# Are children conditioned to laugh at Farts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259 "2001-10-18T17:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/1 "2001-10-18T17:52:42Z")
OK in all seriousness, Are children actually conditioned to laugh at **Farts**? Case in point: My nephew is just learning how to talk, he is 25 months old and he says certain words and can form basic sentences. He is pretty much normal. And the other day I was over at my sisters house and my brother-in-law let one fly and the nephew burst out laughing…Why I wonder? Is it the sound? Is it conditioning through parents laughter [if they do laugh]…? Case in Point # 2: I was a pre-school teacher for close to four years during college and I was in the toddler room. When on occasion I or another teacher or a student happened to break wind audible enough to be heard by a two year old 99% of the time they would laugh histerically. The small percentage that didn’t laugh would at least have a smile pastered across their face. Any ideas on why or how this phenomenon has developed in humans??? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/2 "2001-10-18T19:21:39Z")
Non-breeder checking in. I have heard from seemignly reputable sources that infants often grin or giggle when they have gas. I have no idea why they do this, but if true, it seem to follow that they would hold on to this response as they grow. All I can find online is [this](http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/features/kids/friends.html) anecdote: > [@](#): > > My daughter had smiled at me for the first time in her young life, and I was trapped by baby love, like so many mothers before me. I knew at once what it meant. She had recognized me and with her first smile had let me know that she knew exactly who I was. > > As soon as I could, I called my mother and told her the exciting news – my daughter had smiled at me. > > “Oh, that was just gas,” she informed me. “She’s way too young to be smiling.” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/3 "2001-10-18T19:28:16Z")
My WAG is that we human find flatulence funny because it offers such an ironic counterpoint to the pretentious eloquence that emits from our other end. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/4 "2001-10-18T19:42:20Z")
Dick Van Dyke was explaining to Ritchie’s class one episode what humor was… that it was something unexpected but comprehendable. If someone was to walk up and intentionally fart in my face, that’s not funny. If it eeks out during a business meeting or when my little daughter sneezes, it’s freakin’ hilarious. I’ve posted this before butt… Two farts walk into a bar… which is funny because you’d figure the second one would have seen the first one do it. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/5 "2001-10-18T19:45:19Z")
To emit some pretentious eloquence for a moment, the most basic form of humor concerns the ridiculousness and unpredictability of the human body. I once wrote a line that I think would make a good sig if I ever got around to adding one: “The tragedy of the human condition is that we are aware of our own mortality; the comedy of the human condition is that we are aware of our own nakedness.” Being a human animal is silly. No matter how hard we try to be serious, purposeful beings, we still eat, burp, poop, and fart. Even the smallest children recognize that there’s something funny about emitting strange, uncontrollable, foul-smelling, noisy gases from your rear end. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/6 "2001-10-18T20:02:05Z")
I can’t offer any information, but I think this would make an _excellent_ topic for a Ph.D. thesis! ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/7 "2001-10-18T20:09:24Z")
My guess (based on observation of two kids) is that it’s funny to babies because of the unexpected noise and possibly the silly expression on your face when it happens. My daughter just started preschool (she’s 4) and in the few months she’s been there she has learned about “potty words” and learned that they are naughty but funny. I suspect this comes from other kids with older siblings. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/8 "2001-10-18T20:30:06Z")
WOW ok it seems like there may be some kind of human ingrained …‘something’…that makes kids possibly conditioned to laugh or smile whilst farting. I think the word itself **fart** is odd. I wonder where it came from. I mean its not like it is short for flatulence. I remember as a kid laughing histerically when a friend or family member broke wind. I can only use some experience I have had with toddlers, to surmise that it is an ingrained response to laugh. I have seen children, with no siblings, at a very young age, snicker and laugh at farts. Its funny and interesting. As for the post regarding a PhD on the subject… It would be intersting, but hardly doctoral worthy, but who knows. Arizona State University has awarded a doctor who wrote his dissertaion on Garbage. Go Figure. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/9 "2001-10-19T04:56:22Z")
Could be ingrained. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/10 "2001-10-19T05:24:43Z")
Reading this subject, my first thought was, heck **I** still laugh at farts, and I’m 27! Heck with the kids, I have no idea why **I** think they’re funny. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/11 "2001-10-19T12:12:34Z")
Phlosphr, are you suggesting we “cut a flat” instead? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/12 "2001-10-19T12:22:18Z")
> [@](#): > > . I think the word itself fart is odd. I wonder where it came from. I mean its not like it is short for flatulence. It’s pretty clearly a case of onomatopeia – a word that sounds like the sound (like “burp”, or “pop”). Note that the German word is “furz”, pronounced “furts”. (In a comic strip I once saw the sound of an engine coming to life with a backfire rendered as “FARP”. Same idea. FARP certainly isn’t short for anything, but it _does_ sound kinda like an engine backfire.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/13 "2001-10-19T12:49:23Z")
