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Michigan and Michigan State football fans over scientist holding a urine sample
Football fans who root for Michigan and Michigan State have a testy history that stretches back to the end of the 1800s. However, they’ll have the chance to join forces for a good cause ahead of the 119th meeting of the two schools thanks to scientists who are attempting to collect as much of their pee as possible.
Michigan’s biggest rivalry is obviously with Ohio State, but it has one with an in-state school that reserves the bulk of its bad blood for its foes in Ann Arbor: Michigan State.
The Wolverines are firmly the Big Brother in a football rivalry where they currently have a 75-38-5 edge in a series that began in 1898, and in recent years, the Spartans have largely prided themselves on their ability to spoil Michigan’s season in situations where they’ve earned a win.
Michigan State won’t really have the chance to do that when the two sides meet on Saturday, as Michigan has mostly taken care of that on its own during a disappointing season where they’ll nonetheless hope to improve to 6-3 (and extend their winning streak in the series to five games) against a team in Lansing that’s sitting at a dismal 2-6.
Fans who attend the game won’t be full of the piss and vinegar they’d usually arrive with during a season where both teams are at the top of their game, but they’ll be able to donate some of the former for an admirable cause while tailgating.
Researchers will collect the urine of fans at the Michigan-Michigan State game to turn it into fertilizer
Well over 100,000 people will gather outside Michigan Stadium to prepare to watch the Wolverines and Spartans vie for the Paul Bunyan Trophy on November 7th, and many of them will participate in some heavy drinking that will eventually require them to make a trip to the bathroom.
According to The Athletic, some of them will have the opportunity to pee beneficially thanks to urinals that are being set up by the Nutrient-Energy-Water (N-E-W) Cycles Group, which has teamed up with researchers at Michigan and Michigan State to collect urine that will be harnessed to help plants grow.
The former has a Urine Processing Room that’s equipped to extract elements including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from that liquid byproduct so they can be used to make fertilizer pellets.
Both schools will end up benefiting, as the end product will be fed to plants at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum at Michigan and the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station that’s operated by Michigan State.
The urinals in question will be set up at the Ann Arbor Golf & Outing Club (near Gates 2 and 4 of Michigan Stadium), and fans will be able to donate their pee from 1 P.M. until the end of the game, which will get underway at 7:30.