study,” says Davis, “and are glad it’s caused so many people to smile, as well as getting our message out there.”

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve known someone to swallow? Share your stories with us @BritandCo.

(Photos via Getty)

When Maia Weinstock got the opportunity to design a unique Lego set through the LEGO Ideas program, she decided to create a kit based on one of her biggest passions. As a science writer and deputy editor of MIT News, Weinstock had a stockpile of research on outstanding women in science and engineering. Therefore, she decided to create a LEGO set that highlights several of NASA’s finest women in STEM. But instead of focusing on generic women of science, Weinstock chose to focus on real women who have greatly impacted the NASA program. “This is something I am passionate about,” Weinstock told Space, “which is bringing [science] personalities to light. It was a risk. I mean, nothing like this has ever been posted before, at least in terms of women.”

After Weinstock posted her idea to the LEGO Ideas platform and got picked up on social media by celebrities like Hidden Figures actress Janelle Monáe, the set quickly gained the 10,000 votes it needed to be considered by LEGO executives. With the full support of LEGO behind her, Weinstock’s project is finally ready to hit shelves just before the holiday toy craziness begins. As of November 1, the LEGO Ideas Women of NASA Set ($25) is available to purchase, featuring mini-figures of four famous women of NASA: NASA executive Nancy Grace Roman, computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, physicist Sally Ride, and engineer Mae Jamison. It immediately became the #1 bestselling toy on Amazon.

We love the idea of inspiring our kiddos to dream up grand interstellar goals in the STEM fields, especially considering the fact that the 2017 astronaut class included five awesome new female recruits. Here’s a sneak peek at the figures included in Lego’s new set.

1. Margaret Hamilton: This amazing gal is best known for popularizing the modern concept of software. Her LEGO set displays the iconic scene from 1969 where Hamilton and her team worked with NASA to develop the onboard flight software for the Apollo missions to the moon.

2. Nancy Grace Roman: Nancy Roman, warmly nicknamed the Mother of Hubble, was one of the first female executives at NASA. In her Lego scene, you’ll find her with a posable Hubble Space Telescope (which she is famous for her role in helping create and plan) and a projected image of a planetary nebula.

3. Sally Ride and Mae Jemison: In 1983, physicist Sally ride broke a major glass ceiling by being the first American woman in space onboard the Challenger for mission STS-7. In 1992, medical doctor Mae Jemison pushed the envelope further by becoming the first African-American woman in space for the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission on the Endeavour. In their Lego scene, both women stand near a launchpad with the Space Shuttle Challenger, which blasts off with three removable rocket stages.

Are you planning on picking up LEGO’s new Women of NASA kit? Tweet us by mentioning @BritandCo.

Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.

(Photos via The LEGO Group)

Mariska Hargitay is the woman of the hour anywhere she goes, with her iconic Law & Order: SVUrole as Olivia Benson under her belt for the last 25 years. The character is an absolute advocate to women — and assault victims of any gender — through her words, actions, and powerful convictions of each perpetrator on the show. She takes great care with her victims and pursues perpetrators with fervor, and slowly as you watch the show..the line blurs between Olivia and Mariska.

This isn't anything new — just recently Mariska literally stopped production on the show to help a child (who mistook her for an actual police officer) find her mom. It's just who Mariska is. She walks the walk and talks the talk — including during her speech at Variety's Power of Women's Power of Women event.

Image via NBC Universal

As a Power of Women honoree, Mariska was recognized in regards to her work as an advocate for sexual assault survivors. She took the stage and used her platform to discuss rape and assault conviction reversals, shining a light on the recent overturned ruling in Harvey Weinstein's landmark NYC case. Here's what she said:

Today I want to talk about reversing convictions, and more specifically I want to talk to you about how impossible it is to reverse mine. It’s impossible to reverse my conviction that survivors matter. It is impossible to reverse my conviction that what happens to us matters, and that our society must respond to survivors with a more a compassionate, holistically, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of what healing means.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that after a trauma, survivors can reclaim lives of hope, of possibility, of audacious risk, beautiful intimacy, and glorious, glorious abundant joy. And I stand before you as evidence of that statement.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that we must listen to survivors as experts on what justice means. It is extraordinary how little their voices are consulted, let alone incorporated, in the process of deciding how to repair harm. Justice is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that patriarchal impunity has to end. Patriarchal impunity is when a male-dominated system exempts perpetrators from punishment. Studies show that only 20% of all rape cases in the U.S. are reported to the police, and that between 5 and 0% of all rapes result in a guilty plea or a conviction. So why do 80% of victims not report? Because they're met with a system that grants impunity to perpetrators; a system that blames victims; a system that accepts only those victims who are experienced as "real" rape; a system that completely misunderstands the neurobiology of trauma, which causes behavior in women that doesn't fit the picture of how a "real victim" would act.

Is that change needed that victims should just pull themselves together? Just buck up and report anyway? No. No, it's the system that receives them that needs to change

It is impossible to reverse my conviction — and the conviction of my extraordinary team, The Joyful Heart — that the backlog of untested rape kits can be brought to zero; that the testing of all new kits must be mandated; that we need a statewide kit tracking system; and that survivors have the right to access the status of their kits.

It is impossible to reverse my conviction that grammar — yes, grammar — that we use when we speak about rape must change. In the sentence, "A woman is raped," there's a crime and there's a victim, but there's no perpetrator. Where's the perpetrator? Where is he? Statistically, as we know, most likely he's walking free. He's so free that he doesn't even appear in the language about the crime that he committed. Is that not extraordinary? It's extraordinary that in the very grammar, the perpetrator goes free. Reintroducing perpetrators in the language of rape will make some very unwieldy grammar, but that's the nature of change. It's unwieldy, it's messy, it's uncomfortable, but it's necessary.

Image via NBC Universal

Hargitay continued on in her prolific speech to describe that rape shouldn't be considered a "crime of passion" because it's "not simply the next step in the trajectory of his passion" when a man takes a consensual hookup too far and assaults a woman against her will. She stated that it's "an exercise of power," doubling down that the language we use is important.

The speech went on to address that rape is both about power and control, as a "construct" that was "built, and assembled, and reinforced over time." She noted that there are people with these positions of power — and she specifically called out those in the entertainment industry — that could make a difference and aligned themselves to victims and survivors.

After this and some other remarks, Hargitay specifically called out the Weinstein conviction reversal. She said:

I do want to say something about the Harvey Weinstein conviction, specifically about the reason that it was overturned: too many women's voices. Too many women's voices were allowed to speak. Hallelujah! Amen! I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that. The Daily podcast episode talked about how it was so risky for the prosecution to have that many women testify. Risky to let women speak? You're damn right it is!

Too many women speaking brings change. Too many women speaking shakes the establishment. Too many women means we get listened to more, and people might actually hear what we have to say. Look what happened when women started saying just two words, right? Me too — just as an example — a tidal wave of change. Me too.

And then of course, there was the response: the Me Too Movement. The backlash. The examination of whether the changes that have come are lasting, or are even positive. Of course there's a backlash! What did they expect? For women to speak repeatedly, loudly, together, with a purpose — for there to be no backlash? The backlash is evidence of how powerful those voices were, how powerful those voices ARE.

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Header image via NBC Universal