This myth i have heard EVERYWHERE!!! Apparently people have stopped using rice to throw in the air as the bride and groom are leaving in a wedding because bird's were eating the rice and since rice expands in liquid, then the rice expanded in the birds stomach causing the bird to actaully explode. Meaning the whole bird. I have always wondered if that actually happens and this show is the perfect show to test it.

Given all the food that gets discarded every day and all the seagulls plucking at all the garbage everywhere one would presume to see exploded birds everywhere if it were true.

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Originally posted by unillenium:
Given all the food that gets discarded every day and all the seagulls plucking at all the garbage everywhere one would presume to see exploded birds everywhere if it were true.

There are stories about, and I think confirmed stories, of doves croaking because of them eating too much rice (especially at weddings, where throwing rice at the bride and groom is customary)

But exploding birds? Like you I am very doubtful that birds would explode from eating rice.

I hear that they dont have the same mechanisms for venting gas from their digestive tracts that us humans have and that is what causes their stomachs to rupture resulting in a painful death for the poor birdy.

quote:

Originally posted by unillenium:
I hear that they dont have the same mechanisms for venting gas from their digestive tracts that us humans have and that is what causes their stomachs to rupture resulting in a painful death for the poor birdy.

Yup.. An another danger is that the rice might swell up in their throats, and make them choke..

But however they die, they won't explode..

well yeah thats what I'm saying... The stomach can only expand so far before it simply just ruptures causing an excruciating death...

I'm just not sure a grain of rice could expand far enough to choke evena bird...a really small bird maybe...but they only expand to about 3 times their original size

a good way to duplicate some "exploding bird" results would be to replace the rice with alka-seltzer...although, to some that might be viewed as inhumane

definately inhumane but a proof of concept test could be done using the stomach of a bird that died of natural causes or an ungutted "assembly line" chicken.

OK. Two things. Stomach acid will dissolve the rice (yes birds have it too). And there is a simpler explanation for why people do not throw rice anymore at weddings, because it causes turmoil, is messy, and if the birds are around it makes them go nuts!