# University of Maryland scientists have created a fart-tracking device. Any volunteers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 22, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485 "2026-04-22T17:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/1 "2026-04-22T17:16:32Z")
The title pretty well says it all. Researchers at U of M have created a 3-D printed device that fits in your underwear and counts the number of farts you release over a period of time. > Smart Underwear is able to track whenever a person farts. While it may sound silly, this information could be a big benefit to our health, according to the leading scientist behind the effort. > Dr. Brantley Hall’s lab looks more like a factory these days, with multiple 3D printers running at all times. > > The machines are working constantly to produce devices about the size of a nickel and it goes on your underwear. You can volunteer for the project, known as the Human Flatus Atlas. Details are in the article. > **[University of Maryland researchers create device to track how often people fart](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/fart-research-study-university-maryland-smart-underwear/)** > > A team of scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD) is gathering first-of-its-kind data through a device you put on your underwear. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/2 "2026-04-22T18:00:43Z")
With my competitive streak, perhaps it’s better if I don’t participate. I really want that button, though! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/3 "2026-04-22T18:40:37Z")
From the thread title, I first thought the device would identify who farted. Which on the surface seems helpful, but on reflection, some things are probably best left unknown. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/4 "2026-04-22T18:43:21Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > You can volunteer for the project, known as the Human Flatus Atlas. From the website: > Due to overwhelming demand, enrollment in the Human Flatus Atlas is currently paused. People evidently really want to know about farting. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/5 "2026-04-22T18:48:32Z")
Having woken myself out of a sound sleep (“what the hell was THAT?!”) I’d be amused to know the scientific data I can produce. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/6 "2026-04-22T20:56:02Z")
How do projects like that get funded when important questions like this remain unanswered?: > **[If you burp, fart, and sneeze at the same time, will you die?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342127/if-you-burp-fart-and-sneeze-at-the-same-time-will-you-die)** ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/7 "2026-04-23T14:15:38Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > From the thread title, I first thought the device would identify who farted. Which on the surface seems helpful, but on reflection, some things are probably best left unknown. To the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire”: _I didn’t fart, you liar_ _but when I get some gas, you know it’s gotta pass_ (can’t claim credit; I heard this on a radio program of parody songs many years ago) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/8 "2026-04-23T14:16:26Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > How do projects like that get funded when important questions like this remain unanswered?: As a Maryland resident, I’m proud to see my tax dollars being put to good use. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/9 "2026-04-23T14:45:46Z")
Seeing as how UofM is between the Cesspool on the Potomac and the Queen City of the Patapsco River Drainage Basin, how would they be able to tell what the farts are? ---
**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:** [April 23, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/10 "2026-04-23T14:50:21Z")
Ya know during March Madness, the schools play ads promoting themselves, usually the same playbook: young, beautiful people wearing tge school’scolors, rowing, in a ballet, volunteering, climbing a mountain, in a classroom, in a research lab…I fully expect U of M to include this important work in their promotional video and ad. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/11 "2026-04-23T15:04:32Z")
I’d say that’s a given; I just saw first time the Raisin Bran commercial featuring Will(iam) Shat(ner) touting the fiber benefits of said cereal. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/12 "2026-04-23T15:10:11Z")
What would be scary would be if they hooked this into your other health monitors or fitness trackers. I don’t need Siri or Alexa commenting on the frequency or volume of my _flatus ex ano_. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/13 "2026-04-23T15:34:43Z")
Especially at a dinner party? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/14 "2026-04-23T16:13:05Z")
I saw a video on the intertubez recently. It was a _great_ mom helping her son with learning math. She gave him a word problem - _How many times a game does a cheerleader fart?_ They googled how many times a day the average person farts then divided that # by 24 to get average per hour, then multiplied that by three (for average game length) to get an answer. I’ve never seen a kid so jazzed about word problems! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/15 "2026-04-23T23:24:52Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > From the thread title, I first thought the device would identify who farted. Which on the surface seems helpful, but on reflection, some things are probably best left unknown. Everybody knows, he who smelt it dealt it. 😛 As far as fart-tracking underwear goes, I’m already aware of how much more I fart as I’ve gotten older. I don’t need any assistance, TYVM. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/16 "2026-04-25T12:55:04Z")
Is the relevant measurement the number of incidents, or the total volume of gas? Or, perhaps, something about the composition? I’m also unclear on where 3D printing comes in. Surely the most difficult part of the device is the electronics, and you can’t 3D print those. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485/17 "2026-04-25T17:22:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m also unclear on where 3D printing comes in. Surely the most difficult part of the device is the electronics, and you can’t 3D print those. _Au Contraire_. I worked at a company that was literally printing electronics using sinterable microparticle inks (subsequently sintered with strong blasts of UV light. They could even create some electronic components, not just printed “wires”). But they’re evidently 3D printing electronics now, too: > **[3D Printing Enables Small-Batch Electronics Connector Manufacturing](https://bmf3d.com/resource/3d-printing-in-electronics/?utm_term=micro%20machining&utm_campaign=P1&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8775960295&hsa_cam=21070261643&hsa_grp=165205104931&hsa_ad=600294951008&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-11832996&hsa_kw=micro%20machining&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21070261643&gbraid=0AAAAACaj6XlVgfSfienipBTXmX8krjI1l&gclid=CjwKCAjwzLHPBhBTEiwABaLsSoajkqvc5nCeTfe6nUi2andF5bba4I6SCQlK7bTjG9v3gCl5gKPVaxoCAWgQAvD_BwE)** > > Discover how 3D printing in electronics enables high-precision connectors for automotive testing, using BMF’s micro-scale stereolithography technology. [https://www.sculpteo.com/en/3d-learning-hub/applications-of-3d-printing/3d-printing-electronics/](https://www.sculpteo.com/en/3d-learning-hub/applications-of-3d-printing/3d-printing-electronics/)