# Can you kill someone with farts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972 "2004-10-13T06:17:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/1 "2004-10-13T06:17:10Z")
Say you have twenty people crammed in an elevator whose ventilation system is not functioning. All twenty people all fart simultaneously, filling the air with the putrid stench. Could the build up of various gasses that would be in the room be sufficient to cause bodily harm to people breathing in the noxious fumes? As in, would it harm them more than suffocation/lack of oxygen would? ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/2 "2004-10-13T07:27:21Z")
I’m positive that i read a story where this happened a few years ago. I believe it was in the Darwin Awards. A particularly gassy man was apparently sleeping in a very small room with poor ventilation, and died of “Methane Poisoning” from his own farts. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/3 "2004-10-13T07:44:35Z")
I believe this is related: [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/economic/antislav.htm](http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/economic/antislav.htm) In the link above, it says that the stench of a slave ship could be smelt from up to 10 miles away :eek: However, other websites state that the slaves didn’t die from the stench, but rather from diseases like dysenteria and smallpox. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/4 "2004-10-13T07:47:59Z")
[slight hijack] On a related note, do farts carry bacteria from the bowels out into the world, Assuming you’re bare-ass naked of course. Would these bacteria then potentially multiply etc and cause illnesses? [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/5 "2004-10-13T09:23:45Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I’m positive that i read a story where this happened a few years ago. I believe it was in the Darwin Awards. A particularly gassy man was apparently sleeping in a very small room with poor ventilation, and died of “Methane Poisoning” from his own farts. That myth is addressed by [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/humor/follies/methane.htm). > [@](#): > > Disabuse yourself of any notion that such a death occurred. Not only don’t any bona fide news accounts detailing this bucket-kicking exist, but it would be impossible for anyone to die in such a situation. The gas expelled from the body isn’t poisonous; it wouldn’t kill anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/6 "2004-10-13T11:52:45Z")
> [@One And Only Wanderers](#): > > [slight hijack] > > On a related note, do farts carry bacteria from the bowels out into the world, Assuming you’re bare-ass naked of course. Would these bacteria then potentially multiply etc and cause illnesses? > > [/slight hijack] I’m pretty sure I read a thread once in which Qadgop said “yes indeedy”. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/7 "2004-10-13T11:59:02Z")
\*\* The stench of many farts may not kill you but you could well wish it had!\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/8 "2004-10-13T14:34:32Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > \*\* > The stench of many farts may not kill you but you could well wish it had!\*\* This line is so much funnier if read aloud in your best pirate voice! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/9 "2004-10-13T15:19:53Z")
> [@InvidiousCourgette](#): > > That myth is addressed by [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/humor/follies/methane.htm). > > > [@](#): > > > > The gas expelled from the body isn’t poisonous; it wouldn’t kill anyone. Snopes kinda dropped the ball here. Probably no one ever died from farts (yet), but a gas doesn’t have to be _poisonous_ to kill people. It only has to displace oxygen. Nitrogen is perfectly nontoxic–78% of the air we breathe is made up of it, after all. But if you get enough of a concentration where it pushes out the oxygen, then you’ll pass out and eventually die. ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/10 "2004-10-13T15:37:57Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Snopes kinda dropped the ball here. Probably no one ever died from farts (yet), but a gas doesn’t have to be _poisonous_ to kill people. It only has to displace oxygen. Nitrogen is perfectly nontoxic–78% of the air we breathe is made up of it, after all. But if you get enough of a concentration where it pushes out the oxygen, then you’ll pass out and eventually die. Snopes dropping the ball! No, if anyone did it was me. 🙂 I was trying not to quote the entire article, as I understand that is frowned upon. Anyway, a further snippet from said article: > [@](#): > > As for the room’s filling up with bodily emissions that somehow “used up all the oxygen” and resulted in the sleeper’s dying of suffocation instead of poisoning, the volume of air that would have to be replaced for this scenario to be real is simply way too large. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/11 "2004-10-13T17:04:46Z")
**OAOW:** _On a related note, do farts carry bacteria from the bowels out into the world, Assuming you’re bare-ass naked of course._ Well, smells are molecules, not cells, right? So just because you smell an odor doesn’t mean that you’re in contact with any of the bacteria where it’s coming from. However, it would make sense that intestinal gases would expel a bit of bacteria-ridden fecal matter along with the stinky air. So, my guess would be that if you can only **smell** the fart, it’s likely not a health hazard, but if you can **feel** it, it might be. Eeew, gross. Why on earth did I join this conversation? ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/12 "2004-10-13T18:17:42Z")
I don’t know the answer to the OP but I can say that an extensive program of experimentation has been underway for some time here at my office. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/13 "2004-10-13T18:53:13Z")
I work where we test vehicles in an enclosed space. There is a toxic gas decection system in place. One day a tech actually was able to it set off by aiming directly into the sensor. Then the safety dept had to come down to re-set the system, made for an amusing incident report. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/14 "2004-10-13T18:58:41Z")
> [@Keweenaw](#): > > I work where we test vehicles in an enclosed space. There is a toxic gas decection system in place. One day a tech actually was able to it set off by aiming directly into the sensor. I can see this being the basis for a whole new line of electronic underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/15 "2004-10-13T20:26:18Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > I can see this being the basis for a whole new line of electronic underwear. [Been done](http://www.under-tec.com/). Charcoal / electronics. Same thing. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/16 "2004-10-13T23:00:06Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > Say you have twenty people crammed in an elevator whose ventilation system is not functioning. All twenty people all fart simultaneously, filling the air with the putrid stench. Just be sure that you don’t light a match! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/17 "2004-10-14T07:04:40Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > **OAOW:** _On a related note, do farts carry bacteria from the bowels out into the world, Assuming you’re bare-ass naked of course._ > > Well, smells are molecules, not cells, right? So just because you smell an odor doesn’t mean that you’re in contact with any of the bacteria where it’s coming from. However, it would make sense that intestinal gases would expel a bit of bacteria-ridden fecal matter along with the stinky air. > > So, my guess would be that if you can only **smell** the fart, it’s likely not a health hazard, but if you can **feel** it, it might be. Eeew, gross. Why on earth did I join this conversation? My recollection is that Qadgop said that when he was a student it was a standard amusing experiment to fart directly (not through clothes) onto an agar plate and develop it. Much E. Coli resulting. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/18 "2004-10-16T02:59:28Z")
In this thread, many things seem to have been attributed to me which I do not recall ever stating. Farting on culture plates is something I never contemplated. Nor did I wish to. Farts passing thru clothes and carrying bacteria into the air makes sense, but I do not believe this would cause significant disease. I knew there was a reason I seldom did vanity searches anymore. It was finding myself associated with flatus so often that put me off of it. ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/19 "2004-10-16T04:58:11Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I knew there was a reason I seldom did vanity searches anymore. Just wanted to add the first time I read this I tougth i said cavity searches. ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972/20 "2004-10-16T04:59:12Z")
> [@jhinman](#): > > Just wanted to add the first time I read this I tougth i said cavity searches. I thouth it said, not I thought I said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts/268972.md?page=2)