Is it illegal to fart in public?

[copperwindow]

Can I fart in public? Let's say Im in some public building, like a court room or on line in a town hall and I start letting out some really loud, stinky farts. Can I be asked to leave? And if I don't, can I be arrested? If so, what would be the charge?

[Richard Parker]

Can I be asked to leave?

Of course.

And if I don't, can I be arrested? If so, what would be the charge?

I wonder if they could get you for disorderly conduct. Many disorderly conduct statutes include both noise and offensive actions, so they'd even have two theories of prosecution. There'd need to be some proof of intent, as it were, like yelling, "Take this bitches!" or "Let 'er Rrrip."

[Morgenstern]

By Copperwindow Can I fart in public…like a court room…can I be arrested?
The bailiff would probably respond “Mornin’ your honor” without looking up.

[lieu]

Can I fart in public? Hang on and I'll check...


That would be a "yes".

[Hypno-Toad]

Odor in the court!

Ah, nothing like going all the way back to the 3rd grade.

[Thudlow Boink]

Hang on and I'll check...


That would be a "yes".Okay, I gotta ask:

How did you go about checking whether copperwindow could fart in public?

[lieu]

I figured that by "Can I..." the question was not "Can copperwindow..." but "Can I/we/he/she... maybe even thee".

I went out in public, performed an experiment, returned and duly posted the results. Boy, can I ever.

[Santo Rugger]

<snip>
I went out in public, performed an experiment, returned and duly posted the results. Boy, can I ever.

I just about cleared out a bus last month in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It was great, the bus attendant got out of her seat to open all the windows, and the driver didn't even shut the doors when he pulled away from the stop. People were fanning their faces, burying their noses in their sleves, etc. I had to do the same, so they didn't think it was me! :D I upset around 50 people, but I wasn't arrested, asked to leave, or any of the above.

FWIW, I held it as long as I could. Guess I ate something that didn't agree with me. Or anybody else on the bus.

Thinking of Brazil reminds me, I still have to get back with Shecky...

[Johnny Hildo]

For what it's worth, I can remember reading about a court case in which a woman sued her co-worker because he was constantly farting around her. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that although his actions were definitely piggy, they fell within the boundaries of free speech.

[copperwindow]

For what it's worth, I can remember reading about a court case in which a woman sued her co-worker because he was constantly farting around her. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that although his actions were definitely piggy, they fell within the boundaries of free speech.
Could you cite this?

[Zsofia]

Sometimes I cut one out in the stacks and then desert it for others to wander into. I do hope that's not a federal offense. (It is county property, however...)

[Johnny Hildo]

Could you cite this?

I want to say I read it in either News of the Weird or one of the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books. It's been awhile.

[anson2995]

I want to say I read it in either News of the Weird or one of the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books. It's been awhile.

Normally I'd laugh at someone citing either of those as a reliable source, but I happen to recall reading about the case in the slightly more reputable Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973582,00.html).

Some folks just can't get along. There, in a grocery store in suburban Portland, Ore., was cashier Tom Morgan, more or less minding his own business. And there also was cashier Randy Maresh, who seemed to delight in tormenting Morgan. At length Morgan got fed up, hired a lawyer and sued Maresh for $100,000 in damages. The complaint: Maresh "willfully and maliciously inflicted severe mental stress and humiliation . . . by continually, intentionally and repeatedly passing gas directed at the plaintiff." Not only that: Maresh would "hold it and walk funny to get to me" before expressing himself.

The defense countered with the argument that breaking wind is a form of free speech, and that the right to flatulence was protected, in theory if not in so many words, by the First Amendment. After listening patiently to both sides, the judge concluded that the unusual form of aggressive expression was "juvenile and boorish," but he could find no Oregon law prohibiting it. Case dismissed.

The case took place in 1987. The story was published in 1991 in an article on "the tide of petty American litigiousness."

[Duke of Rat]

I fart in your general direction!

[BwanaBob]

A friend of mine perfected the art of non-chalant audible public farting, and has never been arrested.

His masterpiece was ripping an enormous blast while walking in the departure terminal at LaGuardia airport. So loud, it could be heard over the din of the on-going activities at a distance. A couple of pilots who were sitting, waiting for their gate to become active, looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

My friend didn't even break stride.

So rip away!

[Rigamarole]

The defense countered with the argument that breaking wind is a form of free speech, and that the right to flatulence was protected, in theory if not in so many words, by the First Amendment. After listening patiently to both sides, the judge concluded that the unusual form of aggressive expression was "juvenile and boorish," but he could find no Oregon law prohibiting it. Case dismissed.

You've got to fight for your right to flatulence!

[vetbridge]

can I be arrested?
"OK, feet back and spread 'em. . .er, no. Just stand there.".

[Chief Pedant]

Can I fart in public? Let's say Im in some public building, like a court room or on line in a town hall and I start letting out some really loud, stinky farts. Can I be asked to leave? And if I don't, can I be arrested? If so, what would be the charge?

