Everything You Wanted To Know About Farts, But Were Afraid To Ask:


What makes farts stink?
Why are stinky farts generally warmer and quieter than regular farts?

How much gas does a normal person pass each day?
How long does it take fart gas to travel to someone else's nose?
Why is there a 13 to 20 second delay between farting and the time it starts to smell?

Is it true that some people never fart?
Do even movie stars fart?
Do men's farts smell worse than women's farts?
At what time of day is a gentleman most likely to fart?
Why are beans notorious for making people fart?

What things other than diet can make a person fart more than usual?
Is a fart really just a burp that comes out the wrong end?
Is it harmful to hold in farts?
How long would it be possible not to fart?
Do all people fart in their sleep?

Where do farts go when you hold them in?
How can one cover up a fart?

Office Toilet Rules

ESCAPEE
JAILBREAK (Used in conjunction with escapee)

COURTESY FLUSH

WALK OF SHAME

OUT OF CLOSET DUMPER (OCD)

THE DUMPING FRIENDS NETWORK (DFN)

SAFE HAVEN

TOILET BURGLAR

CAMO-COUGH
ASTAIRE

WATERMELON
HAVANA OMELLETE

UNCLE TED

FLY BY

CRACK WHORE

 


What makes farts stink?
The order comes from small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and mercaptans in the mixture. These compounds contain sulphur. Nitrogen-rich compounds such as skatol and indole also add to the stench of farts. The more sulphur-rich your diet, the more sulphides and mercaptans will be produced by the bacteria in your gut, and the more your farts will stink. Foods such as cauliflower, eggs and meat notorious for producing smelly farts, whereas beans produce large amounts of not particularly stinky farts.

Why are stinky farts generally warmer and quieter than regular farts?
Most fart gas comes from swallowed air and consists largely of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the oxygen having been absorbed by the time it reaches the anal opening. These gases are odourless, although they often pick up other (and more odiferous) components on the way through the bowel. They emerge from the anus in fairly large bubbles at body temperature. A person can often achieve a good sound with these voluminous farts, but they are commonly (but not always) mundane with respect to odour, and don't feel particularly warm. Another major source of fart gas is bacterial action. Bacterial fermentation and digestion process produces heat as a by product as well as various pungent gases. The resulting bubbles of gas tend to be small, hot, and concentrated with stinky bacterial metabolic products. These emerge as notorious, warm, SBD (silent but deadly), of ten in amounts too small to produce a good sound, but excellent in stench.

How much gas does a normal person pass each day?
On average, a person produces about half a litre of fat gas per day, distributed over an average of about fourteen daily farts. Whereas it may be difficult for you to determine your daily flatus volume, you can certainly keep track of your daily numerical fart count. You might try this as a science fair project. Keep a journal of everything you eat and count your farts. You might make note of the potency of their odour as well. See if you can discover a relationship between what you eat, how much you fart, and how much they smell.

How long does it take fart gas to travel to someone else's nose?
Fart travel time depends on atmosphere conditions such as humidity, temperature and wind speed and direction, the molecular weight of the fart particles, and the distance between the fart transmitter and the fart receiver. Farts also disperse (spread out) as they leave the source, and their potency diminishes with dilution. Generally, if the fart is not detected within a few seconds, it will be too dilute for perception and will be lost into the atmosphere forever. Exceptional condition exists when the fart is released into small enclosed area such as a cockpit or elevator, a small room or car. These conditions limit the amount of dilution possible, and the fart may remain in a smellable concentration for a long period of time, until it condenses on the walls.


Why is there a 13 to 20 second delay between farting and the time it starts to smell?
Actually, the fart stinks immediately upon emergence, but it takes several seconds for the order to travel to the farter's nostrils. If farts could travel at the speed of sound, we would smell them almost instantly, at the same time we hear them.

Is it true that some people never fart?
No, not if they're alive. People even fart shortly after death.

Do even movie stars fart?
Yes, most men take pride in it than women. There is a large variation among individuals in the amount of fart gas produced per day, but the variation does not correlate with gender. I have read that men fart more than women. If this is true, then women must be saving it up and expelling more gas per fart than men do.

Do men's farts smell worse than women's farts?
Based on what I have experienced of women's farts, all I can say is that I hope not.

At what time of day is a gentleman most likely to fart?
A gentleman is most likely to fart first thing in the morning, while in the bathroom. This is known as "morning thunder" and if the gentleman gets good resonance, it can be heard throughout the household.

Why are beans notorious for making people fart?
Beans contain sugars that we humans cannot digest. When these sugars reach our intestines, the bacteria go wild, have a big feast, and make lots of gas! Other notorious fart-producing foods include corn, bell peppers, cabbage, milk, and raisins. A friend of mine had a dog that was exceptionally fond of apples and turnips. The dog would eat these things and then get prodigious gas. A dog's digestive system is not equipped to handle such vegetable matter, so the dog's bacteria worked overtime to produce remarkable flatulence.

What things other than diet can make a person fart more than usual?
People who swallow a lot of air fart more than people who don't. This can be cured somewhat by chewing with your mouth closed. Nervous people with fast moving bowels will fart more because less air is absorbed out of the intestines. Some disease conditions can cause excess flatulence. Going up in an airplane  or other low-pressure environment can cause the gas inside you to expand and emerge as flatulence.

Is a fart really just a burp that comes out the wrong end?
No, a burp emerges from the stomach and has a different chemical composition from a fart. Farts have less atmospheric gas content and more bacterial gas content than burps.

