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{{Short description|Humor with flatulence}}
[[File:Newton Bull farts G3.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Farting in good cheer, 1798]]
[[File:Newton Bull farts G3.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Farting in good cheer, 1798]]
[[File:Fart contest, Hegassen scroll detail.jpg|thumb|Farting contest depicted on the [[Waseda University Library|Waseda University]] {{lang|ja-latn|[[He-gassen]]}} scroll]]
'''Flatulence humour''' or '''flatulence humor''' refers to any type of [[joke]], [[practical joke device]], or other [[off-color humor]] related to [[flatulence]].

'''Flatulence humor''' (more commonly known as '''fart jokes''') refers to any type of [[joke]], [[practical joke device]], or other [[off-color humor]] related to [[flatulence]].


==History==
==History==
Although it is likely that flatulence humor has long been considered funny in cultures that consider the public passing of gas impolite, such jokes are rarely recorded. Two important early texts are the 5th century BC plays ''[[The Knights]]'' and ''[[The Clouds]]'', both by [[Aristophanes]], which contain numerous fart jokes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/knights.pl.txt|format=TXT|title=The Knights By Aristophanes|website=Classics.mit.edu|accessdate=22 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/clouds.pl.txt|format=TXT|title=The Clouds By Aristophanes|website=Classics.mit.edu|accessdate=22 September 2017}}</ref> Another example from [[classical times]] appeared in ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]'' or ''The Pumpkinification of [[Claudius]]'', a [[satire]] attributed to [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] on the late Roman emperor:
Although it is likely that flatulence humor has long been considered funny in cultures that consider the public passing of gas impolite, such jokes are rarely recorded. It has been suggested that one of the oldest recorded jokes was a flatulence joke from the [[Sumer]]ians that has been dated to 1,900 BC.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Joseph |first1=John |title=World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-joke-odd/worlds-oldest-joke-traced-back-to-1900-bc-idUSKUA14785120080731 |access-date=20 August 2021 |publisher=Reuters |date=20 August 2021}}</ref>

{{quote|Something which has never occurred since time immemorial: a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.}}

Two important early texts are the 5th century BC plays ''[[The Knights]]'' and ''[[The Clouds]]'', both by [[Aristophanes]], which contain numerous fart jokes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Knights By Aristophanes |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/knights.pl.txt |access-date=22 September 2017 |website=The Internet Classics Archive |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |format=TXT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Clouds By Aristophanes |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/clouds.pl.txt |access-date=22 September 2017 |website=The Internet Classics Archive |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |format=TXT}}</ref> Another example from [[classical times]] appeared in ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]'' or ''The Pumpkinification of [[Claudius]]'', a [[satire]] attributed to [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] on the late Roman emperor:


{{quote|At once he bubbled up the ghost, and there was an end to that shadow of a life…The last words he was heard to speak in this world were these. When he had made a great noise with that end of him which talked easiest, he cried out, "Oh dear, oh dear! I think I have made a mess of myself."<ref name = "Seneca">{{cite web|publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]]|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10001 |title=E-text No. 10001, English translation of the ''Apocolocyntosis'' by W. H. D. Rouse, 1920}}</ref>}}
{{quote|At once he bubbled up the ghost, and there was an end to that shadow of a life…The last words he was heard to speak in this world were these. When he had made a great noise with that end of him which talked easiest, he cried out, "Oh dear, oh dear! I think I have made a mess of myself."<ref name = "Seneca">{{Cite book |last=Seneca |first=Lucius Annaeus |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10001 |title=Apocolocyntosis |date=2003-11-01 |publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]] |language=English |translator-last=Rouse |translator-first=William Henry Denham}}</ref>}}


He later explains he got to the afterlife with a quote from [[Homer]]:
He later explains he got to the afterlife with a quote from [[Homer]]:
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{{quote|"Breezes wafted me from Ilion unto the Ciconian land."<ref name = "Seneca"/>}}
{{quote|"Breezes wafted me from Ilion unto the Ciconian land."<ref name = "Seneca"/>}}


Archeologist [[Warwick Ball]] asserts that the Roman Emperor [[Elagabalus]] played [[practical jokes]] on his guests, employing a [[whoopee cushion]]-like device at dinner parties.<ref>[[Warwick Ball]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=StIqd8etrLoC&q=whoopee&pg=PA412 P412, Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire] Routledge, 2001 {{ISBN|0-415-24357-2}}</ref>
[[File:The Papal Belvedere.jpg|thumb|right|From a series of woodcuts (1545) usually referred to as the ''Papstspotbilder'' or ''Papstspottbilder'',<ref name=Oberman>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_leG5ztYoZwC&pg=PA61|title=The Impact of the Reformation: Essays|first=Heiko Augustinus|last=Oberman|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|via=Google Books}}</ref> by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder|Lucas Cranach]], commissioned by [[Martin Luther]].<ref name=Edwards-1>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kYbupalP98kC&pg=PA4 ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46'' By Mark U. Edwards, Jr.] Fortress Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-8006-3735-4}}</ref> Title: Kissing the Pope's Feet.<ref>In Latin, the title reads "Hic oscula pedibus papae figuntur"</ref> German peasants respond to a papal bull of [[Pope Paul III]]. Caption reads: "Don't frighten us Pope, with your ban, and don't be such a furious man. Otherwise we shall turn around and show you our rears."<ref>"Nicht Bapst: nicht schreck uns mit deim ban, Und sey nicht so zorniger man. Wir thun sonst ein gegen wehre, Und zeigen dirs Bel vedere"</ref><ref name=Edwards-2>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kYbupalP98kC&pg=PA198 Mark U. Edwards, Jr., ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46'' (2004), p. 199]</ref>]]