I believe it was Miss Manners who delicately addressed the whole issue. She coined (as far as I know) the term 'polite fiction' (that it never happened) which I have cherished ever since as the proper reaction to this sort of thing.

Since it is a serious disease state to be unable to pass gas, and since both the sound and smell are arguably uncontrollable, only common decency stands between the flatulent offender and the petulant in his proximity. But of course that applies to many things besides ones with scatologic overtones.

[Shodan]

Maresh "willfully and maliciously inflicted severe mental stress and humiliation . . . by continually, intentionally and repeatedly passing gas directed at the plaintiff." Not only that: Maresh would "hold it and walk funny to get to me" before expressing himself.
Well, now we know lieu's name IRL.

Regards,
Shodan

[Kimstu]

I believe it was Miss Manners who delicately addressed the whole issue. She coined (as far as I know) the term 'polite fiction' (that it never happened) which I have cherished ever since as the proper reaction to this sort of thing.

While I agree that Miss Manners' characterization of fart etiquette as "polite fiction" is brilliant, she definitely didn't coin the term. It appears in lots of pre-Miss Manners sources, including this 1953 article (http://www.jstor.org/view/00031224/di974176/97p0475n/0) "Friends, Enemies, and the Polite Fiction", by Tom Burns, American Sociological Review 18, 6, 1953, 654-662 (on JSTOR).

I don't know how far back the term goes, but I suspect it's much older than 1953.

[Kimstu]

In fact, "polite fiction" is as least as old as 1873, appearing in a letter (http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/etexts/E000333.htm#X03) from a correspondent of the writer Samuel Butler:

You only yawn when you are in the company of people who bore you, and a yawn is always the result of a sly suggestion to your muscles; it is only a polite fiction to call it an involuntary action--it is a deliberate hint.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

You've got to fight for your right to flatulence!
I gotta believe you deliberately screwed up the punchline here.

Daniel

[lieu]

While I'd imagine an accurate answer to the specifics of your question may depend on the particular jurisdiction in which you propose to engage in a public disturbance, there is an interesting discussion here (http://law.jrank.org/pages/973/Deviance-Relationship-between-deviance-crime.html) on the relationship between deviance and crime that I came across in pursuit of an answer, if you're interested.
To a large extent, criminology and studies of deviance have developed along separate tracks although they show much overlap. Criminologists have typically limited themselves to issues about legality, crime, or crime-related phenomena. Students of deviance, on the other hand, have studied crime as well as a wider range of behaviors or conditions that are deviant by one or another of the definitions reviewed but are not necessarily illegal, such as suicide, alcoholism, homosexuality, mentally disordered behaviors, stuttering, and even such behaviors as public nose picking or flatulence, sectarian religious behaviors, and body mutilation. Hence, it is difficult to distinguish criminology clearly from studies of deviance (Bader et al.).

Many criminologists concede that illegal acts are not fundamentally different from legal but deviant acts, except by the fact of illegality itself, which is largely an arbitrary designation by legal functionaries. At the same time, students of deviance readily acknowledge that many deviant acts are also illegal and they have found data about crime especially useful because it is more systematic than most data concerning legal forms of deviance. Recognizing this overlap is obvious among those deviance scholars who employ a legalistic definition of deviance, but almost every comprehensive treatment of deviant behavior, regardless of the definition used, includes a subsection on criminal acts that are also deviant. Furthermore, both camps have raised similar questions and have come to share a common set of theories for explaining the phenomena in their domains. Among other issues, criminologists as well as students of deviance want to explain why the acts they study are deviant or criminal; they want to describe and explain the distribution, frequency, prevalence, and change in the occurrence of various criminal or deviant acts; they want to explain why and how criminal or deviant acts are committed; they want to explain how social groups manage and respond to crime and deviance and how people who are accused or guilty of crime or deviance respond to being accused or managed; and they want to understand how criminal or deviant phenomena affect and are affected by other aspects of social life.

More in the article... a worthwhile read.

[Uncommon Sense]

True fart story from just last week!!!

A big, burly, beer bellied, biker type guy with tons of tattoos is sleeping on a plastic pool-side chair, one of them hard molded plastic jobbies. He's sort of in an upright sitting position with his head and neck resting on a towel.
There were a lot of people around.
He'd been drinking Blatz beer all day.
He's in a deep sleep.
He started to let one loose and actually woke himself up. It was one of them reverberating jack-hammer-pounding type numbers that can only be duplicated under very close, exacting conditions. Everyone's eyes were already fixed on him by the time he woke up and noticed the sound was coming from his own ass.
He sheepishly opened his eyes while the flatulescent symphony continued, unabated, and not caring that the rest of us were choking back tears of laughter.
The funniest part was when my son poked his head out of the pool and said, "Daddy!!, What was that noise?!?!?" in the loudest voice a child of seven could muster. That did it, the whole place was in tears.
Where's a video camera when you need one.

