10 Hilarious Historical Fart Moments

Throughout the history of civilization, there have been many farts. In fact, a *lot* of farts! Here are 10 notable instances of farts that date back even before the beginning of our calendar.

So much has changed in the last few thousand years, making it easy to forget the things that haven’t changed. We might have fancy phones and cutting-edge technology that early humans could never have imagined, but we are still the same people, farting people.

The Fart that Started a Revolution

In Egypt in 570 BCE, a fart changed everything. King Apries had angered his people and, worried about a rebellion, sent one of his best generals, Amasis, to calm things down. However, the rebels decided that Amasis should be king, and he agreed. When Apries sent a messenger to bring Amasis back, Amasis farted into a jar and told the messenger to return it to the king. This led to a battle, a bloody defeat, and a new farting rear-end on the throne.

The World´s Oldest Joke Was, Of Course, a Fart Joke

According to a study by Wolverhampton University, the world’s oldest known joke comes from the Sumerians in present-day Iraq, around 1900 BCE. Although it´s hardly the kind of material you’d publish in the news today, it is recognizably a fart joke. It goes like this: "Something that has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband´s lap."

Sir Henry Ludlow Farted in Parliament

We’ve all let out farts from time to time, even though we’d rather not have. Unfortunately for MP Sir Henry Ludlow, when he let one slip in the House of Commons in 1607, his fart became the subject of a 200-line satirical poem listing other MPs and how they might have reacted to the fart during the speech.

Epic Japanese Fart Competitions Captured for Posterity

At Waseda University’s library in Japan, there are many unique historical artifacts. Among them is an incredible 33-foot-long scroll from 1846 that depicts the stages of a complex farting competition. The scroll, known as He-gassen, is part of a small tradition of capturing farting contests. There are even other scrolls from as far back as the 1400s.

Jonathan Swift Had Fun with Farts

The author of *Gulliver’s Travels*, Jonathan Swift, is known as one of the greatest satirists ever to put pen to paper, but he was also not above the kind of fart humor that an average 12-year-old would come up with daily. His 1722 pamphlet *The Benefits of Farting Explained* was published under a pseudonym, claiming to have been originally written in Spanish by a professor named “Don Fart-Inhando Puff-Indorst” from Krakow University. The work was, of course, later translated into English upon request under the title *The Use of the Lady Damp-Fart, of Her-fart-shire*, authored by “Obadiah Fizle” of the Sardinian Arse-Minin princess.

Al Roker’s “Oops” Moment

After his gastric bypass surgery in 2002, *Today Show* meteorologist Al Roker let out what he thought was a perfectly reasonable, quiet fart while visiting the White House. However, along with the fart came a little extra, and Roker shared the smell with everyone. He kept the story to himself for about a decade but, in 2013, boldly told NBC: "I crapped my pants."

Benjamin Franklin’s Breezy Fart

America’s beloved polymath wasn’t entirely serious when writing his 1871 essay “To the Royal Academy of Farting,” but he did offer some great insights. For instance, he suggested that science could come up with:

“some healthy, not unpleasant, medicines to be added to our common foods or sauces, which would make our natural flatulencies not just harmless but also pleasant-scented perfumes.”

Now that would make the world a better place. He was frustrated that scientific institutions were still pursuing what he saw as grandiose goals, rather than solving practical problems like smelly butt farts.

Bernie Sanders’ Supporters Plan Fart Protest

A group of human rights protestors and Bernie Sanders supporters staged a fart protest at the 2016 Democratic National Convention to drown out Hillary Clinton’s speech with collective flatulence. The group handed out beans and whoopee cushions, and organizer Cheri Honkala, the national coordinator of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign and 2012 Green Party vice-presidential candidate, told them: “Farting always has its consequences, but luckily, we’ve got napkins.”

Farting on the Job Cost Him His Job

In 2018, a Florida security guard, who posted videos of his farts at work under the name “Paul Flart” on Instagram, was fired after his fart videos went viral. (The farts themselves weren’t directly responsible for the firing, but rather his violation of a workplace phone ban.) Farts and work don’t always mix.

In Australia, a decades-long legal battle ended in 2019 with the Supreme Court ruling that a coworker’s persistent farting was not considered harassment.

In New Jersey, a woman sued her husband’s former employer in 2015, claiming that she had been discriminated against because of her uncontrollable flatulence after undergoing gastric bypass surgery, which led to her possible termination.

The Fart Fanfare Was Canceled by Phil Collins

Former British railway worker Paul Oldfield can be called a one-trick pony, but it’s a good trick: he is a professional farter.

Using the stage name Mr. Methane, Oldfield has spent three decades farting around the world, from Britain’s Got Talent to Howard Stern. Want to see him do a one-minute fart? It´s possible!

However, Phil Collins was not a fan—when Mr. Methane tried to release a heavy parody of “In The Air Tonight” called “Curry In The Air Tonight,” Collins blocked it, stating: “This is a very serious song, and we see no reason why it should be taken so lightly.”