16 Amazing Facts About Farts

4. Weigh It Up

A single fart from an average sized person burns about 67 calories, and if you fart 52 times a day you can lose .45kg. To accomplish it would be to blow away all the averages, but it’s certainly something to toot about.

5. A War Of Words

The word ‘fart’ is considered by many to be quite vulgar and low brow, with ‘flatus’ being the term for correct company. We must not keep that kind of company much though, as we’ve never heard the word before. The word ‘fart’ however is thought to some from the 1630s, and was defined then as ‘to send forth wind from the anus.’ Well, that’s one hell of a wind.

6. Plane Wrong

You might feel bad for letting one rip on an airplane, but farting on planes is actually harder to avoid than you might think. The intestinal gas that causes you to fart builds up much faster when you’re on a plane thanks to cabin pressure. Unfortunately, because 50% of the cabin air is recirculated, you’ll be smelling it a little while longer.

7. Ancient Flatus

Farting wasn’t as uncommon as you’d think in ancient times. The Roman Emperor Claudius declared that ‘all Roman citizens should be allowed to pass gas whenever necessary.’ Greek physician Hippocrates believed and widely broadcast that ‘passing gas is necessary to well-being.’ Even in more proper societies like those in Japan, farting contests were once held to see who could fart loudest and longest.

8. Smells Like Literature

Farting made its way through history in the written word. The oldest recorded one-liner joke was about farting, as uncovered by Professor Paul McDonald of the University of Wolverhampton. Shakespeare mentioned farting five times in his plays, and Jonathan Swift wrote an entire essay in 1722 on “The Benefits of Farting Explain’d.” If you smell between the lines, there are others as well!