# What causes "sharts"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 1, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526 "2012-05-01T16:34:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CheeseDonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526/1 "2012-05-01T16:34:28Z")

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Sometimes, when people sneeze, they have the misfortune of flatulating, while also releasing fecal matter. Why does that happen?

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**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526/2 "2012-05-01T17:09:04Z")

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because you have an asshole, a whole body muscle contraction with a load.

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**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526/3 "2012-05-01T17:43:01Z")

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I think of it as a fart where instead of solid feces there is liquid (for whatever reason, even if you don’t have diarrhea there may be liquid that hasn’t been absorbed), thus some of it comes out when you pass gas (as the normal solid doesn’t pass through the opening but liquid can).

The association with sneezing is pretty much as \*\*johnpost \*\*put it (of course, it can also happen simply by passing gas, intentionally or otherwise).

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526/4 "2012-05-02T01:51:10Z")

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Bad sushi.

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**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-sharts/620526/5 "2012-05-02T01:59:33Z")

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> [@johnpost](#):
>
> because you have an asshole…

Right.

If you didn’t you’d blow your shoes off.