Where does fart gas come from?
The gas
inour intestines comes from several sources: air we swallow, gas seepinginto
our intestines from our blood, gas produced by chemical reactions inour guts,
and gas produced by bacteria living in our guts.
What is fart gas made of?
The
composition of fart gas is highly variable. Most of theair we swallow, especially the oxygen component, is absorbed by the
bodybefore the gas gets into the intestines. By the time the air reaches
thelarge intestine, most of what is left is nitrogen. Chemical reactions
betweenstomach acid and intestinal fluids may produce carbon dioxide, which
isalso a component of air and a product of bacterial action. Bacteria
alsoproduce hydrogen and methane.
But the relative proportions of these gases that emerge from our anal opening
depend on several factors: what we ate, how much air we swallowed, what kinds
of bacteria we have in our intestines, and how long we hold in the fart.
The longer a fart is held in, the larger the proportion of inert nitrogen it
contains, because the other gases tend to be absorbed into the bloodstream
through the walls of the intestine.
A nervous person who swallows a lot of air and who moves stuff through his
digestive system rapidly may have a lot of oxygen in his farts, because his
body didn't have time to absorb the oxygen.
Accordingto Dr. James L. A. Roth, the author of Gastrointestinal Gas (Ch.17
in Gastroenterology,
v. 4, 1976) most people (2/3 of adults)pass farts that contain no methane. If
both parents are methane producers,their children have a 95% chance of being
producers as well. The reasonfor this is apparently unknown. Some researchers
suspect a genetic influence,whereas others think the ability is due to
environmental factors. However,all methane in any farts comes from bacterial
action and not from humancells.
What makes farts stink?
The odor
of farts comes from small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and mercaptans in the
mixture. These compounds contain sulfur. Nitrogen-rich compounds such as
skatole and indole also add to the stench of farts. The more sulfur-rich your
diet, the more sulfides and mercaptans will be produced by the bacteria in your
guts, and the more your farts will stink. Foods such as cauliflower, eggs and
meat are notorious for producing smelly farts, whereas beans produce large
amounts of not particularly stinky farts.
Why do farts make noise?
The
soundsare produced by vibrations of the anal opening. Sounds depend on the
velocity of expulsion of the gas and the tightness of the sphincter muscles of
the anus. Contrary to a popular misconception, fart noise is not generatedby
the flapping of the butt cheeks. You can see proof of this in the close-up
video footage of Carl Plant's fart on Mate-in-a-State
.
Why are stinky farts
generally warmer and quieter than regular farts?
(Question submitted by many, many people!)
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 odorless, 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 odor, and don't feel particularly warm.
Another major source of fart gas is bacterial action. Bacterial fermentation
and digestion processes produce heat as a byproduct as well as various pungent
gases.The resulting bubbles of gas tend to be small, hot, and concentrated
withstinky bacterial metabolic products. These emerge as the notorious,
warm,SBD (Silent-But-Deadly), often in amounts too small to produce a good
sound,but excelling in stench.
How much gas does a
normal person pass per day?
On
average, a person produces about half a liter of fart 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 a count of
your farts. You might make a note of the potency of their odor as well. See if
you can discover a relationship between what you eat, how much you fart, and
howmuch they smell.
How does a fart travel to the
anus?
(Question submitted by Sigfrido H.)
One may wonder why fart gas travels downward toward the anus when gas has a
lower density than liquids and solids, and should therefore travel upwards.
The intestine squeezes its contents toward the anus in a series of
contractions, a process called peristalsis. The process is stimulated by
eating, which is why we often need to poop and fart right after a meal.
Peristalsis creates a zone of high pressure, forcing all intestinal contents,
gas included,to move towards a region of lower pressure, which is toward the
anus. Gasis more mobile than other components, and small bubbles coalesce to
fromlarger bubbles en route to the exit. When peristalsis is not active,
gasbubbles may begin to percolate upwards again, but they won't get very fardue
to the complicated and convoluted shape of the intestine. Furthermore,the anus
is neither up nor down when a person is lying down.
Why do farts come out of your butt?
(Question submitted by the Perry family)
The butt is the location of the anus in humans, and by definition, a fart is an
anal escape of intestinal gas. We should be grateful that we are not crinoids.
Thecrinoid is a marine creature with a U-shaped gut, and its anus is
locatednext to its mouth.
How long does it take fart gas
to travel to someone else's nose?
(Question submitted by SteF)
Fart travel time depends on atmospheric 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 toodilute for perception and will be lost into the
atmosphere forever.
Exceptional conditions exist when the fart is released into a small enclosed
area suchas an elevator, a small room, or a 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?
(Question submitted by B_read)
Actually, the fart stinks immediately upon emergence, but it takes several
seconds for the odor 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 men fart more than women?
(Submitted by Bigdude)
No, women fart just as much as men. It's just that most men take more pride in
it than most 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 readthat men fart more often than women. If this is true, then
womenmust be saving it up and expelling more gas per fart than men do.
Do men's farts smell worse
than women's farts?
