# Are fart jokes universal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080 "2011-02-03T23:15:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/1 "2011-02-03T23:15:38Z")
Do they exist in every country, culture and/or language? Is there a single country, anywhere in the world, where the humor of farting does not exist? Do they have to hide in the forest to fart? Are people with irritable bowels caned in public squares? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/2 "2011-02-04T01:19:00Z")
- Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.\* From [BBC.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7536918.stm) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/3 "2011-02-04T01:47:16Z")
Just asked my eve online buddies, so yes - britain, denmark, sweden, norway, germany and australia responded with fart jokes … the finn and the pakistani were not on, but i can poll them tomorrow =) ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/4 "2011-02-04T02:41:27Z")
Here is [The Fart War](http://www.sfu.ca/~fankbone/r/fartwar.jpg), a 19th Century painting by Utagawa Kuniyoshi which, along with the Sumerian joke, shows that fart humor transcends both space and time. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/5 "2011-02-04T03:40:18Z")
> [@](#): > > **Malawi moves to ban farting** > > Malawi’s government has confirmed reports that it intends to outlaw breaking wind in public. The African nation’s justice ministry says the proposed legislation is part of a wider campaign to “mould responsible and disciplined citizens”. Local media is questioning how the proposed law will be enforced when it is so easy to blame the offence on others. > > - **BBC** [ABC News - Trusted Source of Latest News & Headlines](http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/04/3130120.htm) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/6 "2011-02-04T04:05:48Z")
Chaucer certainly thought they were hilarious - the Miller’s Tale involves a man expecting a kiss getting a fart in the face, and the Summoner’s Tale has a friar reaching for a contribution getting his hand farted on, as well as an ingenious solution to the problem of how to divide a fart by twelve. Dante also gets humorously farted on by the demonic Malebranche in the _Inferno_. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/7 "2011-02-04T04:14:08Z")
I should preface this by mentioning that Bedouins of this time period considered farting in public to be the greatest possible social disgrace committable: [The tragic tale of Abu Hasan.](http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/fart.html#historicfart) Brownie points for anybody who can tell me in what science fiction book I first read this. Was it one of the Riverworld books? I’m almost certain that it was, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/8 "2011-02-04T04:20:21Z")
ope, never ran into a fart joke in Arabic? Anyone familiar with Hebrew culture? ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/9 "2011-02-04T15:31:04Z")
One of my favorite columns from the [Master](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/363/did-a-french-vaudeville-star-once-specialize-in-trained-flatulence), in case you haven’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/10 "2011-02-04T15:37:03Z")
I can’t recall any specific Spanish fart jokes right now; growing up, schatological humor was known in my family as “caca, culo, pedo, pis” (poop, bum, fart, pee) - little kids think it’s jolly good fun simply to say the words, no more elaboration is needed. A duo which focused on songs for kids had a hit in the 80s called “caca, culo, pedo, pis” which IIRC was about how fun it is to say those words and watch the grown-ups freak out. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/11 "2011-02-04T17:38:41Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > [The tragic tale of Abu Hasan.](http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/fart.html#historicfart) Thank you! I have heard of that story but never read it. I have, though, read a similar story that ended something like: “Wasn’t there a carpet weaver’s shop in that corner once upon a time?” “Yes, but it burned down a long time ago, I think it was five years, three months and ten days after Ali farted in the market place.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/12 "2011-02-04T17:44:57Z")
