Saturday, August 1, 2009
OUR FART
The word "fart" comes an old English word "feortan". The fart gas in our intestines comes from air we swallow, gas seeping into our intestines from our blood, gas produced by chemical reactions in our guts, and gas produced by bacteria living in our guts.
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 boring, inert nitrogen it contains, because the other gases tend to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestine.
The odor of farts comes from small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and skatole in the mixture. These compounds contain sulfur, which makes your fart stink. Foods such as cauliflower, eggs and meat are notorious for producing smelly farts, whereas beans, chich contain sugars that human cannot digest, produce large amounts of not particularly stinky farts. The sounds are produced by vibrations of the anal opening, depending on the velocity of expulsion of the gas and the tightness of the sphincter muscles of the anus. On average, a person produces about half a liter of fart gas per day, distributed over an average of about fourteen daily farts.
One may wonder why fart gas travels downward toward the anus when gas has a lower density than liquids and solids, and should therefore travel upwards. The intestine squeezes its contents toward the anus by peristalsis. The process is stimulated by eating, which is why we often need to poop and fart right after a meal. Peristalsis creates a zone of high pressure, forcing all intestinal contents, gas included, to move towards a region of lower pressure, which is toward the anus. Gas is more mobile than other components, and small bubbles coalesce to from larger bubbles en route to the exit. When peristalsis is not active, gas bubbles may begin to percolate upwards again, but they won't get very far due to the complicated and convoluted shape of the intestine. Furthermore, the anus is neither up nor down when a person is lying down.
Some believe that men fart more than women, which is not true. Women fart just as much as men, just that most men take more pride in it than most women. If men fart more often than women, then women must be saving it up and expelling more gas per fart than men do. A gentleman is mostly likely to fart first thing in the morning, while in the bathroom. This is known as "morning thunder," and if the gentleman gets good resonance, it can be heard throughout the household.
When a fart is held in, it doesn't get lost. It simply migrates back upward into the intestine and comes out later. A captive fart can escape as soon as the person relaxes. This means that a lot of people who assiduously refrain from farting during the day do so at great length as soon as they fall asleep, so you can refrain from farting as long as you can stay awake!
A carnivore's protein-rich diet produces relatively small amounts of intensely stinky gas because proteins contain lots of sulfur. A dog's or cat's farts are rarely audible, but the odor is overwhelming.On the other hand, large herbivorous animals such as cows, horses and elephants, produce vast quantities of relatively non-stinky fart gas which are noisy and can go on for astoundingly long periods of time. Some animals like sponges and cnidaria don't fart because they lack intestines and organs.
Believe it or not, the animal that has the highest worldwide output of flatulence is the humble termite. Because of their diet and digestive processes, they produce as much methane as human industry. Termite farts are believed to be a major contributor towards global warming.
The burning sensation that sometimes accompanies a fart is generally caused by a recent meal of hot peppers or related spices. The oils associated with these foods remain intact and active all the way through one's gastrointestinal system.
If you fart in the bathtub, as long as what comes out is only fart and no poop, your bath water should not be significantly polluted. Most of the gas just bubbles up and contaminates the air rather than the water.
Many people laugh when they hear a fart, simply because it sounds funny and it comes out from the anus. However this is just a reminder that it's human's (and non-human's) nature to fart, so ladies, fart when you need to! Otherwise you'd just be holding it in and collecting more fart gas for later expulsion, which might be louder. Thank god our farts are colorless. And now that you know global warming is partly caused by a termite's active farting, do your job to keep the termites away. Also, since fart gas comes from the air we swallow, practice some table manners and close your mouth when eating! Don't talk with your mouth full.
-http://www.fart-sounds.net/facts_on_farts.htm
Jiayun (22)
3hum ¶ 5:35 PM
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 boring, inert nitrogen it contains, because the other gases tend to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestine.
The odor of farts comes from small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and skatole in the mixture. These compounds contain sulfur, which makes your fart stink. Foods such as cauliflower, eggs and meat are notorious for producing smelly farts, whereas beans, chich contain sugars that human cannot digest, produce large amounts of not particularly stinky farts. The sounds are produced by vibrations of the anal opening, depending on the velocity of expulsion of the gas and the tightness of the sphincter muscles of the anus. On average, a person produces about half a liter of fart gas per day, distributed over an average of about fourteen daily farts.
One may wonder why fart gas travels downward toward the anus when gas has a lower density than liquids and solids, and should therefore travel upwards. The intestine squeezes its contents toward the anus by peristalsis. The process is stimulated by eating, which is why we often need to poop and fart right after a meal. Peristalsis creates a zone of high pressure, forcing all intestinal contents, gas included, to move towards a region of lower pressure, which is toward the anus. Gas is more mobile than other components, and small bubbles coalesce to from larger bubbles en route to the exit. When peristalsis is not active, gas bubbles may begin to percolate upwards again, but they won't get very far due to the complicated and convoluted shape of the intestine. Furthermore, the anus is neither up nor down when a person is lying down.
Some believe that men fart more than women, which is not true. Women fart just as much as men, just that most men take more pride in it than most women. If men fart more often than women, then women must be saving it up and expelling more gas per fart than men do. A gentleman is mostly likely to fart first thing in the morning, while in the bathroom. This is known as "morning thunder," and if the gentleman gets good resonance, it can be heard throughout the household.
When a fart is held in, it doesn't get lost. It simply migrates back upward into the intestine and comes out later. A captive fart can escape as soon as the person relaxes. This means that a lot of people who assiduously refrain from farting during the day do so at great length as soon as they fall asleep, so you can refrain from farting as long as you can stay awake!
A carnivore's protein-rich diet produces relatively small amounts of intensely stinky gas because proteins contain lots of sulfur. A dog's or cat's farts are rarely audible, but the odor is overwhelming.On the other hand, large herbivorous animals such as cows, horses and elephants, produce vast quantities of relatively non-stinky fart gas which are noisy and can go on for astoundingly long periods of time. Some animals like sponges and cnidaria don't fart because they lack intestines and organs.
Believe it or not, the animal that has the highest worldwide output of flatulence is the humble termite. Because of their diet and digestive processes, they produce as much methane as human industry. Termite farts are believed to be a major contributor towards global warming.
The burning sensation that sometimes accompanies a fart is generally caused by a recent meal of hot peppers or related spices. The oils associated with these foods remain intact and active all the way through one's gastrointestinal system.
If you fart in the bathtub, as long as what comes out is only fart and no poop, your bath water should not be significantly polluted. Most of the gas just bubbles up and contaminates the air rather than the water.
Many people laugh when they hear a fart, simply because it sounds funny and it comes out from the anus. However this is just a reminder that it's human's (and non-human's) nature to fart, so ladies, fart when you need to! Otherwise you'd just be holding it in and collecting more fart gas for later expulsion, which might be louder. Thank god our farts are colorless. And now that you know global warming is partly caused by a termite's active farting, do your job to keep the termites away. Also, since fart gas comes from the air we swallow, practice some table manners and close your mouth when eating! Don't talk with your mouth full.
-http://www.fart-sounds.net/facts_on_farts.htm
Jiayun (22)
3hum ¶ 5:35 PM
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