9 Surprising Facts About Flatulence

If you’ve been around a while, you’ve probably read an awful lot about farts here at Neatorama. Still, there’s always something new to learn. Flatulence is a natural process of a healthy functioning physical body, but that doesn’t make it a bouquet of roses. You’ll learn about that physical process in a list of fart facts at Vox, plus an occasional glimpse at how some of these scientific facts were discovered.

Hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane make up as much as 99 percent of the gas produced in our large intestines by volume. (They're supplemented by air you swallow — more on that below.) All of these gases are odorless, which is why much of the time, farts don't actually smell at all.

The potent stink, research has found, is largely due to the 1 percent or so of compounds with sulfur in them, such as hydrogen sulfide. (This sort of research itself is pretty amazing: one experiment involved two people judging the smelliness of farts of 16 participants who'd been fed pinto beans, collected with the aid of "gas-tight Mylar pantaloons.")

Now, that’s something to put on your CV! -via mental_floss

(Image credit: Towsonu2003)


Newest 2
Newest 2 Comments

"...the average person farts between 10 and 20 times per day". The key word here is 'average'. That means for every pretty girl who doesn't fart, there is some guy who farts between 20 and 40 times per day. We make the average possible.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"9 Surprising Facts About Flatulence"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More