Fart lighting
Encyclopedia
Fart lightning or pyroflatulence is the practice of igniting the gases produced by human flatulence
, often producing a flame of a blue hue, hence the act being known colloquially as a "blue angel", or in Australia
, a "blue flame". The fact that flatus is flammable, and the actual combustion of it through this practice, gives rise to much humour
ous derivation. Other colors of flame such as orange and yellow are possible with the color dependent on the mixture of gases formed in the colon.
Although there is little scientific discourse on the combustive
properties of flatus, there are many anecdotal accounts of flatus ignition and the activity has increasingly found its way into popular culture with references in comic routines, movies, and television
; including cartoon
s.
Methane burns in oxygen forming water and carbon dioxide often producing a blue hue
(ΔHc
= -891 kJ/mol), as:
Hydrogen sulfide also combusts (ΔHc
= -519 kJ/mol) to
The odor associated with flatus is due to hydrogen sulfide, skatole
, indole
, volatile amines and short chain fatty acid
s. These substances are detectable by olfactory neurons in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion, hydrogen sulfide being the most detectable.
which live in symbiosis
within the large intestines of humans and other mammals. The gases are created as a by-product of the bacteria's digestion
of food into relatively simpler substances. The oxygen and nitrogen component of flatus can be accounted for by aerophagy, while the CO2 component results from the reaction of stomach acids (HCl
) with pancreatic bile (NaHCO3).
, hydrogen sulfide
and hydrogen
present are flammable, igniting the resulting gases can result in burns or explosions as well as the desired flame. Clothing, hair or skin may catch fire and sensitive tissues can be damaged.
. Reports of serious burns to body parts are not uncommon but clothing helps to protect one's skin. Wearing pants (e.g. thick cotton sweatpants) is a good safety precaution. As with all fire stunts, cotton clothes (particularly if damp), or even better, wool, are safer than synthetics. The fire point
of cotton is 210 °C (410 °F), and it is hard to ignite accidentally. But many common synthetic fabrics such as polyester fleece or nylon can easily catch fire or melt to the skin. Many experienced fart lighters suggest that denim be worn during the process of fart lighting; due to its thickness, it usually does a good job of protecting the skin from burns. Performing fart lighting in only underwear, in synthetic clothing (e. g. track pants), or no clothing at all could result in serious burns to the anus, scrotum, or vulva.
. With the advent of video sharing features online, hundreds of self-produced videos, both documentary as well as spoof, have been posted to sites such as YouTube
. The people appearing in the videos are predominantly young males. In his book The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life author Mark Richard Leary explains how a great deal of unhappiness is due to people's inability to exert control over their thoughts and behavior and that "stupid stunts", including lighting flatulence, were a way to make an impression and be included in group bonding or hazing.
was issued for a "Toy gas fired missile
and launcher assembly", a product that would allow one's "colonic gases" to be stored for later ignition to "fire the missile into space."
Flatulence
Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
, often producing a flame of a blue hue, hence the act being known colloquially as a "blue angel", or in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a "blue flame". The fact that flatus is flammable, and the actual combustion of it through this practice, gives rise to much humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
ous derivation. Other colors of flame such as orange and yellow are possible with the color dependent on the mixture of gases formed in the colon.
Although there is little scientific discourse on the combustive
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
properties of flatus, there are many anecdotal accounts of flatus ignition and the activity has increasingly found its way into popular culture with references in comic routines, movies, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
; including cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s.
Chemistry
The composition of flatus varies dramatically among individuals. Flatulence produces a mixture of gases with the following six as major components:- carbon dioxideCarbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, - hydrogenHydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, - hydrogen sulfideHydrogen sulfideHydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
, - methaneMethaneMethane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, - nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, - oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
.
Methane burns in oxygen forming water and carbon dioxide often producing a blue hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
(ΔHc
Heat of combustion
The heat of combustion is the energy released as heat when a compound undergoes complete combustion with oxygen under standard conditions. The chemical reaction is typically a hydrocarbon reacting with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, water and heat...
