Fart lighting

Fart lighting also known as pyroflatulence flatus ignition or fire breathing dragon is the practice of igniting the gases produced by human flatulence often producing a flame of a blue hue hence the act being known colloquially as a "blue angel", "blue dart" or in Australia, a "blue flame". The fact that flatus is flammable and the actual combustion of it through this practice gives rise to much humorous derivation. Other colors of flame such as orange and yellow are possible with the color dependent on the mixture of gases formed in the colon. In order to "fire fart" one must have a fart prepared in the rectum and a lighter at the ready. Then they fart onto the lighter.

In 1999 author Jim Dawson observed that fart lighting has been a novelty practice primarily among young men or college students for decades but is discouraged for its potential for causing harm.[1] Such experiments typically occur on camping trips and in same-sex group residences, such as tree-houses, dormitories, or fraternity houses.[2] With the advent of video sharing features online, hundreds of self-produced videos, both documentary as well as spoof, have been posted to sites such as YouTube. The people appearing in the videos are predominantly young teen males.[3][4] In his book The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life author Mark Richard Leary explains how a great deal of unhappiness is due to people's inability to exert control over their thoughts and behavior and that "stupid stunts", including lighting flatulence, were a way to make an impression and be included in group bonding or hazing.[5]

Although there is little scientific discourse on the combustive properties of flatus, there are many anecdotal accounts of flatus ignition and the activity has increasingly found its way into popular culture with references in comic routines, movies, and television; including cartoons. In Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa author Neil Slaven quotes Frank Zappa for calling fart lighting "The manly art of fart-burning", and another book quotes the musician Kenny Williams for saying that it demonstrates "compression, ignition, combustion and exhaust."[6][7]

There have been documented cases of flatulence during surgery being inadvertently ignited causing patient injury and the risk of death.[8][9]

Chemistry

The composition of flatus varies dramatically among individuals. Flatulence produces a mixture of gases including methane,[10] which burns in oxygen forming water and carbon dioxide often producing a blue hue (ΔHc = −891 kJ/mol),[11] as:

CH
4(g) + 2 O
2(g) → CO
2(g) + 2 H
2O(g)

Hydrogen sulfide is also flammable (ΔHc = −519 kJ/mol),[12] and burns to

2 H
2S(g) + 3 O
2(g) → 2 SO
2(g) + 2 H
2O(g)

Gas production

Some of the gases that cause flatulence, such as methane and hydrogen, are produced by bacteria which live in symbiosis within the large intestines of humans and other mammals. The gases are created as a by-product of the bacteria's digestion of food into relatively simpler substances.[13] The oxygen and nitrogen component of flatus can be accounted for by aerophagy while the CO2 component results from the reaction of stomach acids (HCl) with alkaline pancreatic bile (NaHCO3).

The odor associated with flatus is due to hydrogen sulfide, skatole, indole, volatile amines, and short-chain fatty acids also produced by the bacteria. These substances are detectable by olfactory neurons in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion, hydrogen sulfide being the most detectable.[14]

Hazards

Heat from combustion is noticeable and can cause burns externally and internally. Clothing can also catch fire under the right conditions. The fabric of the clothing is very likely to be damaged. Flammable objects in the immediate area could catch fire.

See also

References
  1. Dawson, Jim (1999). Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 9781580080118. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  2. U. of California Press Web site Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 6, 2007
  3. Barnes, Steve (2007). "On YouTube, you too can be a star". Santa Cruz Live. Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  4. "Search Results for "fart lighting"". YouTube. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  5. Leary, Mark Richard (2004). The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195172423. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  6. Slaven, Neil (2003). Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa. Omnibus Press. p. 100. ISBN 0711994366. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  7. Zappa, Frank; Occhiogrosso, Peter (1999). The Real Frank Zappa Book. Simon and Schuster. p. 85. ISBN 9780671705725. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  8. Lisi, Brian (31 October 2016). "Patient burned by mid-surgery explosion when laser ignites fart". New York Daily News. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  9. Ladas SD, Karamanolis G, Ben-Soussan E (October 2007). "Colonic gas explosion during therapeutic colonoscopy with electrocautery". World Journal of Gastroenterology. 13 (40): 5295–8. doi:10.3748/wjg.v13.i40.5295. PMC 4171316. PMID 17879396. Archived from the original on 2009-03-22.
  10. Van Ness, M. M.; Cattau, E. L. (April 1985). "Flatulence: pathophysiology and treatment". American Family Physician. 31 (4): 198–208.
  11. Methane
  12. Hydrogen sulfide
  13. BBC - h2g2 - Farts and Flatulence
  14. Levitt M. D. and Bond J. H. (1978) in Intestinal Gas and Gastrointestinal Disease
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