A friend of mine once jokingly threatened to do fart into a box and mail it to me in retaliation for something really gross that I said. I think his statement was the actual retaliation though because, frankly, that’s amply gross.
This raises an interesting question, however. Sure it’s illegal to send anthrax or a bomb through the mail, but…
Would it be illegal for someone to chow down on bean burritos, rip a massive expulsion of intestinal gas into a box (through a tube perhaps), seal the box and then mail it to some unsuspecting victim?
IAN a postal worker, but I don’t think it would be illegal, unless the gas was poisonous. I left a job and moved out on my roommates out of state and two weeks later I received a large package of nasty perishables that they decided to send me. The package stunk, it wasn’t airtight, and why they delivered it, I don’t know. But they didn’t complain. YMMV.
Are you asking whether it’s illegal, or whether it violates the terms and conditions of carriage imposed by the postal service. The two are not the same (although there is considerable overlap).
Here in the UK, for example, I don’t think it would be illegal unless it formed part of a scheme of harrassment or something; it would contravene the Royal Mail terms of carriage, falling into (I think), the delightfully vague category of ‘filth’ - there are various categories detailing compressed, toxic or flammable gases, but I don’t think it could be seriously classed as those unless you collected a large volume of fart and stored it in compressed form.
There was a famous (in Wisconsin at least) case of being able to ship (tightly wrapped) Limburger cheese. The postamster refused the cheese until he tasted it.
Wouldn’t it classify as flammable. It is (or at least contains) methane gas. If nothing else, I suppose technically it could be considered a biohazard.
Won’t work.
The box is very leaky gas wise. OTOH collect the gas in a good plastic bag and seal securely.
The gas, in the bag, will arrive intact.
Don’t know about the smell as the odor may break down over time and be a dud upon arrival.
I’ll let you do the research! ** Fartology **
Fart, stored in a bag will, in fact, degrade over time. Don’t ask me how I know this, but it has been scientifically proven in a blind, controlled smell test to be less smelly as time passes.
In the OP, I specified the term illegal, but I suppose should have also asked about the post office terms and conditions which I believe do have some overlap with federal laws here in the US.
Good point. I was really sleepy when I wrote the OP, and it didn’t occur to me that one cannot seal a cardboard box to contain a gas. :smack:
So should a person fart into a bag (which contains an object giving the receiver reason to open it), seal it, box it, and ship it express mail in order to maintain a pungent odor upon arrival? Does the life of the fart last less than a day?
The fart continually declines until the level of fart odor remaining is below a detectable threshold. For maximum effect, use a particularly rancid fart and definitely spring for express delivery. Enclosures should be limited to things that are not odor absorbant. For example, don’t include a box of baking soda or some charcoal briquettes.
How do you know this? Cite?
I believe my chili farts last forever. Did a “Covered Wagon” with my GF a while back. She figured she had to change the sheets. Man, was I proud!
Next are hard-boiled eggs and beer. Heh.
Cite?