= -891 kJ/mol), as:
- (g) + 2(g) → (g) + 2(g)
Hydrogen sulfide also combusts (ΔHc
Heat of combustion
The heat of combustion is the energy released as heat when a compound undergoes complete combustion with oxygen under standard conditions. The chemical reaction is typically a hydrocarbon reacting with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, water and heat...
= -519 kJ/mol) to
- 2(g) + 3(g) → 2(g) + 2(g)
The odor associated with flatus is due to hydrogen sulfide, skatole
Skatole
Skatole or 3-methylindole is a mildly toxic white crystalline organic compound belonging to the indole family. It occurs naturally in feces and coal tar, and has a strong fecal odor...
, indole
Indole
Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing pyrrole ring. Indole is a popular component of fragrances and the precursor to many pharmaceuticals. Compounds that contain an...
, volatile amines and short chain fatty acid
Short chain fatty acid
Short-chain fatty acids are a sub-group of fatty acids with aliphatic tails of less than six carbons. They include:* Acetic acid* Propionic acid* Isobutyric acid * Butyric acid* Isovaleric acid...
s. These substances are detectable by olfactory neurons in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion, hydrogen sulfide being the most detectable.
Gas production
Some of the gases are produced by bacteriaBacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
which live in symbiosis
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
within the large intestines of humans and other mammals. The gases are created as a by-product of the bacteria's digestion
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....
of food into relatively simpler substances. The oxygen and nitrogen component of flatus can be accounted for by aerophagy, while the CO2 component results from the reaction of stomach acids (HCl
HCL
HCL or HCl can stand for:* Hairy cell leukemia, an uncommon and slowly progressing B cell leukemia* Hardware compatibility list...
) with pancreatic bile (NaHCO3).
Flammability
Because the methaneMethane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
and hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
present are flammable, igniting the resulting gases can result in burns or explosions as well as the desired flame. Clothing, hair or skin may catch fire and sensitive tissues can be damaged.
Technique and safety
The act of fart lighting is performed by using an open flame such as a candle or a cigarette lighter. There are web sites on the internet devoted exclusively to explaining proper lighting techniques. Common problems reported are severe and painful burns around and about the anusAnus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
. Reports of serious burns to body parts are not uncommon but clothing helps to protect one's skin. Wearing pants (e.g. thick cotton sweatpants) is a good safety precaution. As with all fire stunts, cotton clothes (particularly if damp), or even better, wool, are safer than synthetics. The fire point
Fire point
The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which it will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame. At the flash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite briefly, but vapor might not be produced at a rate to sustain the fire...
of cotton is 210 °C (410 °F), and it is hard to ignite accidentally. But many common synthetic fabrics such as polyester fleece or nylon can easily catch fire or melt to the skin. Many experienced fart lighters suggest that denim be worn during the process of fart lighting; due to its thickness, it usually does a good job of protecting the skin from burns. Performing fart lighting in only underwear, in synthetic clothing (e. g. track pants), or no clothing at all could result in serious burns to the anus, scrotum, or vulva.
Motivations
Fart lighting has been a novelty practice primarily among young men or college students for decades, but is discouraged for its potential for causing injury. Such experiments typically occur on camping trips and in single-sex group residences, such as tree-houses, dormitories, or fraternity housesFraternity and sorority houses
North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas that fraternity and sorority members live and work together in...
. With the advent of video sharing features online, hundreds of self-produced videos, both documentary as well as spoof, have been posted to sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The people appearing in the videos are predominantly young males. In his book The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life author Mark Richard Leary explains how a great deal of unhappiness is due to people's inability to exert control over their thoughts and behavior and that "stupid stunts", including lighting flatulence, were a way to make an impression and be included in group bonding or hazing.
