# Is it really possible to light farts-and if so, is it dangerous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462 "2002-10-01T23:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/1 "2002-10-01T23:53:39Z")
Reading Stephen King’s _It_ for the upteenth time, I got to the part where one of the kids spies the bullies in the junkyard lighting farts. We once asked my uncle, who, in addition to knowing more than he should about bodily functions, was also a biology major in college, if it IS possible, and according to him, it is. (Supposedly, we give off methane, or butane or something…) So, what’s the Straight Dope? And has anyone gotten seriously injured, or even died? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/2 "2002-10-01T23:59:14Z")
According to [the Master](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_079.html) yes, and caution is called for. I’ll leave it to those with access to the medical journals to recount specific instances of injury. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/3 "2002-10-02T00:00:38Z")
I’m just an eyewitness and I thought it disgusting, until one guy’s underwear caught on fire. Now that was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/4 "2002-10-02T00:35:35Z")
Just in case you were wondering…no, I am NOT planning on doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/5 "2002-10-02T01:10:09Z")
Yes it is possible, quite easy and you’d have to be a major doofus to experience some distress while so engaged. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/6 "2002-10-02T01:16:33Z")
I saw it done while I was in Navy boot camp many moons ago. The farter suffered 2nd degree burns around his bung hole and the guy holding the lighter had most of his arm hair taken off. It was a nice blue flame too, about 3 feet long and lasted about 2 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/7 "2002-10-02T01:18:12Z")
What’d they feed you guys? I’ve seen hundreds “lit off” and never anything close to that. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/8 "2002-10-02T01:25:50Z")
Googling on [explodingfart](http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=explodingfart.com&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=off) turns up a charming video clip. It sure _looks_ dangerous :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/9 "2002-10-02T02:00:37Z")
I can’t say I’ve set open flames near a tender orifice, but I’ve lit my bubbles in the bathtub. It’s safe, and it lets you easily witness the fruit of your own intestines aglow. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/10 "2002-10-02T02:21:51Z")
I’ll not be coy - I’ve known and performed the ritual many a time. If you know it’s coming and you’ve got a lighter handy, why not avoid the fragrance? I’ve read that almost anybody who spent time on a WWII troopship knew it as a neighborly thing to do. Having much experience in the game, it is truly hard for me to entertain the idea that truly threatening pyrotechnics can come as a result. :_poof_: ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/11 "2002-10-02T02:23:26Z")
I’ve lit many a fart in my time, and even now I occasionally give in to the urge to burn one. I still find it amusing. I’ve never witnessed or heard of an injury of anyone I knew, although I’ve heard a few of the standard horror stories. I imagine if you have a big gas problem it wouldn’t be pretty, but I generally have poppers, not rippers. Why waste the gas stinking up the house when I can help cut our heating bills? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/12 "2002-10-02T02:36:14Z")
Oh come now - I thought everyone, at least everyone male, would have done this at one time or another. The most injury I ever got out of it was a brief uncomfortably warm sensation, not a real burn. Do leave your pants on. You probably could get burned if you chose to do it bare arsed or with to much exposed skin in the vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/13 "2002-10-02T02:44:11Z")
Never heard of an injury but a friend of mine’s kid Brother scared himself pretty good when the whole front of his britches lit up. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/14 "2002-10-02T02:46:08Z")
I must admit, as a teen I did light the occasional fart :o It is possible. The only danger I ever saw was a friend singing his hair. (he had a particularly hairy butt) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/15 "2002-10-02T02:52:01Z")
Got a little extra time on your hands, eh **Guin**? 🙂 > [@](#): > > I saw it done while I was in Navy boot camp many moons ago. The farter suffered 2nd degree burns around his bung hole and the guy holding the lighter had most of his arm hair taken off. Who in hell would stick his fist that close to someone else’s chocolate starfish? Dumb schmuck! Of course you can light farts. You can even tell which “lighter ends” are prevalent by the color emitted. If I’ve got a heavy methane concentration, it leaves a bit of a telltail smoke signature, kinda like that of a… ummm… Persid meteor trail. If butane is my dominant buttgas, I swear to goodness my flaming discharge is blue, not to mention dang impressive. If helium is present, there’s a brief but intense red flare and a very audible _“wwhhhooooeeeeeekkkkk”_ that’s not unlike a chipmunk or one of them Ewoks getting sucker punched. Ooof! Now if iso-butane heads my ugly rear… Katy bar the door. It’s the most fowl green aura much like the Aurora Borealis on a foggy night and I swear to goodness that sometimes, on a clear, cold night… you can almost hear it crackle. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/16 "2002-10-02T03:02:20Z")
Oh yeah, it hangs over the bed and shimmers like a big green flag waving in some terrible breeze as well. Damn charged ions. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/17 "2002-10-02T10:58:54Z")
**lieu** , I wasn’t aware butane, isobutane, or helium could be [present.www.thefart.com/more.html](http://present.www.thefart.com/more.html) mentions only methane, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen as components of thee gas (aside from small amounts of sulfur-containing compunds resposible for the smell). ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Mahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Joe\_Mahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Mahma)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/18 "2002-10-02T11:01:27Z")
Sorry, that should be **the** gas, not thee gas. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/19 "2002-10-02T11:04:41Z")
I’ve lit many a fart in my day. I haven’t done it in about 6 years, though. There was one particular time when I was a senior in HS that I remember, where I just could stop farting…so I decided to have fun and light every one. I probably lit about 10 farts that day. They’re bright and orange and give a nice warmth to your butt and legs! Jman ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462/20 "2002-10-02T11:12:43Z")
:eek: Um, thanks, I’ll pass. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-really-possible-to-light-farts-and-if-so-is-it-dangerous/130462.md?page=2)