1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff, 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger. So in the late eighteen hundreds there 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: was this French guy and his name was Le Peto Man, 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: and he was one of the stars of Mulan Rouge. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: People would come from far and wide just to watch 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: this guy fart, Yeah, to watch him fart. Lepetomon, you see, 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: was a professional flat glist, which, as it turns out, 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: is still sort of a thing, and certainly it's a 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: dream job for some. But if you want to move 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: out of the ranks of amateur windbreakers and into those stinking, 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: hallowed halls of the professionally flatulent, you will need to 12 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: know a thing or two about farts, like what are they, 13 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: why do they happen, and why did they smell so bad? Well, 14 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: first things first, everyone farts, every single person. Yes, you 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: two listening to this, you do too. To not fart 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: would be medically fascinating and probably dangerous. On average, most 17 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: people are passing about one leader of gas a day, 18 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: spread out over thirteen to wait for it, twenty one incidents. 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 1: That's twenty one separate times in one day. The composition 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: of a fart varies widely, but Usually what we're smelling 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: is something that's mostly nitrogen, along with oxygen, carbon dioxide, 22 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: and even methane. This gas itself comes from several sources, 23 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: the air you swallow, gas that enters your intestines, from 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: your bloodstream, and so on. But about seventy five of 25 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: your farts are created in your lower intestine, and unfortunately 26 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: not by you. See the bacteria living inside you right now. 27 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: They comprise a microbiome all of their own. And when 28 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: we say it's intricate, we mean it's so intricate that 29 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: David Attenborough could make a documentary about it. These bacteria 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: form this thriving empire with billions of tiny separate organisms 31 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: live thing inside their host, and that's you. They're living 32 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: with you in symbiosis. Now, flatulence occurs when food passes 33 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: through your stomach and small intestine without fully breaking down. 34 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: So what does this mean. This means that the food 35 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,679 Speaker 1: hits the large intestine in an undigested state. So, for example, 36 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,679 Speaker 1: let's look at lactose, which is present in dairy products 37 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: like milk and cheese. If you're lactose intolerant, then you 38 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: lack the enzyme that breaks lactose into sugar. Molecules for 39 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: the bloodstream. Without this, lactose just breezes through your stomach 40 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: and small intestine into your large intestine, where it becomes 41 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: the special of the day for billions of hungary bacteria. 42 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: Those guys love lactose, and if you're not going to 43 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: digest it, they will. As they digest this lactose, they 44 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: emit a number of gases, including methane, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, 45 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: and hydrogen sulfide, which is responsible for the unpleasant aroma. 46 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: This process is similar to how yeast produces carbon dioxide 47 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,799 Speaker 1: to leaven bread. And speaking of food, it's true that 48 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: some foods do produce more flatulence, primarily because they contain 49 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: more indigestible carbohydrates. I'm looking at you. Beans, nutrient dense vegetables, 50 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: and fiber rich foods all have a reputation for enabling flatulence. 51 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: That's not necessarily a bad thing. See. As scientists learn 52 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: more about the relationship between diet, health and a person's microbiome, 53 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: they're discovering that these flatulent foods may encourage the growth 54 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: of beneficial bacteria in your gut. When they're producing that 55 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: next embarrassing puff of gas, they're also making molecules to 56 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: protect your intestinal lining and prevent infections. So remember the 57 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: next time you're silent crime accidentally ends up sounding like 58 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,119 Speaker 1: a stuttering trumpet. Your intestinal bacteria are the real culprits. 59 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: They are the ones act truly farting. And look, I 60 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: want to emphasize this. They are farting inside of you 61 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: and then you fart their farts out. Are we clear 62 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: on that part, which leads us to the bigger question 63 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: of the day, who are we farting inside of? Check 64 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: out the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on 65 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works 66 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: dot com.