National Fart Day – February 5, 2025

History of National Fart Day

For centuries, before etiquette was established, farting was considered normal. Cultures differ across countries, and every nation has its set of norms and traditions, but somehow, a globalized system of etiquette was created with which everyone is familiar. Farting, or the proper term ‘flatulence,’ is one such example.

The Greek historian Herodotus revealed that one man’s fart led to the downfall of King Apries of Egypt in 569 B.C. When a mutiny arose within his army, Apries sent General Amasis to quell it. Instead, the rebels crowned Amasis king, causing Apries to send his advisor, Patarbemis, next. Amasis’ response was a fart which he told Patarbemis to deliver to Apries. More than a little offended upon receiving this news, Apries ordered Patarbemis’ nose and ears to be chopped off, the final straw that pushed the masses to dethrone him in a mob, reinforcing Amasis’ reign.

Talking about farts leading to major conflicts, according to “The Jewish War” written by Josephus, during a Passover celebration in 44 B.C., a Roman soldier exposed his naked backside, farted, and spoke some inappropriate words to a group of Jews, who reacted by stoning all the soldiers in sight. The soldiers called back up, and before long, a riot had broken, leading to the death of 10,000 people, mostly Jews.

Member of British Parliament Henry Ludlow farted during a debate in 1607, and this event has become part of folklore, inspiring poetry such as “The Censure of the Parliament Fart.” In 1781, Benjamin Franklin wrote “Fart Proudly,” an essay he only ever shared with his friends, including chemist Joseph Priestley, challenging them to invent a potion for good-smelling farts. A particularly hilarious excerpt reads: “…A few stems of asparagus eaten, shall give our urine a disagreeable odor; and a pill of turpentine no bigger than a pea, shall bestow on it the pleasing Smell of Violets. And why should it be thought more impossible, to find means of making a perfume of our wind than of our water?” In the late 1800s, when professional farter Joseph Pujol found out he could inhale air through his rectum and exhale it like a burp, he converted it into entertainment, touring the world to showcase his backside — blowing out candles, playing the flute, smoking cigarettes. Going by ‘Le Petomane,’ he even outsold Sarah Bernhardt, a famous actress of that time, and was the highest-paid entertainer at the Moulin Rouge.

Farting could even have played a part in an event as historical as World War II! Medical reports reveal that Adolf Hitler suffered from uncontrollable farting and cramps caused by his long-term vegetarianism. In 1936, Berlin doctor Theodor Morell prescribed Dr. Koester’s Anti-Gas pills, containing poisons Strychnine and Atropine in small amounts. These poisons could cause edginess, insomnia, and emotional dysfunction. By 1941, Hitler was reportedly taking about 150 pills a week. The adverse side effects of this drug weren’t discovered until six months before his suicide in 1945.

Meanwhile, Bernard Clemmens of London holds the Guinness World Record for the longest butt burp at two minutes, 42 seconds. We simply love fun and quirky holidays. National Fart Day has been observed on February 5 since 2008, as the day to stop suppressing accumulated gas and just relax. It is amazing how farting has so many different holidays dedicated to it. It must mean that the average human secretly craves the freedom to fart as they please despite the established social rules. It is actually unhealthy to hold back a fart because it leads to severe discomfort and pressure in the intestines that can trigger abdominal distension. So release that fart today.