Oh shoot, you are correct (I was about to say “Oh shit”, but thought better of it in light of this thread:D).
So now we’re going to spend our time judging the intent of a fart before we decide whether to visibly/audibly disdain it? And what, exactly, does making faces or comments accomplish? If it was accidental, you’re just embarrassing the person further. And if it was intentional, you’re giving them just the audience reaction they were looking for. Either way, you’re doing nothing to prevent further activity – and you just trumped their perceived rudeness with your own. God forbid that when you go out in public, you might have to experience the presence of other people. I assume your own body emits only the aroma of a fresh spring meadow?
Jesus Christ, people. So somebody farts in public – big deal. You all must be real peaches to hang out with if you are so hell-bent on announcing what offends YOU. Politeness is about making OTHER people feel comfortable, not expecting everyone else to adjust their bodily functions to please Your Daintiness.
Lieu’s thread Ever knock a baby down with a fart? is an a good example, the fartee in question being his two-year-old daughter.
I say you give the person the benefit of the doubt; if they are cracking up becuase of it and it’s really disgusting, then yes, I say let them know and ask them to stop farting. My farts stink, I know this, that’s why I don’t fart in public.
Down here in the south, there is one word which is sometimes used to indicate one’s displeasure at the odor, and it’s happened to me a couple of times: "Gah-DAY-UM"!.
One doesn’t know if one should be proud or look for the nearest hole to crawl into.
Quasi
Yup, that is exactly what you are supposed to do (assuming that you are not rude, that is). When someone breaks wind, this is pretty much involuntary. What possible motive could you have for making them uncomfortable? Do you think that people want to have bad smells coming out of their bodies? Drawing attention to it just kind of makes you look like a cad.
This is slightly off-topic, but it was a bathroom comment:
Overheard while waiting in line in crowded women’s bathroom:
Mother: (to 4 or so y.o. daughter in stall) “Hurry up! There are people waiting!”
Little girl’s sweet voice: “Otay, mommy.” …
Mother: (Increasingly uptight voice) “Hurry up! Christ! What are you doing in there?”
Little girl: (loud, distressed, little-girl whisper) “Goin’ poopie, mommy.”
Mother: “Fer Chrissakes hurry up! And make sure you wipe properly!”
Little girl (loud, embarrassed whisper) “Otay mommy…OTAY!”
Mother: “I know you don’t wipe properly because I can tell by your underwear! Hurry up!”
Little girl: (dismayed) “Mommy! Don’t say those!”
(From the line-up, shocked silence and death-stares at the mother)
This kid’s “poopie” had more class than her mother could ever hope for, IMO. Bitch.
Sorry…as soon as I saw the title of this thread, this is what popped into mind.
Agreed. Most people who fart in public are already embarrassed about it; no need to point the finger and turn an uncomfortable situation into an actively unpleasant one. Besides, unless you are a perfect model of decorum and propriety - all day, every day - don’t go throwing stones.
Agreed. Most people who fart in public are already embarrassed about it; no need to point the finger and turn an uncomfortable situation into an actively unpleasant one. Besides, unless you are a perfect model of decorum and propriety - all day, every day - don’t go throwing stones.
It’s okay to open up the thread to include farting, and I’d like to add that the involuntary kind happen to me, especially when sneezing/coughing, which is very embarrassing. Sometimes I will make an apology, but other times, I just ignore it. In all honesty, there was no way that I could prevent them. 
On my floor at work there are two bathrooms- one new one with great ventilation, one old with sucky ventilation and a useless air deodorizer.
Every morning at 7:50, a woman from the other end of the floor (near new can) comes over to the old bathroom near my area. Newspaper in hand, she parks it in the first stall.
Near the wall closest to my team. The thin wall.
OMFD, the noises such a small person can make! It’s fucking amazing! That’s discounting the odd "Ugh"s and moans she makes.
The stench? I do not know what diet this woman is on, but I swear she must have dead rats up in there. It is horrible.
When she leaves, we can’t help but giggle a bit (while plugging our collective noses).
I’m sure she comes over to this can so no one on her “team” (ahem) gets wind of her gastrointestinal issues, but WE still have to see her on the elevator.
I agree, if it’s an accident or even if it’s questionable, you shouldn’t say something, but I’ve been in situations (as my fiance has) where the person was intentionally doing it, and not for a rise either. As I said, it’s one thing to accidently let one slip, it’s quite a different thing when everytime a co-worker comes over to your desk she let’s one rip.
We’re all saved!! Here’s the answer! They’re also working on an undergarment version!
:dubious:
Oh dear…
OK, so we’re not supposed to comment when in a public bathroom. Fine. And we’re not supposed to look. That goes without saying. And unless you’re a champion pearl diver, it’s hard to get in and out of a bathroom on one gulp of air, so at some point you’re bound to catch a whiff.
But unless you are a Hindu deity with 8 arms, it is impossible to stand at a urinal and cover your ears at the same time, so hearing things is unavoidable. Such was my problem earlier today.
I’m taking a leak, and someone is in the stall. From the sound of the belt buckle jingling, I figure they’re just finishing up. I hear the sounds of about 50 feet of toilet paper being pulled from the roll, and then the, uh, “cleaning” begins.
Not just the normal series of wipes, mind you, this person is fastidious. Obsessive, even. Maybe this guy had ass hair the consistency of steel wool, because he sounded like he was sanding a bookcase, complete with grunts, as if he had a stubborn stain or something.
Again, it’s impossible to ignore hearing this. By the time I got to the sink, he was still at it. Not even the sound of a running faucet could drown out this cacophony of cleanliness. For all I know, he’s still in there, scrubbing away. Maybe he’ll stop when he hits bone.
Skelji…LOL-L-L!!! Maybe I really am a 7th-grade boy, because this shit has me rolling on the floor. 
Well, yes, you’re supposed to pretend it didn’t happen. What’s so hard about that? If you’re absolutely compelled to hold your nose, do so discreetly.
I’m utterly floored that you make fun of people for their involuntary bodily odors.
I farted in public the other day. I was in the Cellar at Macy’s looking at bathroom scales. I bent over, and all of a sudden, BRAAAP! :o Fotunately, it wasn’t smelly, and there weren’t people directly behind me, but man, it was loud! The other people who were around ignored it, and that made me feel better.
What would you have done in that situation?
And if your eyes start to water?
Sorry. Look, I work in the medical field and am around odors pretty much all of the time. Yes, I agree we need to ignore it, especially when people have intestinal issues, but to me, it’s also important to keep a sense of humor about it. My SO once pooted after a sneeze and right afterward started scraping her shoe over the kitchen floor. Come on, that was a fart! Don’t insult my intelligence by pretending it was your shoe. I would have ignored it, but for the shoe-scraping. Damn! She pretended indignance for a short time, but then we both collapsed in laughter.
Q
Public bathrooms are for pooping and the smells that are associated with that shouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s not that hard to hit the flush AS you’re going so it goes right down. Sure, it takes some skill, wastes some water too, but it doesn’t stink as much as letting the remnants float for fifteen minutes before deciding that you’re finally done. 
Well, the rules are different with regard to intra-family farts. The other night, I was laughing at something my husband said and I farted, but the fart came out in rhythm with my laughing–BRAP BRAP BRAP BRAP! :eek: So, we both started laughing hysterically at that, but I guess I was really gassy, because I kept farting in time with my laughing. I couldn’t stop laughing and I couldn’t stop farting. I was caught in an endless loop. It was wonderful and horrible all at the same time.