Speaking of Mel Brooks, his film Blazing Saddles not only contains the single-most significant flatulence scene in cinematic history, but he also pays direct homage to the master by naming the daft governor “Le Petomane”.
Welcome to the Straight Dope, B.Nyce. It’s always good to include a link to the specific topic & column in question when you start a thread. That way, we are all on the same page, all gassed up, right out of the starting gate, to mix metaphors.