In the translated version of Penguin's ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights|1001 Arabian Nights Tales]]'', a story entitled "The Historic Fart" tells of a man who flees his country from the sheer embarrassment of farting at his wedding, only to return ten years later to discover that his fart had become so famous, that people used the anniversary of its occurrence to date other events. Upon learning this, he exclaimed, "Verily, my fart has become a date! It shall be remembered forever!" His embarrassment is so great, he returns to exile in India.<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-03-18 |title=Breaking Wind: Legendary Farts - The Historic Fart - ''1001 Nights'' |url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/fart.html#historicfart |access-date=2014-03-04 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh}}</ref>
Archeologist [[Warwick Ball]] asserts that the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Elagabulus]] played [[practical jokes]] on his guests, employing a [[whoopee cushion]]-like device at dinner parties.<ref>[[Warwick Ball]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=StIqd8etrLoC&pg=PA412&dq=Whoopee+cushion+elagabalus&hl=en&ei=tZB-TOvsB5CTjAfQ05zzCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=whoopee&f=false P412, Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire] Routledge, 2001 {{ISBN|0-415-24357-2}}</ref>


In a similar vein, [[John Aubrey]]'s ''[[Brief Lives]]'' recounts of [[Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford]] that: "This earle of Oxford, making his low obeisance to Queen Elizabeth, happened to let a fart, at which he was so abashed that he went to travell 7 yeares. On his returne the Queen welcomed him home and sayd 'My lord, I had forgot the fart.'"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Aubrey|first1=John|title=Brief Lives|url=https://archive.org/details/briefliveschiefl02aubruoft/page/270|publisher=Oxford|page=270|date=1898}}</ref>
In the translated version of Penguin's ''1001 [[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]] Tales'', a story entitled "The Historic Fart" tells of a man who flees his country from the sheer embarrassment of farting at his wedding, only to return ten years later to discover that his fart had become so famous, that people used the anniversary of its occurrence to date other events. Upon learning this he exclaimed, "Verily, my fart has become a date! It shall be remembered forever!" His embarrassment is so great he returns to exile in India. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/fart.html#historicfart |title=Arabian Nights: The Historic Fart |publisher=Pitt.edu |date=2013-03-18 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref>


One of the most celebrated incidents of flatulence humor in early [[English literature]] is in ''[[The Miller's Tale]]'' by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], which dates from the 14th century; ''[[The Summoner's Tale]]'' has another. In the first, the character Nicholas sticks his buttocks out of a window at night and humiliates his rival Absolom by farting in his face. But Absolom gets revenge by thrusting a red-hot plough blade between Nicholas's cheeks ("{{Lang|enm|ammyd the ers}}")
In a similar vein, [[John Aubrey]]'s ''[[Brief Lives]]'' recounts of [[Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford]] that: "The Earle of Oxford, making his low obeisance to Queen Elizabeth, happened to let a Fart, at which he was so abashed and ashamed that he went to Travell, 7 yeares. Upon his return home, the Queen greeted him, reportedly saying "My Lord, I had forgot the Fart."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Aubrey|first1=John|title=Brief Lives|url=https://archive.org/details/briefliveschiefl02aubruoft|publisher=Oxford|page=270|date=1898}}</ref>


{{quote|<poem>"{{Lang|enm|Sing, sweet bird, I kneen nat where thou art!"
One of the most celebrated incidents of flatulence humor in early [[English literature]] is in ''[[The Miller's Tale]]'' by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], which dates from the 14th century; ''[[The Summoner's Tale]]'' has another. In the first, the character Nicholas sticks his buttocks out of a window at night and humiliates his rival Absolom by farting in his face. But Absolom gets revenge by thrusting a red-hot plough blade between Nicholas's cheeks ("ammyd the ers")

{{quote|<poem>"Sing, sweet bird, I kneen nat where thou art!"
This Nicholas anon let fle a fart
This Nicholas anon let fle a fart
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent
That with the strook he was almost yblent (blinded)
That with the strook he was almost yblent (blinded)
And he was ready with iron hoot
And he was ready with iron hoot
And Nicholas ammyd the ers he smoot.<ref>[http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/milt-par.htm The Miller's Prologue and Tale] (lines 3805–3810)</ref></poem>}}
And Nicholas ammyd the ers he smoot}}.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200604035200/https://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/milt-par.htm The Miller's Prologue and Tale] (lines 3805–3810)</ref></poem>}}


The medieval Latin joke book ''[[Facetiae]]'' includes six tales about farting.
The medieval Latin joke book ''[[Facetiae]]'' by [[Poggio Bracciolini]] includes six tales about farting.


