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Printer-Friendly ModeFear of immaturity poses threat to fundamentals of humor
February 15, 2010 —
It is often a taboo topic and I will begin by warning readers this commentary may make some uncomfortable. Yet I encourage this article to be read because flatulence is funny.
Some may attribute my choice of topic to immaturity. Naturally, I disagree. Rather I believe it is my maturity that gives me the courage to tackle such a subject.
My childhood was surrounded by the wind which, no doubt, added to my amusement of the topic. My brother, Dev, has always had trouble burping, so when he consumes a carbonated beverage you can guess where the air escapes. This problem has followed him his whole life. When reading through the Dev’s baby journals, my mom and I were not shocked to see detailed comments which mostly ended with “gas is getting worse.”
Luckily, Dev has embraced this constant air current as a part of his personality. This skill actually catapulted him to celebrity status throughout grade school. In high school it was not uncommon for me to be stopped in the hallway by a curious student asking, “Did your brother really fart for 12.58 seconds?!” I would assure them that this was the truth, I was a witness, and being reminded of the event would send me into uncontrollable laughter. I was especially happy to share the story with a fellow flatulent fanatic. (If you really want to understand what an incredible feat this was, get a stopwatch and watch 12.58 seconds tick by.)
Unfortunately, my sister, Leah, was not as accepting of our brother’s talents growing up. Unlike me, she was often disgusted and would routinely throw hard or sharp objects in his direction when the intestinal wind was released. Many family fights were fought over Dev’s inability to burp, some of which ended in Leah jumping on Dev’s neck, lucha libre style wrestling matches, and me screaming or laughing depending on the intensity of the situation.
At these times, Leah would pretend gas had never passed through her system. Like most girls though, she was a closet farter. I think most of her hatred toward my brother’s habit stemmed from her secret desire to break wind as freely as he did.
I will never forget the first time I heard Leah accidently let one slip. Ironically, she was in her closet. Even though it was about as loud as a mouse’s cough, the sound was heard and we both stared at one another until I finally broke the silence with laughter and shortly afterward she followed. Since this monumental event, Leah has laughed with me when Dev lets go, and I like to believe she has become a happier person because of it.
By now, I am sure I have at least turned my mom’s face red, but describing my family history is necessary when trying to explain my stance on this gassy matter. I do not encourage people to go out and let loose whenever they feel the urge; that would be crazy sauce (shout out to Dr. Barry). Unfortunately the event would become so frequent that maybe even I would stop laughing. What I hope the reader takes away from this article is assurance that it is OK to laugh.
The affliction of being embarrassed when anus wind is heard mostly affects the female population. I saw it in my sister and I have seen the same attitude in many other women. Most of the time when women try to act mature about passing gas they say, “It is just a biological process.” I agree, it is a biological process, so let’s join together and laugh at this hilarious biological phenomenon.
My hope is that this article may force a smile out of even the classiest readers and they too can learn to appreciate this small joke Mother Nature plays on us daily as much as I do. I am not only referring to gas, but all the humorous things that are often unfairly stereotyped as immature.
I believe the ones who don’t laugh are the people that are truly unhappy with life. I do not think that anyone can honestly say they don’t find farts funny. If you want to challenge me, send an email and I will make sure you meet my brother.