[Chief Pedant]

In fact, "polite fiction" is as least as old as 1873, appearing in a letter (http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/etexts/E000333.htm#X03) from a correspondent of the writer Samuel Butler:
Thanks for the tidbit. Blame me and not Judith Martin for crediting her for coining the use of the term for farting. I was on a Mobile PDA killing time at the airport and unable to due my usual due diligence. The column I remember was many (15 or 20?) years back. Much longer than the 2 or 3 minutes back I can remember without my computer.

[Freezair SilverEye]

For what it's worth, I can remember reading about a court case in which a woman sued her co-worker because he was constantly farting around her. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that although his actions were definitely piggy, they fell within the boundaries of free speech.

I've heard of talking out of your ass, but that's a new one... :D

[Sapo]

For what it's worth, I can remember reading about a court case in which a woman sued her co-worker because he was constantly farting around her. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that although his actions were definitely piggy, they fell within the boundaries of free speech.
Is that what they mean by "speaking from both sides of your mouth"?

[Lust4Life]

I was at a party one time where I had a reserve of gas (we call it wind over here )but was desperately trying to seduce a female guest .
There was an aquaintance of mine who was also trying to get off with this girl but his plan of attack was to come over to our group at intervals,display his sparkling wit for a few minutes and then move on to another group only to return ten or so minutes later.

Every time he came over I let a "silent but deadly "one go .
The girl pretended not to notice (I mean we're British dammit)the first ,second and third times but on his fourth visit she exploded(must have been all that gas) and told him to go away in most unladylike terms,words to the effect of "why dont you leave the room in short jerky movements ",I of course ,playing the part of the innocent ,reasonable bystander advised him to use the toilet.

I'm not proud of myself ,it was a shameful piece of behaviour on my part but to this day I enjoy the memory of the hurt look on his face when she started shouting at him.
Serves him right though.

[msmith537]

For what it's worth, I can remember reading about a court case in which a woman sued her co-worker because he was constantly farting around her. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying that although his actions were definitely piggy, they fell within the boundaries of free speech.

As an accomplished fartist, I would be devestated if I couldn't perform my assmusic.

[Queen Bruin]

As an accomplished fartist, I would be devestated if I couldn't perform my assmusic.
I prefer the term fartiste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane).

[Martini Enfield]

My understanding is that deliberately farting on someone could be considered Assault in the state of Queensland:

According to my copy of Carter's Criminal Law of Queensland (Thirteenth Edition) (bolding mine):



Any person who strikes, touches, or moves, or otherwise applies force of any kind to, the person of another, either directly or indirectly, without the other person's consent... is said to assault that other person, and the act is called assault.

In this section, "Applies Force" includes the case of applying heat, light, electrical force, gas, odour or any other substance or thing whatever if applied in such a degree as to cause injury or personal discomfort.

You could also make a case for "Common Nuisance":



Any person who, without lawful justification or excuse, the proof of which lies on the person, does any act, or omits to do any act with with respect to any property under the person's control, by which act or omission dangers is caused to the property or comfort of the public, or the public are obstructed in the exercise or enjoyment of any right common to all Her Majesty's subjects, and by which injury is caused to the person of some person; is guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment for two years.

The doctrine of De Minimus Non Curat Lex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis) (loosely translated: "The Law does not concern itself with trivialities"), would make it extremely difficult to bring a successful prosecution, however, unless there were extraordinary circumstances. Undue speculation upon the nature of which, however, would only serve to lower the tone of the thread whilst adding little of academic value, IMHO. ;)

So, in answer to the OP: In Queensland, you could be arrested for Assault and Common Nuisance, but a court would, in all likely, throw the case out for being a complete waste of everybody's time.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, your results may vary, etc. You get the idea.

[Chief Pedant]

I prefer the term fartiste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane).

About 12. More than I thought.

[Beware of Doug]

A friend of mine perfected the art of non-chalant audible public farting, and has never been arrested.

His masterpiece was ripping an enormous blast while walking in the departure terminal at LaGuardia airport. So loud, it could be heard over the din of the on-going activities at a distance. A couple of pilots who were sitting, waiting for their gate to become active, looked at each other and then burst out laughing.Proof positive, if proof were needed, that aviation is still a man's world.

[medstar]

Proof positive, if proof were needed, that aviation is still a man's world.

Has anyone noticed if babies and/or toddlers fart as much as adults? I realize they do it at the worst possible time, but I'd like to think that they can't produce the volume or the sound as much as adults do.

[Clothahump]

Has anyone noticed if babies and/or toddlers fart as much as adults? I realize they do it at the worst possible time, but I'd like to think that they can't produce the volume or the sound as much as adults do.

You might want to rethink that. (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1587439435)