History & The Arts
From the Sumerians to Shakespeare to Twain: why fart jokes never get old
...opening poetic ode refers to the flatus as “Cure of cholick, cure of gripes, tuneful drone of lower pipes.” Swift then goes on to subject the fart to a detailed analysis – carefully describing its legal, social and scientific dimensions – before concluding that there are multiple species of fart, including “the sonorous and full-toned or rousing fart,” “the...