I don’t remember where I saw this first, but my love for church [music](http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/games/farting-nun.html) has never been the same. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/13 "2011-02-04T20:20:48Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Thank you! I have heard of that story but never read it. I have, though, read a similar story that ended something like: > > “Wasn’t there a carpet weaver’s shop in that corner once upon a time?” > > “Yes, but it burned down a long time ago, I think it was five years, three months and ten days after Ali farted in the market place.” As I heard it, the farter is a farmer or other rustic sort called Hamad, and he’s a guest at the wedding. The punchline goes something like this: Hamad went to the graveyard, wondering who might have passed on in the many years that he had been away. He saw a grave with the name of his closest friend. This shocked him, for when he left his friend had been a young man. He went to the man who tended the graveyard, and asked, “The man whose grave is over there, can you tell me, when did he die?” The attendant thought for a moment, smiled, and said, “Oh yes, Sir, I can tell you. It was exactly twelve years, four months, and ten days after Hamad’s fart!” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/14 "2011-02-05T13:40:06Z")
I am currently reading _The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night_ > **[The Book of the Thousand and One Nights (Vol 3) (Thousand Nights & One...](https://www.amazon.com/Book-Thousand-One-Nights-Night/dp/041504541X)** > > The Book of the Thousand and One Nights (Vol 3) (Thousand Nights & One Night) \[Mardrus, J.C., Mathers, E.P., Mardrus, J.C., Mathers, E.P.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Book of the Thousand and One Nights (Vol 3) (Thousand... It’s _Arabian Nights_, but not the bowdlerized version we usually give to kids. It has all of the sex, violence, racism, sexism, and dirty jokes left in. And yes, there are a few fart jokes. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/15 "2011-02-05T14:15:54Z")
No. In space no one can hear you fart. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/16 "2011-02-05T14:57:23Z")
It’s not considered funny in [Malawi](http://www.afrik-news.com/article18831.html). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/17 "2011-02-05T21:08:59Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > In space no one can hear you fart. [Sure](http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/chiefjayson/fart_in_space_suit.jpg) [you](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=565017&highlight=fart+propulsion) [can](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503796&highlight=fart+propulsion). ---
**Author:** ![A\_Man\_A\_Plan\_A\_Canal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/839c29/32.png) [@A\_Man\_A\_Plan\_A\_Canal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Man_A_Plan_A_Canal)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/18 "2011-02-06T02:38:47Z")
Shakespeare did (at least) one too: Macbeth, Act I Scene 3. Check it out, Lines 11 and 13 below. The witches (each in their turn) delivers the line, and the actor (each in her turn) lifts up a buttcheek and…pfffft! Get it? The farts will propel the Second Witch, in her sieve, sailing to cause trouble for the sailor’s wife’s husband, who’s captain (“master”) of a vessel named the Tiger. AMAPAC First Witch 1 Where hast thou been, sister? ``` Second Witch ``` 2 Killing swine. ``` Third Witch ``` 3 Sister, where thou? ``` First Witch ``` 4 A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap, 5 And munch’d, and munch’d, and munch’d. “Give me!” quoth I: 6 “Aroint thee, witch!” the rump-fed ronyon cries. 7 Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ the Tiger: 8 But in a sieve I’ll thither sail, 9 And, like a rat without a tail, 10 I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do. ``` Second Witch ``` 11 I’ll give thee a wind. ``` First Witch ``` 12 Thou’rt kind. ``` Third Witch ``` 13 And I another. ``` First Witch ``` 14 I myself have all the other, 15 And the very ports they blow, 16 All the quarters that they know 17 I’ the shipman’s card. 18 I will drain him dry as hay: 19 Sleep shall neither night nor day 20 Hang upon his penthouse lid; 21 He shall live a man forbid: 22 Weary se’nnights nine times nine 23 Shall he dwindle, peak and pine: 24 Though his bark cannot be lost, 25 Yet it shall be tempest-toss’d. 26 Look what I have. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/19 "2011-02-06T02:55:47Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [ABC News - Trusted Source of Latest News & Headlines](http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/04/3130120.htm) > [@](#): > > Local media is questioning how the proposed law will be enforced when it is so easy to blame the offence on others. He who smelt it, dealt it? ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080/20 "2011-02-06T04:22:02Z")
I can’t think of any Chinese fart joke off hand. This is not to say school boys don’t find farting and other bodily functions amusing under the right circumstances, of course. However, I don’t think it is nearly as common as in English culture. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fart-jokes-universal/570080.md?page=2)