Scientific studies of farts show that women's
farts have a higher concentration of odor-causing gases than men's farts, but
men's farts have a larger volume. The two factors equalize out (the same number
of stench molecules for both), so the odor is about the same.
At what time of day is a
gentleman most likely to fart?
(Submitted
by David)
A gentleman is mostly 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 so notorious for
making people fart?
Beans
contain sugars that we humans cannot digest. The most offensive sugars, known
as "flatulence factors" to scientists who research farts, are
raffinose, stachiose, and verbascose. 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, cauliflower,
cabbage, milk, bread, eggs, beer, and raisins. People unable to digest milk due
to lactose intolerance will suffer extreme flatulence if they consume dairy
products.
A friend ofmine had a dog who was exceptionally fond of apples and turnips. The
dogwould eat these things and then get prodigious gas. A dog's digestive
systemis not equipped to handle such vegetable matter, so the dog's
bacteriaworked overtime to produce remarkable flatulence.
What things other than diet
can make a person fart more than usual?
People whoswallow a
lot of air fart more than people who don't. This can be curedsomewhat by
chewing with your mouth closed, eating more slowly, and notgulping food or liquids.
Chewing gum, smoking, and sucking on candy alsocan cause a person to swallow
more air. Carbonated drinks give a personextra gas. Nervous people with fast
moving bowels will fart more becauseless air is absorbed out of the intestines.
Some disease conditions cancause excess flatulence. Going up in an airplane or
other low-pressure environmentcan cause the gas inside you to expand and emerge
as flatus. Tilting yourhead back and pouring a drink straight down your gullet
(chugging) also leadsto an excess of swallowed air, and hence, farting.
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 in opinion on this one. Certainly, people have believed
for centuries that retaining flatus is bad for the health. Emperor Claudius
even passed a law legalizing farting at banquets out of concern for people's
health. There was a wide spread belief that a person could be poisoned or
catch a disease by retaining farts.
Doctors I have spoken to recently have told me that 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 that can happen is that you may get a
stomach ache from the gas pressure. But one doctor suggested that pathological
distention of the bowel could result if a person holds in farts too much. And
Dr. P. said that the effort involved in retaining flatus can cause hemorrhoids.
How long would it be possible
to not fart?
(Question
submitted by Ineed69too)
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 doso 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
dozeoff. So the answer to the question would be, you can refrain from
farting as long as you can stay awake!
Do all people fart in their
sleep?
(Question
submitted by MrBlack)
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 sleep. For these people, the gas
accumulates 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 has disappeared when you are ready for
it?
I asked several doctors where the fart goes. Does it leak out slowly without
the person knowing it? Is it absorbed into the bloodstream? What happens to it?
The doctorsagree that the fart is neither released nor absorbed. It simply
migratesback upward into the intestine and comes out later.
It is reassuring to know that such farts aren't really lost, just delayed.
How can one cover up a fart?
(Question submitted by Mouseweed)
There is a company called Fartypants
that sells underwear designed to absorb the odor of farts. If you should
becaught without your Fartypants, another ploy is to blame the dog or cat,
ifone should be present, or complain about how the wind must be blowing fromthe
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 that
people thinkthat they misheard the fart. If you are with one other person, you
can actas if nothing happened, and the other person may believe he was mistaken
inthinking he heard a fart.
CJT addresses the problem of farting loudly in a public restroom as follows:
"My solution: use a handful of loose toilet paper, cover your butt hole
and it will muffle the farting; my friends and I call it the 'Buff Muff'!"
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.
Is it really possible to
ignite farts?
The
answerto that is yes! However, you should be aware that people get injured
igniting flatus. Not only can the flame back up into your colon, but your
clothing or other surroundings may catch on fire. A survey done by Fartcloud
(the site, alas! is no more) indicates that about a quarter of the people who
ignited their farts got burned doing it. Ignition of flatus is a hazardous
practice. However, if you want to try it, and you don't have a friend to light
your fart for you, you might find it easier to accomplish the job using the Fartlighter.
There have also been cases in which intestinal gases with a higher than normal
oxygen content have exploded during surgery when electric cautery was used by
the surgeon.
Why is possible to burn farts?
Farts
burnbecause they contain methane (sometimes) and hydrogen, both of which
areflammable gases. (Hydrogen was the same gas that was used in the ill
fatedHindenburg dirigible.)
Farts burnwith a blue or yellow flame. According to Dr. James L. A.
Roth,a blue flame is indicative of the presence of methane in the flatus.
Sincemethane producers are an elite group (only 1/3 of the population), an
exclusiveclub called the Royal Order of the Blue Flame has been established
thatis open only to them. Mate-in-a-State
has video footage of flatus ignition. Observe the color of the flames.These
people are not methane emitters.
Is it possible to light a
match with a fart?
(Question submitted by Brocolli)
No, even strike-anywhere matches have their limits, unless the fart has the
consistency of sandpaper! Any fart that rough I would hesitate to call a
fart. Also, farts have the same temperature as the body from which they emerge,
and aren't hot enough to initiate combustion.