In popular culture
Many find a comedic value in fart lighting and the activity is increasingly represented in pop culture possibly because "for adults, the allure of the vulgar is regressionary and often secretly pleasurable."- In the film Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd (Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
) successfully lights a fart as part of a grandiose daydream/fantasy sequence.
- Radio personality Howard SternHoward SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
, dubbed a shock jockShock jockShock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
for his controversialControversyControversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
use of scatologicalScatologyIn medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces.Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet , healthiness, and diseases such as tapeworms. The word derives from the Greek σκώρ In medicine and biology,...
humor on The Howard Stern Show, cites a fart-lighting scene for losing his popular show's first NBC affiliate when WGIT in Hartford canceled the show. The Flaming Gerbil Legend was reported by Robert D. RaifordRobert D. RaifordRobert D. Raiford offers liberal political and conservative social commentaries during the John Boy and Billy big show. He is from Concord, North Carolina and majored in communication at the University of South Carolina. Raiford got his start in broadcasting in 1944 by calling play by play at...
on the John Boy and BillyJohn Boy and BillyJohn Isley and Billy James, known as John Boy & Billy, named after "John-Boy Harris and brother Bross Harris", are American radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program The John Boy & Billy Big Show broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m...
radio show.
- In the 1999 episode "Spontaneous Combustion" of the adult animated series South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, spontaneous human combustionSpontaneous human combustionSpontaneous human combustion describes reported cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition...
is attributed to people's flatulence acting as the ignition. The entire town is admonished to not to hold in their flatulence even in social situations where the practice could be inappropriate.
- A Bud Light 2004 Super BowlSuper BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
commercial featured a horse-drawn carriage in which a couple is building romance and the man hands a woman a lit candle. While he leans down to retrieve a Bud Light, the horse farts; the gases, ignited by the candle flame, cause an explosion and we see the results of the woman's "blown out" hair and soot-covered face. At the end of the commercial, a passer-by refers to it as a "Rocket Sleigh".
- At the beginning of the episode, "Thai Food" of the web series Jake and AmirJake and AmirJake and Amir is a web series starring CollegeHumor writers Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld from New York. They play humorous versions of themselves; Jake is generally depicted as a "regular guy", and Amir as his annoying and obsessive co-worker, the pair acting as a comic double act...
, Amir is seen holding a lit lighter and trying to pass flatulence. But his attempts are short-lived for his co-worker, Jake, walks into the room, confronting him about a folder that supposedly is a "menu to a Thai food restaurant."
- In the movie Cedar RapidsCedar Rapids (film)Cedar Rapids is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Miguel Arteta. The script, written by Phil Johnston, was included on the 2009 Blacklist, a Hollywood list of the most popular unproduced screenplays of the year.-Plot:...
, Dean Ziegler (John C. ReillyJohn C. ReillyJohn Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
) lights a fart during the final credits.
Patents
In May 2000, a U.S. patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
was issued for a "Toy gas fired missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
and launcher assembly", a product that would allow one's "colonic gases" to be stored for later ignition to "fire the missile into space."
See also
- Goldfish swallowingGoldfish swallowingGoldfish swallowing was an American school fad starting in the 1930s, where a live goldfish is swallowed.It is not clear how it became a fad: various people have made claims...
- Panty raidPanty raidA panty raid is a prank in which male students steal the panties of female students by intruding into their living quarters. The term dates to February 1949...
- Phonebooth stuffingPhonebooth stuffingPhonebooth stuffing was a fad that began during the 1950s in Durban, South Africa and spread to Britain, Canada and the United States by the spring of 1959. It involved a number of people consecutively entering a phonebooth, until the point where the phonebooth would accommodate no more, or there...
- Toilet paperingToilet paperingToilet papering is the act of covering an object, such as a tree, house, or another structure with toilet paper. This is typically done by throwing numerous toilet paper rolls in such a way that they unroll in mid-air and thus fall on the targeted object in multiple streams...