[[François Rabelais]]' tales of ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' are laden with acts of flatulence. In Chapter XXVII of the second book, the giant, Pantagruel, releases a fart that "made the earth shake for twenty-nine miles around, and the foul air he blew out created more than fifty-three thousand tiny men, dwarves and creatures of weird shapes, and then he emitted a fat wet fart that turned into just as many tiny stooping women."<ref>François Rabelais, ''Gargantua and Pantagruel''. W.W. Norton & Co. 1990, p.214</ref>
[[François Rabelais]]' tales of ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' are laden with acts of flatulence. In Chapter XXVII of the second book, the giant, Pantagruel, releases a fart that "made the earth shake for twenty-nine miles around, and the foul air he blew out created more than fifty-three thousand tiny men, dwarves and creatures of weird shapes, and then he emitted a fat wet fart that turned into just as many tiny stooping women."<ref>François Rabelais, ''Gargantua and Pantagruel''. W.W. Norton & Co. 1990, p.214</ref>
Line 38: Line 43:
CLOWN: O, thereby hangs a tail.
CLOWN: O, thereby hangs a tail.
FIRST MUSICIAN: Whereby hangs a tail, sir?
FIRST MUSICIAN: Whereby hangs a tail, sir?
CLOWN: Marry, sir, by many a wind instrument that I know.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/puns-in-othello.html |title=Puns in Othello |website=Study.com |date= |accessdate=24 May 2016}}</ref></poem>}}
CLOWN: Marry, sir, by many a wind instrument that I know.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/puns-in-othello.html |title=Puns in Othello |website=Study.com |access-date=24 May 2016}}</ref></poem>}}


[[Benjamin Franklin]], in his open letter "[[To the Royal Academy of Farting]]", satirically proposes that converting farts into a more agreeable form through science should be a milestone goal of the Royal Academy.<ref>Benjamin Franklin, [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=470 To the Royal Academu of Farting], c. 1781, at teachingamericanhistory.org</ref>
[[Benjamin Franklin]], in his open letter "[[To the Royal Academy of Farting]]", satirically proposes that converting farts into a more agreeable form through science should be a milestone goal of the Royal Academy.<ref>{{cite web |author=Benjamin Franklin |url=http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=470 | title=To the Royal Academy of Farting |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305080250/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=470 |archive-date=2013-03-05 |url-status=dead |date=c. 1781 |publisher=teachingamericanhistory.org}}</ref>


In [[Mark Twain]]'s ''[[1601 (Mark Twain)|1601]]'', properly named ''[ Date: 1601.] Conversation, as it was the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors,'' a cupbearer at Court who's a Diarist reports:
In [[Mark Twain]]'s 1876 pamphlet ''[[1601 (Mark Twain)|1601]]'' a cupbearer at Court who's a Diarist reports:

{{quote|In ye heat of ye talk it befel yt one did breake wind, yielding an exceding mightie and distresfull stink, whereat all did laugh full sore.<ref name = "twain">{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3190/3190.txt |title=1601 by Mark Twain|website=Gutenberg.org |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref>}}
{{quote|In ye heat of ye talk it befel yt one did breake wind, yielding an exceding mightie and distresfull stink, whereat all did laugh full sore.<ref name = "twain">{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3190/3190-h/3190-h.htm |title=[ Date, 1601.] Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors |author=Mark Twain |date=1876 |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=2023-03-30}}</ref>}}


The Queen inquires as to the source, and receives various replies. Lady Alice says:
The Queen inquires as to the source, and receives various replies. Lady Alice says:
Line 49: Line 55:
{{quote|Good your grace, an' I had room for such a thundergust within mine ancient bowels, 'tis not in reason I coulde discharge ye same and live to thank God for yt He did choose handmaid so humble whereby to shew his power. Nay, 'tis not I yt have broughte forth this rich o'ermastering fog, this fragrant gloom, so pray you seeke ye further."<ref name = "twain"/>}}
{{quote|Good your grace, an' I had room for such a thundergust within mine ancient bowels, 'tis not in reason I coulde discharge ye same and live to thank God for yt He did choose handmaid so humble whereby to shew his power. Nay, 'tis not I yt have broughte forth this rich o'ermastering fog, this fragrant gloom, so pray you seeke ye further."<ref name = "twain"/>}}


In the first chapter of ''[[Moby Dick]]'', the narrator states:
In the first chapter of ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' by [[Herman Melville]], the narrator states:

{{quote|...I always go to sea as a sailor, because of the wholesome exercise and pure air of the fore-castle deck. For as in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim)...<ref name="melville">{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm|author=[[Herman Melville]]|title=Moby Dick|website=Gutenberg.org|accessdate=2015-05-24}}</ref>}}
{{quote|...I always go to sea as a sailor, because of the wholesome exercise and pure air of the fore-castle deck. For as in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim)...<ref name="melville">{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm|author=Herman Melville|author-link=Herman Melville|title=Moby Dick|website=Project Gutenberg|access-date=2015-05-24}}</ref>}}

==Gallery of medieval flatulent-artwork==
These images came from medieval manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.