Is it harmful to hold in farts?
There are differences of opinion on this one. Certainly, people have believed for centuries that retaining flatulence is bad for health. Emperor Claudius even passed a law legalising farting at banquets, out of concern for people's health. There was a widespread belief that a person could be poisoned and catch a disease by retaining farts. Doctors, with whom I have spoken to recently, have told me there is no particular harm in holding in farts. Farts will not poison you; they are a natural component of your intestinal contents. The worst thing which can happen is that you may get a stomach ache from the gas pressure. One doctor suggested that pathological distension of the bowel could result if a person holds in farts too much.

How long would it be possible not to fart?
As I understand it, a captive fart can escape as soon as the person relaxes. This means that a lot of people who assiduously refrain from farting during the day do so at great length as soon as they fall asleep. Having been on a great many overnight field trips, long bus trips, and trans-Pacific flights, I can personally vouch for the fact that lots of people do fart voluminously as they doze off. So the answer to the question would be, you can refrain from farting as long as you stay awake!

Do all people fart in their sleep?
I have not made a scientific study of this, but I don't think all people fart in their sleep. I think mainly those who refuse to fart when they're awake do so when dozing off. For other people, toilet training takes such a strong hold that they let nothing pass their sphincters in their sleep. For these people, the gas accumulated in the night and they vent it upon awakening.

Where do farts go when you hold them in?
How often have you held in a fart, intending to release it at the first appropriate opportunity, only to find that the fart had disappeared when you are ready for it? I asked several doctors where the fart goes. Does it leak out solely without the person knowing it? Is it absorbed into the bloodstream? What happens to it? The doctors agree that the fart is neither released nor absorbed. It simply migrates back upward into the intestine and comes out later. It is reassuring to know that such farts are not really lost, just delayed.

How can one cover up a fart?
There is a company called Fartypants that sells underwear designed to absorb the order of farts. If you should 4be caught without your Fartypants, another ploy is to blame the dog or cat, if one should be present, or complain about how the wind must be blowing from the direction of the paper mill. As for the sound... if you are in a large group of people, act oblivious and innocent, or glance quickly at the person next to you, as if you think he/she did it. Other strategies include coughing or suddenly moving your chair so the people think they misheard the fart. If you are with one other person, you can act as if nothing happened, and the other person may believe they were mistaken in thinking a fart was heard. Depending upon the company, another strategy is not to cover it up, but to proudly proclaim the fart as your own grand accomplishment and to issue a challenge to the others to outdo that one if they think they can.



Office Toilet rules....

ESCAPEE

A fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a dump in a stall.  This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of manic/embarrassment.  This is similar to the hot flash you receive when passing an unseen police car while speeding.  If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it.  Pretend it did not happen.  If you are standing next to the farter at the urinal, pretend that you did not hear it.  No one likes an escapee, it is uncomfortable for all involved.  Making a joke or laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK (Used in conjunction with escapee)

When forcing a dump, several farts slip out at machine gun pace.  This is usually a side effect of diarrhoea or hangover.  If this should happen do not panic, remain in the stall until everyone has left the toilet to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH

The act of flushing the toilet the instant the nose cone of the turd hits the water and the log is whisked away to an undisclosed location.  This reduces the amount of air time the turd has to stink up the toilet.  This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.

WALK OF SHAME

Walking from the stall to the sink to the door after you have just stunk-up the toilet.  This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in.  As with all farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist.

OUT OF CLOSET DUMPER (OCD)

A colleague who dumps at work and is damn proud of it.  You will often see an OCD enter the toilet with a newspaper, a magazine or a large work document under their arm and takes invariably long to dump.  Always look around the office for the missing OCD before entering the toilet.

THE DUMPING FRIENDS NETWORK (DFN)

A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency dumping goes off without incident.  This group can help you to monitor the whereabouts of OCDs and identify SAFE HAVENS.

SAFE HAVEN

A seldom used toilet somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors.  Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex.  This will reduce the odds of a dumper of your sex or other assorted DFNs and OCDs entering the toilet.

TOILET BURGLAR

A dumper who does not realise that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open.  This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur in mid-dump at work.  If this happens, do not say anything (a short Camo-Cough is ok) and remain in the stall until the TOILET BURGLAR gives up or leaves.  This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGH

A phoney cough which alerts all new entrants to the toilet that you are in a stall.  This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON or to alert potential TOILET BURGLARS.  Very effective when used in conjunction with an ASTAIRE.

ASTAIRE

A subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential TOILET BURGLARS that you are occupying a stall.  This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied.  If you hear an ASTAIRE, leave the toilet immediately so the dumper can dump in peace.

WATERMELON

A log that creates a deep loud splash when hitting the water level.  This is also an embarrassing occurrence.  If you feel a WATERMELON coming on, create a synchronised diversion, see CAMO-COUGH.

HAVANA OMELLETE

A load of diarrhoea that creates a series of loud splashes in the water. Often followed by an ESCAPEE.  Try using a CAMO-COUGH with an ASTAIRE in sync.

UNCLE TED

A toilet user who seems to linger forever.  Could spend an immoderate length of time in front of the mirror or sitting on the can.  An UNCLE TED makes it difficult to relax while on the can.  Consider waiting to take a dump until the toilet is empty.  This benefits you as well as the other attendees.

FLY BY

The act of scouting a toilet before dumping.  Walk in and check for other dumpers.  If there are others in the toilet, leave and come back later.  Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER.  People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly popping into the toilet even if it is just to check it out.

CRACK WHORE

A toilet bowl that has seen more arse than a Metro Bus.  Tell tale signs of a CRACK WHORE include pubic hair, urine stains and log streaks.  Avoid CRACK WHORES at all cost.  Try finding out when the janitor cleans that particular toilet.  Although a CRACK WHORE can become a SAFE HAVEN.