Interview with Dr. Michael Levitt, flatulence expert. This is a nice overview of Dr. Levitt’s field of study and recent work. Its is strange how little the average person knows about the science behind their ass gas, especially considering how often it comes to our attention. And the attention of others. I am truly surprised that 10 toots a day is normal for a male.

Flatulence expert defines ‘normal’ output rate

via. Freakonomics Blog

Levitt has gone to extraordinary lengths to plumb the mysteries of flatulence. He’s captured farts in specially made Mylar pantaloons, measured the cocktail of gases they contain, even conducted a study devised to get to the bottom of what may be the most contentious question in the field: Which gender emits the smelliest farts

It turns out that in blind trials, female farts smell worse. I KNEW it! The article goes a little ways into the science behind why we pass gas.

In the main, flatulence is made up of five gases — nitrogen and oxygen, which are swallowed while talking, chewing or drinking fizzy beverages, and carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane, which are produced in the gastrointestinal tract during digestion of food.

Tacked on to the end is a gratuitous, but much appreciated, bout of fart trivia. And for fart-master trivia, Dr. Levitt is the father of Freakonomics author Steven Levitt.

Some weird factoids about flatulence through the ages:

• Blue angels: Only certain people have bacteria in the gastric systems that produce methane, Dr. Levitt says. And only methane-producers can perform the time-honoured frat house trick of igniting a blue flame when they hold a match to an escaping fart.
• Musical toots: In the 1800s Frenchman Joseph Pujol apparently became so adept at controlling his flatulence flow he could sound musical notes. Called “le Petomane” _ the fartiste _ he was reputedly the highest paid performer in France at his prime.
• Colonic explosions: In the early days of colonoscopies, attempts to burn off polyps in the colon ignited explosive hydrogen gas in the colon of several unlucky people, sometimes with tragic results. The colon-cleansing preparations people now take the night before a colonoscopy have solved the problem. Says Levitt: “I’ve never heard of an explosion in someone who’s had a decent prep. But until they used these prep solutions, there was a problem with explosions.”