5 facts about fart you may not know

We have talked about the puns several times here at Mega Curioso, explaining how they are produced, why some are noisy and others not, why they are not very smelly there - although their scent can prevent disease, including cancer - and that releasing them often can be indicative of good health.

However, there are many more things related to the Puns that you may not know, which is why we decided to put together five curiosities - selected from an article by Robbie Gonzalez from the io9 portal - about flatulence for you to check out. Look:

1 - They occur until after death

The human gut is home to hundreds of species of good bacteria that aid digestion, and in the process they produce a variety of gases. However, when we die, these microorganisms do not stop what they are doing to mourn, but continue to "work." In addition, when the decomposition begins, the body also produces a lot of gas, which means that some corpses can fart.

2 - They can be explosive

You may have heard - or even watched the nothing show - of exploding whales, haven't you? This is due to the accumulation of gases produced during the decomposition process which, for various reasons, may end up trapped in the abdominal cavity. However, there are also cases - at least 20 occurrences between 1952 and 2006 - of people who “exploded” while still alive during colonoscopy examinations.

As explained in the previous section, bacteria in the intestines produce various types of gas when they aid digestion. These include methane and hydrogen, which in turn are flammable, and in addition to this bombastic mix a little oxygen and a heat source, we have a propitious environment for an explosion to happen.

An example of how this “spark” can be introduced into the equation is through a procedure performed for the elimination of polyps during colonoscopy through cauterization. Ideal conditions for a potential explosion would be a concentration of hydrogen and / or methane greater than 4% or 5%, respectively, and oxygen in the cavity, and they may present themselves when proper preparation for the procedure does not occur.

3 - They may contain germs

An article in the British Medial Journal suggests that, besides being smelly, flatus can also contain germs. The discovery came after a researcher decided to ask a colleague to feast on a petri dish - first wearing pants and then without them - realizing that in the container that had received the “breath” there was already a culture of bacteria in the morning after the experiment.

Researchers have identified two types of microorganisms common in the intestines and skin of humans proliferating in plaque, and the fact that only the one that received the gases directly relies on a colony suggests that clothing acts as a filter. Thus, there is a possibility that the fart can carry bacteria, but only if the “emitter” is naked.

4 - They can be used in communication.

According to one study, researchers found that Atlantic and Pacific herring are capable of generating high frequency sounds through the puns, leading scientists to speculate that these fish may use gas release as a form of communication.

As they apparently seem to trigger flatus occurrence in the absence of light and fish, the researchers believe that herring use the puns to help them form cohesive shoals at night as a protection against predators. .

5 - They represented sinners in the past

Calm down ... let's explain this story! In medieval Italy, the demons anus were believed to function as a kind of factory of sinful souls, and Dante even described meeting with a particularly flatulent group during their passing through one of the hell circles of his "Divine Comedy.", more precisely, in Canto XXI of the work. And Alighieri was not the only Italian to illustrate this curious demonic ability.

According to Suzanne Magnanini of the University of Colorado at Boulder, it is possible to find illustrations on murals of several Italian churches and abbeys that show the devil with his animalistic body devouring sinners and defecating the wicked in hell. The origin of this kind of representation would be associated with a figure common in ancient pagan festivals - which took the form of a giant bear and produced new souls through its flatus.

More curiosities:

• In Japanese mythology there is a creature - called Kappa - that lives in the water and likes to attack people from behind to steal the shirikodama, a kind of magical orb that exists in the rear. For, according to legend, this being can be repelled by powerful funs, as you can see in the following illustration:

• In Mayan culture, the god of death is sometimes referred to as "the flatulent";
• In Inuit mythology, one of the most powerful spirits is the Matshishkapeu - whose name can also be translated as "The Pum Man";
• There are people who are sexually aroused by the Puns, and this paraphilia is called eproctophilia;

• NASA studied astronaut flatulence during the late 1960s. The goal was to quantify gas production through typical space feeding and to assess methane and hydrogen accumulation indoors - such as space modules and clothing - as well as as the potential risk that these substances could cause fires.