The Conversation

From the Sumerians to Shakespeare to Twain: why fart jokes never get old

Author: The Conversation

English caricaturist Richard Newton's 1798 cartoon depicts John Bull farting on the face of King George III. Library of Congress

Farting is a universal human experience, as routine as eating, breathing and sleeping. And it seems to be a cross-cultural and trans-historical fact that passing gas, at least in most social contexts, is rude and...

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