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Persuading people in rural India to install toilets in their homes – instead of defecating outside – has been made possible partly thanks to the power of disgust. Researchers like Professor Val Curtis from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine want to use our visceral response to what disgusts us to make us healthier. She carried out an online survey to look for patterns in what we find disgusting. Examples of things which horrified people included picking up a piece of toast off the floor and eating it and realising that a neighbour defecates in their back garden instead of using a toilet.

(Image: Person looking at glass of dirty water, Credit: Getty images.)