<gallery>
Maastricht Book of Hours, BL Stowe MS17 f061v.png
Maastricht Book of Hours, BL Stowe MS17 f153v (detail).png

Butt-trumpet, Book of Hours, Flanders, 14th century (Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum, W.88, f. 157r).jpg
Butt-trumpet, Rotshild Canticles, MS 404, folio 134r.jpg
Butt-trumpet, Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum historiale, Saint-Omer c. 1294-1297 Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 131, fol. 202r.jpg
Butt-trumpets, The Maastricht Hours, Stowe 17, fol. 201r.jpg
Butt-trumpets, The Rutland Psalter, folio 87v.jpg
</gallery>


==Inculpatory pronouncements==
==Inculpatory pronouncements==
The sourcing of a fart involves a ritual of assignment that sometimes takes the form of a rhyming game. These are frequently used to discourage others from mentioning the fart or to turn the embarrassment of farting into a pleasurable subject matter.<ref>Blank, Trevor J. "Cheeky Behavior: The Meaning and Function of 'Fartlore' in Childhood and Adolescence." ''Children's Folklore Review'' Vol. 32 (2010): 61–85.</ref> The trick is to pin the blame on someone else, often by means of deception, or using a back and forth rhyming game that includes phrases such as the following:<ref>Blank (2010), pp. 68–69.</ref>
The sourcing of a fart involves a ritual of assignment that sometimes takes the form of a rhyming game. These are frequently used to discourage others from mentioning the fart or to turn the embarrassment of farting into a pleasurable subject matter.<ref>Blank, Trevor J. "Cheeky Behavior: The Meaning and Function of 'Fartlore' in Childhood and Adolescence." ''Children's Folklore Review'' Vol. 32 (2010): 61–85.</ref> The trick is to pin the blame on someone else, often by means of deception, or using a back and forth rhyming game that includes phrases such as the following:<ref>Blank (2010), pp. 68–69.</ref>
*He who declared it blared it.
*They who...
**declared it blared it.
*He who observed it served it.
**observed it served it.
*He who detected it ejected it.
**detected it ejected it.
*He who rejected it respected it.
**rejected it respected it.
*He who smelt it dealt it.
**{{Wikt-lang|en|he who smelt it dealt it|smelt it dealt it.|italic=no}}
**sang the song did the pong.
*He who denied it supplied it.
**denied it supplied it.
*He who said the rhyme did the crime.
**said it spread it.
*He who accuses blew the fuses.
**{{Wikt-lang|en|he who said the rhyme did the crime|said the rhyme did the crime.|italic=no}}
*He who pointed the finger pulled the trigger.
**accuses blew the fuses.
*He who articulated it particulated it.
**pointed the finger pulled the trigger.
*He who introduced it produced it.
**articulated it particulated it.
*He who inculpated promulgated.
*He who deduced it produced it.
**introduced it produced it.
**inculpated promulgated.
*He who was a smart-ass has a fart-ass.
*He who sniffed it biffed it.
**deduced it produced it.
**was a smart-ass has a fart-ass.
*He who eulogized it aerosolized it.
*He who rapped it cracked it.
**sniffed it biffed it.
*He who policed it released it.
**eulogized it aerosolized it.
*Whoever rebuts it cuts it.
**sensed it dispensed it.
**rapped it cracked it.
*Whoever said the rap did the crap.
**policed it released it.
*Whoever had the smirk did the work.
*Whoever spoke it broke it.
**remarked on it embarked on it.
*Whoever asked it gassed it.
**circulated it perpetrated it.
**last spoke let off the ass smoke.
*Whoever started it farted it.
**said the words did the turds.
*Whoever explained it ordained it.
*Whoever thunk it stunk it.
*Whoever...
**rebuts it cuts it.
*Whoever is squealing is concealing.
**said the rap did the crap.
*Whoever thought it brought it.
*Whoever gave the call gassed us all.
**had the smirk did the work.
*He who circulated it perpetrated it.
**spoke it broke it.
**asked it gassed it.
*Whoever spoke last set off the blast.
**started it farted it.
**explained it ordained it.
**thunk it stunk it.
**is squealing is concealing.
**thought it brought it.
**gave the call gassed us all.
**spoke last set off the blast.
**made a frown laid the brown.
**made the quip let it rip.
**smelt it dealt it
*Whoever's poking fun is the smoking gun.
*The smeller's the feller.
*The smeller's the feller.
*The one who said the verse just made the atmosphere worse.
*The one who said the verse just made the atmosphere worse.
*Whoever's poking fun is the smoking gun.
*It twas the thinker who loosened his sphincter.
*It twas the thinker who loosened his sphincter.
*If you heard the song you've soiled your thong.
*etc.
*Self report.



