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The composition of fart gas is highly variable. Most of the air we swallow, especially the oxygen component, is absorbed by the body before the gas gets into the intestines.
By the time the air reaches the large intestine, most of what is left is nitrogen. Chemical reactions between stomach acid and intestinal fluids may produce carbon dioxide, which is also a component of air and a product of bacterial action.
Bacteria also produce 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.
According to 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 reason for 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 human cells.
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 sounds are 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 generated by the flapping of the butt cheeks.
You can see proof of this here :
Poor lady...
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 with stinky 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.
"They do if they're male."
Fish flatulence has not been a major focus of biological research, so the following is somewhat tentative. To some extent the answer depends on how you define "fart." Many fish have a swim bladder that they inflate or deflate as necessary to maintain buoyancy. Usually any expelled gas exits from the mouth and would properly be considered a burp. However, the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, gulps air into its stomach at the surface, then discharges it out the back door to attain the desired depth. Surely this qualifies as flatulence in the common sense of the term.
But purists may object that this isn't true farting--that is, a by-product of digestion. We then get into a somewhat speculative realm. In theory any animal's metabolism produces carbon dioxide, while bacteria in the gut produce methane. Both must be purged lest the fish lose the ability to control its buoyancy. Carbon dioxide is typically eliminated via gas transport to the gills; methane has to escape some other way. However, actual sightings of farting fish are rare--and let's face it, underwater this isn't a phenomenon that could be easily concealed. Some experts say digestive gases are consolidated somehow with the fish's feces, which are packed into a gelatinous tube and then expelled. (Frequently the fish then eats this--not for nothing is the study of fish called ichthyology.) The point is, no farts.
Some fish observers claim they see a telltale bubble or two escape from the stern of a fish after it has gulped air at the surface (I have heard this said of tarpon). But again, this is not strictly a product of digestion. On the Web I have seen the claim that inasmuch as coral is made of calcium carbonate, which when combined with stomach acid produces carbon dioxide, coral-eating fish ought to produce farts in abundance. If true, it seems to me, the critters in the vicinity of a typical coral reef should emit forests of bubbles unequaled since the days of Lawrence Welk--not the impression one usually gets. Then again, few visit reefs specifically for the purpose of detecting fish farts.
originally posted by: cody599
a reply to: Rodinus
The best answer I could find mate
"They do if they're male."
Fish flatulence has not been a major focus of biological research, so the following is somewhat tentative. To some extent the answer depends on how you define "fart." Many fish have a swim bladder that they inflate or deflate as necessary to maintain buoyancy. Usually any expelled gas exits from the mouth and would properly be considered a burp. However, the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, gulps air into its stomach at the surface, then discharges it out the back door to attain the desired depth. Surely this qualifies as flatulence in the common sense of the term.
But purists may object that this isn't true farting--that is, a by-product of digestion. We then get into a somewhat speculative realm. In theory any animal's metabolism produces carbon dioxide, while bacteria in the gut produce methane. Both must be purged lest the fish lose the ability to control its buoyancy. Carbon dioxide is typically eliminated via gas transport to the gills; methane has to escape some other way. However, actual sightings of farting fish are rare--and let's face it, underwater this isn't a phenomenon that could be easily concealed. Some experts say digestive gases are consolidated somehow with the fish's feces, which are packed into a gelatinous tube and then expelled. (Frequently the fish then eats this--not for nothing is the study of fish called ichthyology.) The point is, no farts.
Some fish observers claim they see a telltale bubble or two escape from the stern of a fish after it has gulped air at the surface (I have heard this said of tarpon). But again, this is not strictly a product of digestion. On the Web I have seen the claim that inasmuch as coral is made of calcium carbonate, which when combined with stomach acid produces carbon dioxide, coral-eating fish ought to produce farts in abundance. If true, it seems to me, the critters in the vicinity of a typical coral reef should emit forests of bubbles unequaled since the days of Lawrence Welk--not the impression one usually gets. Then again, few visit reefs specifically for the purpose of detecting fish farts.
Thanks for the call
Cody
originally posted by: Rodinus
originally posted by: cody599
a reply to: Rodinus
The best answer I could find mate
"They do if they're male."
Fish flatulence has not been a major focus of biological research, so the following is somewhat tentative. To some extent the answer depends on how you define "fart." Many fish have a swim bladder that they inflate or deflate as necessary to maintain buoyancy. Usually any expelled gas exits from the mouth and would properly be considered a burp. However, the sand tiger shark, Carcharias taurus, gulps air into its stomach at the surface, then discharges it out the back door to attain the desired depth. Surely this qualifies as flatulence in the common sense of the term.
But purists may object that this isn't true farting--that is, a by-product of digestion. We then get into a somewhat speculative realm. In theory any animal's metabolism produces carbon dioxide, while bacteria in the gut produce methane. Both must be purged lest the fish lose the ability to control its buoyancy. Carbon dioxide is typically eliminated via gas transport to the gills; methane has to escape some other way. However, actual sightings of farting fish are rare--and let's face it, underwater this isn't a phenomenon that could be easily concealed. Some experts say digestive gases are consolidated somehow with the fish's feces, which are packed into a gelatinous tube and then expelled. (Frequently the fish then eats this--not for nothing is the study of fish called ichthyology.) The point is, no farts.
Some fish observers claim they see a telltale bubble or two escape from the stern of a fish after it has gulped air at the surface (I have heard this said of tarpon). But again, this is not strictly a product of digestion. On the Web I have seen the claim that inasmuch as coral is made of calcium carbonate, which when combined with stomach acid produces carbon dioxide, coral-eating fish ought to produce farts in abundance. If true, it seems to me, the critters in the vicinity of a typical coral reef should emit forests of bubbles unequaled since the days of Lawrence Welk--not the impression one usually gets. Then again, few visit reefs specifically for the purpose of detecting fish farts.
Thanks for the call
Cody
Pics and/or peer reviewed articles or it did not happen?
Kindest respects
Rodinus