I pick up bags of leave from the curb every Spring & Fall.

We had a great dinner at a Belgian restaurant, and went home with a bag of mussels shells - the ones we just ate. Washed them, crushed them, spread them around cabbage plants. We asked them for the entire day worth of their shells, but the said they just throw them away! No one ever approached them to take them off their hands!

John adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson all were what could be described as "compost wackos".

I wonder if there is a genetic predisposition that codes us as compost wackos (hehehe)? This would be a great topic for a nature vs. nurture paper. Do we compost based on environmental factors or is it something deeper...more of a basic instinct?

I think it's basic;
I grew up in the 50's & 60's, when the emphasis was on better living through chemistry, yet I've returned to something that feels like my roots or my inner nature.

or maybe it just appeals to the kid inside each of us, the child that still wants to get really dirty & play with gross stuff...

I have always called it my "dirt therapy" when I play in my garden/compost. Now there is medical proof that it really works! Check this out.

Here is a link that might be useful: The New Antidepressant