NOTE: This thread is not for a discussion of whether Noah's ark literally existed or did not. Also, I'm rather new to these forums, so if this is the wrong spot for this thread, feel free to move it, mods.
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Most Christians were taught the story of Noah's Ark as a child. Many were fascinated by it, but few bothered to think about the logistical details.
As an adult who now works at a zoo (in large part as a cage cleaner) in pursuit of my zoology degree, I have a WHOLE new perspective on the story. Most pet owners have some experience with the...more unpleasant parts of caring for animals. I knew zoo work would be dirty work, but this didn't deter me from going in and getting my hands dirty.
What I wasn't prepared for, at least not at first, was that cat and dog waste was NOTHING compared to some of these animals. Some examples? The smell of fresh tiger feces, up close, is just astounding. I have a strong stomach, and it can literally make me feel sick at times. Male foxes, especially during mating season, have musky, territory-marking urine that doesn't wash out of anything with a choking stench that could gag a maggot. My love for animals has not vanished, but I didn't know they could be -that- smelly until I started working at a zoo!
So think about the situation on the ark! I can barely stand the smell from some of the big cat enclosures - and again, I have a strong stomach and they are cleaned fairly regularly. Can you imagine being on a boat with over 50 big cats (there are at least 25 species of them, 2 for each gender), and hundreds of other animals? I'm really not sure how anyone could handle the smell. It wouldn't matter how diligently you cleaned up after them or how you managed the waste. The ark would have absolutely reeked. And I'm not talking about something that "smells like dog poop" here. I'm talking about a smell that would instantly induce nausea in almost everyone on that boat.
So...what do you think?
Thanks for reading!
You gotta know that they did not have toothbrushes, and bathe on a regular basis, like we do today. We shower every day, and the took a bath quite possibly once a year. Just like the cowboys of the plains in the western movies. So the people smelled worse than the animals, because we sweat through our pores, and they sweat through their tongues.
Also, they didn't wipe themselves after defecating, or urinating, so they got a little ripe over time.
I mean, "YUCK"... can you even imagine how greasy and slippery they would get when sweating? Intimacy is unimaginable.
So the stench of the humans was probably far greater than that of the animals.
The smell of feces and urine would trump all other smells I am sure.
The methane gas must have been really stinky.
I would almost like to say that the animals that were gathered onto the ark were only babies, therefore being very tame to deal with, and would not eat alot or take up much room.
Something to think about.
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