A whole other meaning to healthy ingestion? In 2005, a study out of Italy estimated the amount of cocaine a local population ingested by measuring byproducts in the wastewater. It's a neat trick, which has been replicated by University of Washington researchers in the Seattle area. Although, scientists here were testing for a more family-friendly substance; vanilla, one can literally tell it was holiday time in Seattle by measuring the amount of cookie ingredients in the Puget Sound.

Okay, but why? Quoted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer—measuring ingredients, "provides an ability to look at a whole population's behavior through one pipe," said Randy Schuman, a King County science and technical support manager who helped arrange the wastewater testing.

Why is this important? According to the researchers, vanilla in the Sound may not create an adverse effect on the environment, its the other things people put down their toilets that do. This includes what they ingest i.e. Prozac, birth control pills, Tylenol. The potential chemical clean-up and eco disturbance could be huge.