<blockquote>These canine compasses prefer to align themselves along a north-south magnetic axis when they relieve themselves, according to a study in the journal Frontiers in Zoology. The findings may help scientists better understand how that strange sense called magnetoreception manifests in mammals.</blockquote>
via <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-dogs-align-with-magnetic-fields-while-pooping-study-20140105,0,2507381.story">Dogs align with magnetic fields while pooping: study - chicagotribune.com</a>.