The CSIRO is asking citizen scientists to log the frequency, stench, loudness and linger of their bottom burps in a bid to get a better understanding of flatulence.
Australia’s national science agency is finally putting in the work to answer one of life’s big questions: are my farts weird?
The Chart Your Fart app is the CSIRO’s latest public-led research initiative and allows Australians 14 years and older to log their gas passes over the course of several days.
The end goal is to create a picture of how “normal” farts look, smell and sound.
It comes after a 2021 gut health study by the agency found that more than 60% of Australians reported experiencing what they thought was excessive flatulence, with 40% estimating that they experienced these unusually bountiful bursts of bottom burps most days.
“Passing wind is a natural occurrence and a sign that our digestive system is working as it should, to expel excess gas that is produced from breaking down and processing the food we eat,” CSIRO Research dietitian Megan Rebuli said.
Previous studies have indicated that the average adult passes flatus about 10 times per day, with the upper limit of normal sitting at around 20.
Far be it from The Back Page to pass up an opportunity to comment on bathroom habits; this humble correspondent has dutifully been tracking their trumpets over the last few days.
The app itself allows users to not only report how many times they have farted, but to describe each breaking of wind across five different parameters.
Stench is measured on a scale of odourless to toxic, loudness on a scale of silent to deafening, duration on a scale of brief to eternity, linger on a scale of fleeting to perpetual and detectability on a scale of discreet to blatant.
While all answers are anonymised, fart charters are asked for general data like gender, age bracket, education level, standard of living, location and whether they have just undergone a significant diet change.
Your modest correspondent is somewhat ashamed to report that, while some days pass with just one passing of wind, others have gone by with 19 separate incidences of (blessedly quiet) cheese-cutting.
One must re-evaluate one’s baked bean consumption at some point.
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