Assigning blame to another can backfire: a joke about royalty has the Queen emitting flatulence, and then turning to a nearby page, exclaiming, "Arthur, stop that!" The page replies, "Yes, Your Majesty. Which way did it go?"
Assigning blame to another can backfire: a joke about royalty has the Queen emitting flatulence, and then turning to a nearby page, exclaiming, "Arthur, stop that!" The page replies, "Yes, Your Majesty. Which way did it go?"


=={{anchor|Dutch oven}}Practical jokes==
=={{anchor|Dutch oven}}Practical jokes==
A '''{{visible anchor|Dutch oven}}''' is a [[slang]] term for lying in bed with another person and pulling the covers over the person's head while [[Flatulence|flatulating]], thereby creating an unpleasant situation in an enclosed space.<ref>{{cite book |quote=A 'Dutch oven' is when you are lying in bed with someone, you pull the covers over their heads and expel gas from the anus, thereby trapping them with your pungent gift |first=Ben |last=Patridge |title=The MANual – Surviving Pregnancy |page=64 |isbn=978-0-9721066-6-5 |publisher=Bennovations}}</ref> This is done as a prank or by accident to one's sleeping partner.<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |page=679 |isbn= 978-0-415-25937-8 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |last=Partridge |first=Eric |author2=Dalzell, Tom|author3=Victor, Terry |year=2006 |edition=9}}</ref> The book ''[[The Alphabet of Manliness]]'' discusses the Dutch oven and a phenomenon it refers to as the "Dutch oven surprise", that "happens if you force it too hard".<ref>"If you happen to be in bed sleeping with someone, what you do is drop the nastiest, juiciest broccoli fart under the covers. Then while your partner is still sleeping, lift the covers over her head and then wait until the fart dissipates." Maddox. ''The Alphabet of Manliness.'' Citadel Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-8065-2720-X}}, 978-0-8065-2720-8, 204 pages p.66</ref> The ''Illustrated Dictionary of Sex'' refers to this as a Dutch treat.<ref>{{cite book |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Sex |publisher=Lotus Press |date=2007-11-30 |isbn=978-81-89093-59-4 |pages=54–55 |last=Roberts |first=Keath}}</ref>
A '''{{visible anchor|Dutch oven}}''' is a [[slang]] term for lying in bed with another person and pulling the covers over the person's head while [[Flatulence|flatulating]], thereby creating an unpleasant situation in an enclosed space.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patridge |first=Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0gz7XBEgU3kC&pg=PA64 |title=The MANual – Surviving Pregnancy |publisher=Bennovations |isbn=978-0-9721066-6-5 |page=64 |quote=A 'Dutch oven' is when you are lying in bed with someone, you pull the covers over their heads and expel gas from the anus, thereby trapping them with your pungent gift}}</ref> This is done as a prank or by accident to one's sleeping partner.<ref>{{cite book |last=Partridge |first=Eric |url=https://archive.org/details/newpartridgedict00tomd_0 |title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |author2=Dalzell, Tom |author3=Victor, Terry |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-25937-8 |edition=9 |page=679 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The book ''[[The Alphabet of Manliness]]'' by [[Maddox (writer)|Maddox]] discusses the Dutch oven, as well as a phenomenon it refers to as the "[[Defecation|Dutch oven surprise]]", that "happens if you force it too hard".<ref>"If you happen to be in bed sleeping with someone, what you do is drop the nastiest, juiciest broccoli fart under the covers. Then while your partner is still sleeping, lift the covers over her head and then wait until the fart dissipates." Maddox. ''[[iarchive:alphabetofmanlin00madd|The Alphabet of Manliness]].'' Citadel Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-8065-2720-X}}, 978-0-8065-2720-8, 204 pages p.66</ref> The ''Illustrated Dictionary of Sex'' by Keath Roberts refers to this as a '''Dutch treat.'''<ref>{{cite book |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Sex |publisher=Lotus Press |date=2007-11-30 |isbn=978-81-89093-59-4 |pages=54–55 |last=Roberts |first=Keath}}</ref>


