# The smell of farts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814 "2019-11-22T14:44:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/1 "2019-11-22T14:44:11Z")
I have always had a bad sense of smell. A smell has to be strong before I notice it and even then, it’s “something”, “bad” or “good”. So, I am ignorant on the smell of farts. For example…. How long does it take for the smell to spread? How far does it reach? How long does the smell linger? Do you encounter times where people fart people in public places? For example a smell by the canned peaches at the store. How often do you notice these? Are there different “flavors”? How would they be described? Would you know if it was because they had eaten beans, or it was time for them to go potty, or whatever? Do people have their unique smells? Would you be able to recognize the smell of farts by your significant other? Is there anything else that I may not realize? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/2 "2019-11-22T15:30:33Z")
Since the OP is asking for personal experiences, and several of the questions are subjective, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/3 "2019-11-22T16:33:52Z")
Interesting. I too have often dealt them, but never smelt them. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/4 "2019-11-22T16:37:36Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Interesting. I too have often dealt them, but never smelt them. I guess so, Dung (;))!! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/5 "2019-11-22T18:07:08Z")
Dog farts are the worst. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/6 "2019-11-22T18:23:05Z")
No, it’s a tie between kid farts and cat farts. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/7 "2019-11-22T22:33:10Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > No, it’s a tie between kid farts and cat farts. I get the bronze. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/8 "2019-11-22T23:20:07Z")
I rather enjoy the smell of my own farts and those of my husband. But nobody else’s. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/9 "2019-11-22T23:49:47Z")
It is said that farts are like children. Yours are OK, but everyone else’s stink. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/10 "2019-11-23T00:09:37Z")
A fart is such a short wisp of time. If you cannot savor it in real time, you can never get it back. They are like children in that way. Once your fart is gone, you will wish that you had spent more time with it. ---
**Author:** ![DannyBeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dannybeans/32/38_2.png) [@DannyBeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DannyBeans)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/11 "2019-11-23T02:42:49Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Dog farts are the worst. When visiting Sweden last year, our hosts of course made sure we (well, I - my wife, conveniently, is a vegetarian) got a chance to try [Surströmming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming). I think they were a bit disappointed that we were unfazed by the smell, but the truth is we were already used to it, because it smells exactly like our dog’s farts. Not an exaggeration - it was an _exact_ match that even made us feel a little homesick. Our dog farts fermented fish gas, apparently. (For the record, it tastes better than it smells, but I still wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again. My understanding is that this is a common attitude toward the stuff even among Swedes.) ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/12 "2019-11-23T03:04:18Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I rather enjoy the smell of my own farts and those of my husband. But nobody else’s. The sign of true love is the ability to laugh at each other’s farts. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/13 "2019-11-23T03:28:47Z")
The smell depends greatly on what you eat. Sometimes you eat something that causes you to fart quite a bit but there is no smell. Other foods can cause horrible smelling farts. For me I’ve noticed bacon pizza is a bad offender. Some farts can last quite a while, 5-10 seconds each. And they may occur in a series. Others are just a quick fart. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/14 "2019-11-23T07:35:05Z")
It is said, when you get older, never trust a fart. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/15 "2019-11-23T11:06:32Z")
Obligatory George Carlin [LINK.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCtiQTQQ7QA) To answer the OP, farts are just such an individual and variable product of a wide variety of inputs. Diet is probably the biggest factor. As far as individual people having their own, unique fart smells independent of their diet? It’s not impossible but I wouldn’t bet on it. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/16 "2019-11-23T12:50:53Z")
By the way… we can forget the original questions. Other fart smelling comments are more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smell-of-farts/843814/17 "2019-11-23T17:44:55Z")
Don’t worry, modern American marketeers are on it with new products… [Poo-Pourri](https://www.poopourri.com) - “before-you-go spray” and from Air Wick, [V.I.P. Pre-Poop Toilet Spray](https://www.airwick.us/products/v-i-p-pre-poop-sprays/).