George Carlin quote: Farts are funny. Farts are shit without the mess. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/14 "2001-10-19T13:09:18Z")
Definition of “surprise”: A fart with a lump in it. A friend of mine is freaked out by things that come out of his body. His wife told me that he had a “surprise”. He took off his tighty-whities, holding them in both hands, looked down at the small bolus… and then vomited in his underwear. I had a roommate who thought flatulence was the funniest thing in the world. I don’t find farts amusing. Although it would be fun to call someone “trumpet butt”. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/15 "2001-10-19T13:31:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Originally posted by CalMeacham \*\* > > It’s pretty clearly a case of onomatopeia – a word that sounds like the sound (like “burp”, or “pop”). Note that the German word is “furz”, pronounced “furts”. If onomatopoeia is a factor then surely two words are required to describe this particular activity, viz. the almost silent fart _pffffft_ and the loudly audible fart _brrmmpp_. The French word for fart is _le pet_ (note the masculine) and the verb is _peter_. There is no way that _le pet_ can adequately portray the unforgettable sound of _brrmmpp_, although _le pet_ and _pffffft_ can be considered synonymous for the purposes of this argument, even though the former is indicative of a much shorter Active Fart Elapsed Time. Similarly the German _furz_, also masculine, seems to partially reproduce _pffffft_ without addressing the magnificently stentorian _brrmmpp_ sound often heard in elevators and my lavatory. The English language is a powerful tool for international communication, and it seems churlish to criticise its shortcomings, but it does seem strange that there is only one word available to describe two distinct sounds. Something should be done about this before Spanish or Mandarin Chinese is adopted as the International Language of choice, merely because they are superior to English in Fart Categorisation. Incidentally, according to my dictionary Italians don’t fart. How refreshing to come across a nation of people to whom _brrmmpp_ and _pffffft_ are alien concepts. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/16 "2001-10-19T13:42:04Z")
In my travels around Europe, I have come across a language that **does** have two words for farting. One of them is goooze (that’s how it sounds, I don’t know the spelling) which describes the ‘silent but deadly’ kind. I **think** the language is Hungarian. Come on Dopers - spell (smell?) it out! ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/17 "2001-10-19T14:24:06Z")
Perhaps it is onomatopaeia. Stemming from a language or dialect (Latin? olde English?). To them, could it have sound like “fffffffaaaaaaarrrrt”? Every language has its own “ear”. That is, a sound like a gunshot, fart or explosion, is different to the listener depending on his/her language. Comic strips for instance, depict sounds differently depending on the language of origin. I can’t seem to find a cite for this, but I remember reading about it some time ago. How are “blam” or “pow” in an English/American cartoon depicted in a German, French, or Japanese comic strip? (I expect references to “fart” are scarce in comic strips.) ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/18 "2001-10-19T14:44:06Z")
[hijack] (just remember, **Nutmagnet** started me off) i read japanese-translatedto-chinese comics sometimes, and i notice that a lot of them have **BAKOOM** to indicate an explosion. just a thought… and another thing: in chinese, the characters for fart sound absolutely NOTHING like farts (well, maybe the squeaky little ones). it sounds something like “Pee”, written like the chinese character for “butt”. an interesting bit of trivia to impress your drinking friends with, brought to you by Cougarfang[sup]TM[/sup] 😃 [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/19 "2001-10-19T14:54:30Z")
The etymology of “fart” is given thus: > [@](#): > > [Common Teut. and Indo-germanic: OE. \*_feortan_ = OHG. _ferzan_ (MHG. _verzen_, and with ablaut variants _vurzen_, _varzen_, mod.G. _farzen_), ON. _freta_: OTeut. \*_fertan_: OAryan \*_perd-_ (Skr. _pard_. _prd_, Gr. _perdew_ , Lith. _pérdzu_, Russ. _perdet_´; the L. _pedere_ is unconnected).] Quite the distinguished ancestry for a word - but not surprising since it describes an event that’s been in the world since the first multicellular being developed the ana sphincter. I don’t have my English\<\>Italian dictionary with me, but I’m sure there is a word for “fart” - probably similar to the French and Spanish words, since it’s a Romance language. Dunno about the onomatopoeic sound, however. I’m sure there must be one. Are we conditioned to laugh? I don’t know. I have anecdotal evidence from **Valkyrie** that we’re not - when she was in grade school, her family was one where flatulence was not acceptable. So she didn’t find out about it until going to school and one of her classmates let a biggun rip. She collapsed in helpless laughter and couldn’t even explain to the teacher why she was laughing _because she didn’t know the word for it_. Of course then when she discovered the word, she spelled it F-O-T on the girls’ room wall. My wife, the southern New England cut-up. Now she just yells at me when I pass gas. Like _hers_ don’t stink. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2001, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259/20 "2001-10-19T15:08:13Z")
I was all set to throw in a paragraph about how many good quotes in the OED were sig material, and looking up “fart” gave me a new one. Anyway, here it is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-children-conditioned-to-laugh-at-farts/88259.md?page=2)