A connection between relationships and performing a Dutch oven has been discussed in two undergraduate student newspaper articles<ref>Pat Corran and Lara Luepke "Dutch oven" February 24, 2003 ''The Spectator'' (University of Wisconsin Eau Claire) [http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2003/02/24/TheHookup/Dutch.Oven-376973.shtml] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321181025/http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2003/02/24/TheHookup/Dutch.Oven-376973.shtml |date=March 21, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title="To fart without persecution, to want only to thrust one's blankets overhead and roguishly execute the Dutch Oven; those, my friends, are the truths our Founding Fathers held to be self-evident. To my brothers who still await with sphincters clenched (sans Brokeback), your day approaches. Stay strong." Jonathan Pitts-Wiley "Keeping it tight with your girlfriend" while still letting one rip|date=February 17, 2006|newspaper=Yale Daily News|url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/feb/17/keeping-it-tight-with-your-girlfriend-while-still/|accessdate=22 February 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119222327/http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/feb/17/keeping-it-tight-with-your-girlfriend-while-still/|archivedate=19 November 2011}}</ref> and in actress [[Diane Farr]]'s relationships/humor book ''The Girl Code''.<ref>[[Diane Farr]]. ''The Girl Code: the secret language of single women (on dating, sex, shopping, and honor among girlfriends)'' Little, Brown and Company, 2001 {{ISBN|0-316-26061-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-316-26061-9}}, 192 pages page 172</ref>
A connection between relationships and performing a Dutch oven has been discussed in two undergraduate student newspaper articles<ref>Pat Corran and Lara Luepke "Dutch oven" February 24, 2003 ''The Spectator'' (University of Wisconsin Eau Claire) [http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2003/02/24/TheHookup/Dutch.Oven-376973.shtml] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321181025/http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2003/02/24/TheHookup/Dutch.Oven-376973.shtml|date=March 21, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pitts-Wiley |first=Jonathan |date=February 17, 2006 |title=Keeping it tight with your girlfriend while still letting one rip |newspaper=Yale Daily News |url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/feb/17/keeping-it-tight-with-your-girlfriend-while-still/ |url-status=dead |access-date=22 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119222327/http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/feb/17/keeping-it-tight-with-your-girlfriend-while-still/ |archive-date=19 November 2011}}</ref> and in actress [[Diane Farr]]'s relationships/humor book ''The Girl Code''.<ref>[[Diane Farr]]. ''[[iarchive:girlcodesecretla00farr|The Girl Code: the secret language of single women (on dating, sex, shopping, and honor among girlfriends)]]'' Little, Brown and Company, 2001 {{ISBN|0-316-26061-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-316-26061-9}}, 192 pages page 172</ref>

==Performance==
Paul Oldfield, who performed under the name [[Mr. Methane]],<ref name="2008 Guardian">{{Cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jul/23/edinburghfestival.comedy|title=The ace of trumps|last=Kelner|first=Martin|date=23 Jul 2008|work=The Guardian|access-date=18 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317235233/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jul/23/edinburghfestival.comedy|archive-date=17 March 2022}}</ref> performed a stage act that included him farting the notes of music.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mr-methanes-tunes-put-the-wind-up-insurers-1404088.html|title=Mr. Methane's tunes put the wind up insurers|last=Bennett|first=Will|date=1 January 1994|work=The Independent|access-date=18 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318003320/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mr-methane-s-tunes-put-the-wind-up-insurers-1404088.html|archive-date=18 March 2022}}</ref> Joseph Pujol, who performed under the name [[Le Pétomane]],<ref name="2008 Guardian"/> which translates to "fart maniac",<ref name="2008 Guardian"/> performed a similar stage act for the Paris music hall scene.<ref name="2008 Guardian"/>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Comedy}}
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
*[[Armpit fart]]
*[[Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit]]
*[[Bum trilogy]]
*[[Gross out]]
*[[Grotesque body]]
*[[Flatulist]]
*[[Flatulist]]
*{{lang|ja-latn|[[He-gassen]]}}
*[[Hundeprutterutchebane]]
*{{Lang|da|[[Hundeprutterutchebane]]}}
*[[Le Pétomane]]
*[[Le Pétomane]]
*[[Mr Methane]]
*[[Mr. Methane]]
*[[Pull my finger]]
*[[Roland the Farter]]
*[[Sophomoric humour]]
*[[Toilet humour]]
*[[Whoopee cushion]]
*[[Whoopee cushion]]
{{colend}}
*[[Armpit fart]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Flatulence humor| ]]
[[Category:5th-century BC establishments in Greece]]
[[Category:Practical joke devices]]
[[Category:Practical joke devices]]
[[Category:Flatulence in popular culture]]
[[Category:Flatulence in popular culture]]

Latest revision as of 21:07, 1 December 2024

Farting in good cheer, 1798
Farting contest depicted on the Waseda University He-gassen scroll

Flatulence humor (more commonly known as fart jokes) refers to any type of joke, practical joke device, or other off-color humor related to flatulence.

History

[edit]

Although it is likely that flatulence humor has long been considered funny in cultures that consider the public passing of gas impolite, such jokes are rarely recorded. It has been suggested that one of the oldest recorded jokes was a flatulence joke from the Sumerians that has been dated to 1,900 BC.[1]

Something which has never occurred since time immemorial: a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.

