# When was the Taboo against "Passing Gas" broken in Movies/TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336 "2012-01-31T20:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/1 "2012-01-31T20:09:28Z")
Was it _Blazing Saddles_ that broke the farting Taboo in movies? I have watched a lot of older movies, and never once remember a fart joke or scene that featured farting. What about Mainstream Network TV? _Big Bang Theory_ and _Two and Half Men_ have fart jokes all the time. I don’t remember many fart jokes (if any) on _Married w/Children_. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/2 "2012-01-31T20:11:53Z")
I think the Pink Panther movie had one. Its been a long, long time since I saw it. here [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ViYclyAkkDg/hqdefault.jpg "Classic Pink Panther") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViYclyAkkDg) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/3 "2012-01-31T20:13:36Z")
_Third Rock from the Sun_ had an episode with Dick and his girlfriend farting in bed, with audible fart noises included. _Roseanne_ had an episode where Becky was said to have farted at a student council meeting. The fart was offscreen, but Darlene teased her about the incident by making a fart noise with her mouth, and referring to Becky “cutting the cheese”. The movie _10_ had a line about every time the maid breaks wind, we beat the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/4 "2012-01-31T20:15:14Z")
I think with Blazing Saddles it was still taboo when it hit regular TV. I have seen it many times with all the farting sounds removed. Which of course makes the scene have no meaning whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/5 "2012-01-31T20:17:29Z")
The first I saw it was with\*\* Blazing Saddles\*\*. It certainly couldn’t be pre-code ( **The African Queen** goes to great lengths to avoid it, portraying Bogart as having his stomach rumbling instead) and I do remember how outrageous Brooks was being by putting the scene in. That dates from 1974; the Pink Panther example was 1978. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/6 "2012-01-31T20:48:28Z")
Speaking of “cutting the cheese”, _American Graffiti_ had the line “Who Cut the Cheese” and that was released about a year prior to _Blazing Saddles_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/7 "2012-01-31T21:02:01Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > What about Mainstream Network TV? _Big Bang Theory_ and _Two and Half Men_ have fart jokes all the time. I have a vague memory of a fart joke in _All in the Family_; that seems like the show that would have broken the barrier. (What I remember is Edith’s disgusted “Oh, Archie!” when she thinks he has farted.) ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/8 "2012-01-31T21:14:21Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I have a vague memory of a fart joke in _All in the Family_; that seems like the show that would have broken the barrier. (What I remember is Edith’s disgusted “Oh, Archie!” when she thinks he has farted.) Could be. Or maybe it was Whoopee cushion that Archie sat on that Meathead or Gloria planted. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/9 "2012-01-31T21:21:07Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I don’t remember many fart jokes (if any) on _Married w/Children_. Well, he had a lot of toilet humor. (Sounds of toilet flushes, gag of overflowing toilet [offscreen], maybe even smells.) There was definately some toilet jokes on _Barney Miller_. I bet _I love Lucy_ might have done some of those toilet gags. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/10 "2012-01-31T21:21:14Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I have a vague memory of a fart joke in _All in the Family_; that seems like the show that would have broken the barrier. (What I remember is Edith’s disgusted “Oh, Archie!” when she thinks he has farted.) All in the Family broke ground with the sound of a toilet flushing. I don’t recall a sound when they broke wind. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/11 "2012-01-31T21:41:15Z")
It was when Edith and Archie were staying at a hotel, celebrating their anniversary. Edith was changing in the bathroom, and Archie was in the bedroom, opening a bottle of champagne. After the cork popped out of the bottle, Edith called from the bathroom, “Oh, Archie!” ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/12 "2012-01-31T22:23:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > ( **The African Queen** goes to great lengths to avoid it, portraying Bogart as having his stomach rumbling instead) Significantly, though, the brother character is reading a magazine at the table and the camera focuses on an advertisement for “PACE WINDCOCK’S WIND PILLS” (at 0:37 [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm_UXRCeJq0&feature=related)). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/13 "2012-01-31T23:08:24Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > It was when Edith and Archie were staying at a hotel, celebrating their anniversary. Edith was changing in the bathroom, and Archie was in the bedroom, opening a bottle of champagne. After the cork popped out of the bottle, Edith called from the bathroom, “Oh, Archie!” Thank you; that’s the scene I was trying to remember. ---
**Author:** ![MsJinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@MsJinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsJinx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-taboo-against-passing-gas-broken-in-movies-tv/611336/14 "2012-02-01T07:55:27Z")
I think it was the Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers, where Groucho is in a canoe with the campus widow. She is doing the rowing while he lounges in the bow. She remarks that he is so ‘full of whimsy’. He is surprised that she tell from there, and says he is always that way after eating cabbage. No sound effects, though.