No matter your gender or age, we all share one thing in common: We fart.
Though it’s still considered taboo in many cultures, at the end of the day, it’s good for your health. Let’s take an unapologetic look at everything you should know about intestinal gas.
Humans fart up to 25 times per day
The average person farts about 12 to 25 times per day. It may not feel like you break that much wind each day, but that’s just because you’re not aware you’re farting.
In fact, flatulence occurs at all hours of the day, and night. That’s right, you do indeed fart while you sleep.
Humans produce up to 1.5 litres (or 0.39 gallons) of gas per day
If you’re concerned about a gas shortage, it’s clear you shouldn’t be. (Okay, bad joke.)
People expel between 0.5 and 1.5 litres (0.13 and 0.39 gallons) of gas from their bottoms each day, equal to between 182.5 and 547.5 litres (48 and 145 gallons) of gas per year.
That’s enough to fill a small pool.
Less than 1% of all farts smell
Contrary to public opinion, not all gas that’s passed smells bad. In fact, less than 1% of farts are stinky. The rest of the time, flatulence is practically unnoticeable.
Related: Why do your farts smell that bad?
Hydrogen sulfide is responsible for the bad odours
Chemically speaking, most farts are composed of hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). Certain gases, in particular hydrogen sulfide (H2S), produce a smell of rotten eggs. The human nose can easily detect even small quantities of this gas.
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