Two important early texts are the 5th century BC plays The Knights and The Clouds, both by Aristophanes, which contain numerous fart jokes.[2][3] Another example from classical times appeared in Apocolocyntosis or The Pumpkinification of Claudius, a satire attributed to Seneca on the late Roman emperor:

At once he bubbled up the ghost, and there was an end to that shadow of a life…The last words he was heard to speak in this world were these. When he had made a great noise with that end of him which talked easiest, he cried out, "Oh dear, oh dear! I think I have made a mess of myself."[4]

He later explains he got to the afterlife with a quote from Homer:

"Breezes wafted me from Ilion unto the Ciconian land."[4]

Archeologist Warwick Ball asserts that the Roman Emperor Elagabalus played practical jokes on his guests, employing a whoopee cushion-like device at dinner parties.[5]

In the translated version of Penguin's 1001 Arabian Nights Tales, a story entitled "The Historic Fart" tells of a man who flees his country from the sheer embarrassment of farting at his wedding, only to return ten years later to discover that his fart had become so famous, that people used the anniversary of its occurrence to date other events. Upon learning this, he exclaimed, "Verily, my fart has become a date! It shall be remembered forever!" His embarrassment is so great, he returns to exile in India.[6]

In a similar vein, John Aubrey's Brief Lives recounts of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford that: "This earle of Oxford, making his low obeisance to Queen Elizabeth, happened to let a fart, at which he was so abashed that he went to travell 7 yeares. On his returne the Queen welcomed him home and sayd 'My lord, I had forgot the fart.'"[7]

One of the most celebrated incidents of flatulence humor in early English literature is in The Miller's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, which dates from the 14th century; The Summoner's Tale has another. In the first, the character Nicholas sticks his buttocks out of a window at night and humiliates his rival Absolom by farting in his face. But Absolom gets revenge by thrusting a red-hot plough blade between Nicholas's cheeks ("ammyd the ers")

"Sing, sweet bird, I kneen nat where thou art!"
This Nicholas anon let fle a fart
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent
That with the strook he was almost yblent (blinded)
And he was ready with iron hoot
And Nicholas ammyd the ers he smoot.[8]

The medieval Latin joke book Facetiae by Poggio Bracciolini includes six tales about farting.

François Rabelais' tales of Gargantua and Pantagruel are laden with acts of flatulence. In Chapter XXVII of the second book, the giant, Pantagruel, releases a fart that "made the earth shake for twenty-nine miles around, and the foul air he blew out created more than fifty-three thousand tiny men, dwarves and creatures of weird shapes, and then he emitted a fat wet fart that turned into just as many tiny stooping women."[9]

The plays of William Shakespeare include several humorous references to flatulence, including the following from Othello:

CLOWN: Are these, I pray you, wind instruments?
FIRST MUSICIAN: Ay marry are they, sir.
CLOWN: O, thereby hangs a tail.
FIRST MUSICIAN: Whereby hangs a tail, sir?
CLOWN: Marry, sir, by many a wind instrument that I know.[10]

Benjamin Franklin, in his open letter "To the Royal Academy of Farting", satirically proposes that converting farts into a more agreeable form through science should be a milestone goal of the Royal Academy.[11]

In Mark Twain's 1876 pamphlet 1601 a cupbearer at Court who's a Diarist reports:

In ye heat of ye talk it befel yt one did breake wind, yielding an exceding mightie and distresfull stink, whereat all did laugh full sore.[12]

The Queen inquires as to the source, and receives various replies. Lady Alice says:

Good your grace, an' I had room for such a thundergust within mine ancient bowels, 'tis not in reason I coulde discharge ye same and live to thank God for yt He did choose handmaid so humble whereby to shew his power. Nay, 'tis not I yt have broughte forth this rich o'ermastering fog, this fragrant gloom, so pray you seeke ye further."[12]

In the first chapter of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, the narrator states:

...I always go to sea as a sailor, because of the wholesome exercise and pure air of the fore-castle deck. For as in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim)...[13]

[edit]

These images came from medieval manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.

Inculpatory pronouncements

[edit]

The sourcing of a fart involves a ritual of assignment that sometimes takes the form of a rhyming game. These are frequently used to discourage others from mentioning the fart or to turn the embarrassment of farting into a pleasurable subject matter.[14] The trick is to pin the blame on someone else, often by means of deception, or using a back and forth rhyming game that includes phrases such as the following:[15]

