Pigeon Poop Soap? London Birds Might Be Fed Special Diet to Clean Up Streets

Weird news out of London is all about the birds. Pigeons are overpopulating the streets and giving people headaches when stepping in piles left by the birds. Those piles just might be the solution if the local scientists have anything to say about it. Instead of just shooing the birds away, a local organization is trying to alter the diet of the birds to make poop into soap.

Using a synthetic biology technology, the birds will be fed a special diet to include a bacteria known as Lactobacillus. Changing the digestive process, the birds will not be leaving behind just useless piles, but something the street cleaners can use. Scientists suggest the new diet will leave piles equivalent to soap to help clean up the areas and it won't nearly be as harsh as what naturally is left behind.

While the bird poop soap sounds intriguing, it seems a bit too futuristic to actually work. As the birds can definitely be annoying to those folks who live in London, altering the diet might cause other environmental concerns and lead to issues beyond the scope of the bird research. The novel idea is reflecting on the big issue of the overpopulation of birds in the metropolitan area, but it is also making people giggle.

Take a look at the video clip of the pigeon poop soap. Scientists are seriously researching this very weird idea.