Almost five months after UGO’s purchase of 1up.com shuttered the venerable games magazine EGM, former subscribers across the country have begun to notice that the EGM they customarily kept by their toilet is getting a little crusty.

“I just always took it there first,” said Dave Elliott, 24. “I mean, where else do people read magazines?”

The much-loved magazine reached over half a million subscribers at points in its history, almost all of whom read its insightful reviews, exclusive previews, and probing commentary while pinching a loaf. The magazine’s presence on the top of a toilet was the sign of any devoted gamer, and an instant red flag to any woman visiting the reader’s apartment.

However, in the time since the magazine’s closing, the January 2009 issue that proved to be its final has accumulated a great deal of wear and tear from its time atop the toilet. Elliott added, “I usually replace it with the next one… But since the next one never came, I guess it just kinda stayed there. Whoops.”

In the apartment of a former subscriber from Redmond, Washington, who asked to remain anonymous, the stains could be traced back individually. “Oh, that corner found its way into the bowl… That’s from when I was eating Doritos on the toilet… and the whole review section is stuck together after that food poisoning from the taco truck.”

Experts suggest that EGM subscribers remove the issue from their bathrooms with tongs or rubber gloves, and that they dispose of it with the guidance of the Center for Disease Control or local Poison Control officials.