  • They who...
    • declared it blared it.
    • observed it served it.
    • detected it ejected it.
    • rejected it respected it.
    • smelt it dealt it.
    • sang the song did the pong.
    • denied it supplied it.
    • said it spread it.
    • said the rhyme did the crime.
    • accuses blew the fuses.
    • pointed the finger pulled the trigger.
    • articulated it particulated it.
    • introduced it produced it.
    • inculpated promulgated.
    • deduced it produced it.
    • was a smart-ass has a fart-ass.
    • sniffed it biffed it.
    • eulogized it aerosolized it.
    • sensed it dispensed it.
    • rapped it cracked it.
    • policed it released it.
    • remarked on it embarked on it.
    • circulated it perpetrated it.
    • last spoke let off the ass smoke.
    • said the words did the turds.
  • Whoever...
    • rebuts it cuts it.
    • said the rap did the crap.
    • had the smirk did the work.
    • spoke it broke it.
    • asked it gassed it.
    • started it farted it.
    • explained it ordained it.
    • thunk it stunk it.
    • is squealing is concealing.
    • thought it brought it.
    • gave the call gassed us all.
    • spoke last set off the blast.
    • made a frown laid the brown.
    • made the quip let it rip.
    • smelt it dealt it
  • Whoever's poking fun is the smoking gun.
  • The smeller's the feller.
  • The one who said the verse just made the atmosphere worse.
  • It twas the thinker who loosened his sphincter.
  • If you heard the song you've soiled your thong.
  • Self report.

Assigning blame to another can backfire: a joke about royalty has the Queen emitting flatulence, and then turning to a nearby page, exclaiming, "Arthur, stop that!" The page replies, "Yes, Your Majesty. Which way did it go?"

Practical jokes

[edit]

A Dutch oven is a slang term for lying in bed with another person and pulling the covers over the person's head while flatulating, thereby creating an unpleasant situation in an enclosed space.[16] This is done as a prank or by accident to one's sleeping partner.[17] The book The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox discusses the Dutch oven, as well as a phenomenon it refers to as the "Dutch oven surprise", that "happens if you force it too hard".[18] The Illustrated Dictionary of Sex by Keath Roberts refers to this as a Dutch treat.[19]

A connection between relationships and performing a Dutch oven has been discussed in two undergraduate student newspaper articles[20][21] and in actress Diane Farr's relationships/humor book The Girl Code.[22]

Performance

[edit]

Paul Oldfield, who performed under the name Mr. Methane,[23] performed a stage act that included him farting the notes of music.[24] Joseph Pujol, who performed under the name Le Pétomane,[23] which translates to "fart maniac",[23] performed a similar stage act for the Paris music hall scene.[23]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Joseph, John (20 August 2021). "World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC". Reuters. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ "The Knights By Aristophanes" (TXT). The Internet Classics Archive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. ^ "The Clouds By Aristophanes" (TXT). The Internet Classics Archive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (2003-11-01). Apocolocyntosis. Translated by Rouse, William Henry Denham. Project Gutenberg.
  5. ^ Warwick Ball P412, Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire Routledge, 2001 ISBN 0-415-24357-2
  6. ^ "Breaking Wind: Legendary Farts - The Historic Fart - 1001 Nights". University of Pittsburgh. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  7. ^ Aubrey, John (1898). "Brief Lives". Oxford. p. 270.
  8. ^ The Miller's Prologue and Tale (lines 3805–3810)
  9. ^ François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel. W.W. Norton & Co. 1990, p.214
  10. ^ "Puns in Othello". Study.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  11. ^ Benjamin Franklin (c. 1781). "To the Royal Academy of Farting". teachingamericanhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2013-03-05.
  12. ^ a b Mark Twain (1876). "[ Date, 1601.] Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  13. ^ Herman Melville. "Moby Dick". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  14. ^ Blank, Trevor J. "Cheeky Behavior: The Meaning and Function of 'Fartlore' in Childhood and Adolescence." Children's Folklore Review Vol. 32 (2010): 61–85.
  15. ^ Blank (2010), pp. 68–69.
  16. ^ Patridge, Ben. The MANual – Surviving Pregnancy. Bennovations. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-9721066-6-5. A 'Dutch oven' is when you are lying in bed with someone, you pull the covers over their heads and expel gas from the anus, thereby trapping them with your pungent gift
  17. ^ Partridge, Eric; Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (2006). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (9 ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 679. ISBN 978-0-415-25937-8.
  18. ^ "If you happen to be in bed sleeping with someone, what you do is drop the nastiest, juiciest broccoli fart under the covers. Then while your partner is still sleeping, lift the covers over her head and then wait until the fart dissipates." Maddox. The Alphabet of Manliness. Citadel Press, 2006 ISBN 0-8065-2720-X, 978-0-8065-2720-8, 204 pages p.66
  19. ^ Roberts, Keath (2007-11-30). Illustrated Dictionary of Sex. Lotus Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-81-89093-59-4.
  20. ^ Pat Corran and Lara Luepke "Dutch oven" February 24, 2003 The Spectator (University of Wisconsin Eau Claire) [1] Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Pitts-Wiley, Jonathan (February 17, 2006). "Keeping it tight with your girlfriend while still letting one rip". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  22. ^ Diane Farr. The Girl Code: the secret language of single women (on dating, sex, shopping, and honor among girlfriends) Little, Brown and Company, 2001 ISBN 0-316-26061-4, ISBN 978-0-316-26061-9, 192 pages page 172
  23. ^ a b c d Kelner, Martin (23 Jul 2008). "The ace of trumps". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  24. ^ Bennett, Will (1 January 1994). "Mr. Methane's tunes put the wind up insurers". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
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