No digestive track? Or just REALLY good food? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lord Halsar · 04-22-2007, 12:14 AM

Why is it that, in LotR, Silmarillion, and Tolkien's other works, that noone has to ever go to the John? Do the people of ME/Valinor/Numenor/ etc. not have large intestines, or is the food so pure that they have no need to?
There are no outhouses in Rivendell. No Port-o-Potties in Mordor. Why?
I want everyone's honest opinion.

The 1,000 Reader · 04-22-2007, 02:54 AM

I believe that Sam stumbled upon a "waste" hole in the Two Towers.

Estelyn Telcontar · 04-22-2007, 05:54 AM

Just because we're not told about such things does not mean that they don't exist. Or do you give information like that about yourself when you write your blog?!

(The last sentence does not apply if your nick is 'burrahobbit'...)

The Sixth Wizard · 04-22-2007, 06:15 AM

Coincidentally, the term is digestive tract I do believe.

Beanamir of Gondor · 04-24-2007, 12:15 PM

It is "tract." Nice catch.

It's not just Middlearth, either. I mean, did you read about Sydney Carton asking to use the gaol bathroom before they cart him off to the guillotine? He was there for two days! And in her ten years at Lowood, did we ever read about Jane Eyre running off to the privy?
In general, authors avoid writing about bathroom functions unless it's an essential part of the story: as in, writing about someone with Crohn's disease, or making a point about the horrible food at someone's house. It saves time and awkwardness.

P.S. (I know the thread is a joke. Viva la digestion-less hobbits!

)

The Might · 04-24-2007, 02:45 PM

This makes me however woner if a city like Minas Tirith really was as nice as it sounds. If there was no good canalization system, it could well be that MT was as dirty and filthy as any European Medieval town...
Anyway, back to the subject, I guess there was little point in really developing on this....though it is mentioned that Bilbo had bathrooms:

Quote:

No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. ~ The Hobbit

04-22-2007, 12:14 AM	#1
Lord Halsar Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: 'Round the corner, down the well, passed the Balrog, straight to HELL! Posts: 77	No digestive track? Or just REALLY good food? Why is it that, in LotR, Silmarillion, and Tolkien's other works, that noone has to ever go to the John? Do the people of ME/Valinor/Numenor/ etc. not have large intestines, or is the food so pure that they have no need to? There are no outhouses in Rivendell. No Port-o-Potties in Mordor. Why? I want everyone's honest opinion. __________________ My time is at an end, for I have walked from Valinor to the Far-east where men have not gone for millennia. Demons have fallen before me. And now... I must rest...

04-22-2007, 02:54 AM	#2
The 1,000 Reader Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: I don't know. Eastern ME doesn't have maps. Posts: 527	I believe that Sam stumbled upon a "waste" hole in the Two Towers. __________________ "And forth went Morgoth, and he was halted by the elves. Then went Sauron, who was stopped by a dog and then aged men. Finally, there came the Witch-King, who destroyed Arnor, but nobody seems to remember that." -A History of Villains

04-22-2007, 05:54 AM	#3
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Just because we're not told about such things does not mean that they don't exist. Or do you give information like that about yourself when you write your blog?! (The last sentence does not apply if your nick is 'burrahobbit'...) __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

04-24-2007, 12:15 PM	#5
Beanamir of Gondor Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: the Shadow Gallery Posts: 276	It is "tract." Nice catch. It's not just Middlearth, either. I mean, did you read about Sydney Carton asking to use the gaol bathroom before they cart him off to the guillotine? He was there for two days! And in her ten years at Lowood, did we ever read about Jane Eyre running off to the privy? In general, authors avoid writing about bathroom functions unless it's an essential part of the story: as in, writing about someone with Crohn's disease, or making a point about the horrible food at someone's house. It saves time and awkwardness. P.S. (I know the thread is a joke. Viva la digestion-less hobbits! ) __________________ The answer to life is no longer 42. It's 4 8 15 16 23... 42. "I only lent you my body; you lent me your dream."

04-22-2007, 06:15 AM	#4
The Sixth Wizard Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stuck under a rock in Valinor with Ar-Pharazon. Posts: 480	Coincidentally, the term is digestive tract I do believe.