And fart jokes are not regarded as sophisticated humor. I doubt that the New York Times or The New Yorker give examples of those. Yes, it probably is a carryover from our European heritage and the emulation of the upper class. However, there has been a noisy and smelly undercurrent to these inhibitions regarding flatulence. After all, Benjamin Franklin wrote Fart Proudly. And you can always count on that countercultural source of less-than-polite humor, preteen boys, to furnish new examples of scatological humor. I would not be totally surprised if there are subrosa classes on how to tell fart jokes during recesses for seventh grade. After all, many have found that they have an easy strategy for impressing early teen girls. I think that we should regard them for what they are: a bona fide form of Americana!
Lest anyone dismiss this form of humor as suggestive of the unsophisticated humor of the Americans, let's consider some historical examples. The Roman Emperor Elegabarus entertained himself and guests with an ancient example of a Whoopee cushion! Le Pétomane entertained French audiences at the Folies Bergère with tunes produced from his rear trumpet! Of course, Geoffrey Chaucer had this description of how Nicholas saluted Absalom through the window in The Miller's Tale of Canterbury Tales:
"This Nicholas anon let fle a fart
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent
That with the strook he was almost yblent (blinded)
And he was ready with iron hoot
And Nicholas ammyd the ers he smoot."
In other words, Absalom hit him in the butt with a hot poker in response to his fart.
Therefore, be fearless in your enjoyment of this sort of humor. However, the Fire Marshal might take a jaundiced view of your igniting one!
15 comments:
We didn't read the Miller's Tale in school; only the Prologue. :(
Such a delightful reflection. That last cartoon is right on, for sure. And it is really interesting how some foods set you off to where you have to "pucker power" to stop them.
Always a pleasant surprise from Angel.
"And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale..."
ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Anyone who eats beans or frijoles learns to be more relaxed about farts.
Nothing like a good old-fashioned fart joke!
I like that picture!
I think that everyone farts. Well maybe not Hillary,
Done. In honor of your post.
I'm going to resist the temptation to link one of the many fart video you can find on You Tube, most of them made in America. You can see college guys farting on the faces of their sleeping friends and even lighting their own farts. Farting became vulgar for humans when they started living in houses. If you live in the open air, you can fart like thunder without causing offensive smells. The deadliest farts are produced by eating apples.
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Apples causes smelly farts. Therefore, farts are healthy.
If you have never heard the famous "Crepitation Contest," you don't know much about farting: https://youtu.be/uPplyQWf-u4.
Farting while doing some yoga poses is normal.
Thanks for your indulgence on this delicate topic, y'all!
I never heard of a crepitation contest, Bilbo!
This was so funny! The Miller's Tale was a scream. I read a modern translation.
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