The bodily function that changed the world
Of all our bodily functions, flatulence remains one of the most socially taboo. While sneezes, coughs, and hiccups are accepted without question, and even belches receive a pass, passing gas remains stigmatized in polite company.
Most people don’t realize that National Pass Gas Day exists (it falls on a Wednesday each year), and mainstream media largely ignores it. Perhaps this silence stems from an unspoken social rule: as any middle schooler knows, the first person to acknowledge a fart is automatically suspected of being its source.
As explained here, the flatulence historian Jim Dawson, author of several books on the subject, including Who Cut the Cheese? and Blame It on the Dog, this taboo persists because “flatulence reminds people of our animal origins” and maintains “a certain shock value.”
While the physiological aspects of flatulence are widely misunderstood, the historical impact of farting has been almost entirely overlooked in academic discourse. What follows is a comprehensive chronicle of flatulence’s most significant moments throughout history.
A revolutionary wind (569 B.C.)
The Greek historian Herodotus documented how a single act of flatulence sparked a revolt against the Egyptian King Apries.
When Apries sent General Amasis to suppress a rebellion, the troops instead crowned Amasis as their new leader. The king then dispatched a trusted advisor, Patarbemis, as his envoy. Amasis responded to this diplomatic mission by breaking wind and instructing Patarbemis to deliver that message back to the king.
Apries was so enraged that he ordered his messenger’s nose and ears severed. This brutal act turned public opinion decisively against the king, who was ultimately killed by a mob. Amasis ruled Egypt successfully from 569 to 525 B.C.
The passover tragedy (44 A.D.)
A Roman soldier’s offensive gesture during Passover celebrations in Jerusalem resulted in approximately 10,000 deaths. Jewish historian Josephus recorded the incident in The Jewish War (75 A.D.), describing how an anti-Semitic soldier exposed himself to Jewish worshippers and broke wind in a deliberately insulting manner.
The outraged crowd began throwing stones at Roman soldiers. The regional commander, Cumanus, responded by calling for military reinforcements, which triggered a stampede. Most victims were Jewish worshippers crushed in the chaos as they fled the Temple when Roman forces arrived.
Dawson notes this as “the granddaddy of all fart destruction” in terms of direct casualties resulting from flatulence.
Literary flatulence (1532)
François Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel, considered by many to be the first fantasy novel, features a giant whose powerful flatulence literally creates life. The passage describes how the giant’s expelled gas caused the earth to shake for twenty-seven miles and generated over 53,000 small, misshapen beings.
A parliamentary protest (1607)
During parliamentary debates over naturalizing Scottish citizens, British Member of Parliament Henry Ludlow audibly passed gas. While likely unintentional, the incident became legendary and inspired various poems, including The Censure of the Parliament Fart.
Benjamin Franklin’s flatulence essay (1781)
While serving as U.S. Ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin penned an essay titled “Fart Proudly.” Though shared among friends, it was never formally published. Franklin pondered why science could alter the scent of urine (asparagus making it unpleasant, turpentine making it violet-scented) but hadn’t developed methods to perfume intestinal gas. The essay was considered quite humorous for its era.
Le Pétomane: the flatulist performer (1857-1945)
Joseph Pujol discovered an unusual ability in childhood: he could voluntarily inhale air through his rectum and expel it at will. Adopting the stage name Le Pétomane (derived from the French word for flatulence), he developed an act that included extinguishing candles, playing musical instruments, and smoking cigarettes using only his rectal control.
His performances became so popular that he earned more than the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt during his peak years.
Hitler’s flatulence and mental decline
Medical records reveal that Adolf Hitler suffered from severe chronic flatulence, experiencing painful cramps by 1936. His physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, prescribed Dr. Koester’s Anti-Gas pills, which contained small amounts of strychnine and atropine—both toxic substances.
By early 1941, during the Soviet invasion, Hitler was consuming 120 to 150 pills weekly. These substances can cause insomnia, anxiety, and emotional instability. While impossible to quantify their influence on Hitler’s decisions during World War II, they likely contributed to his deteriorating mental state. Morell was dismissed only six months before Hitler’s suicide in 1945, once the harmful effects became apparent.
However, biographer John Toland attributed Hitler’s flatulence to his vegetarian diet.
Breaking the Hollywood wind barrier (1971)
While the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles (1974) is often credited as Hollywood’s first on-screen flatulence, the actual pioneer was Norman Lear’s 1971 film Cold Turkey. The comedy featured actor Edward Everett Horton breaking wind on camera.
The film was completed in 1969 but shelved due to concerns about its commercial prospects. By the time it was finally released in 1971, Horton had died, never knowing he’d made cinematic history.
World record (modern Era)
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Bernard Clemmens of London for the longest recorded flatulence: an impressive 2 minutes and 42 seconds.
This revised history demonstrates that flatulence, despite its social stigma, has played surprising roles in political upheavals, public disasters, entertainment, and even the course of world events. Perhaps it deserves more scholarly attention than it receives.