14 DAY TRIAL // Whether we want to admit it or not, the fact of the matter is that we all pass gas. That's right, your favorite teacher, your favorite celebrity, your mailman, and your worst enemy all do it. And so do you.
In fact, scientists estimate that, each and every day, about 70 billion farts are produced on a global scale, and that's only counting the ones let out by the human race.
Oddly enough, pretty much everybody likes to pretend that this does not happen. Everybody except scientists, that is. Thus, researchers have been studying human farts for quite a while and are happy to say that they now have them all figured out.
As detailed in the video below, the reason why some folks have virtually no trouble smelling their own gases but are downright disgusted by the ones let out by friends, family, and colleagues is that we humans are programmed to prefer the things that we are familiar with.
Seeing how the smell of one individual or another's gases depends on unique bacteria populations in their guts, we humans eventually learn to distinguish our own creations from those of others and end up preferring them.
What's interesting is that, in ancient times, people had to stay away from other people's farts to keep safe from contracting pathogens that can be released when folks pass gas. In this day and age, we no longer have to worry about this because we all wear clothes.
Now, as wacky as it may sound, it appears that there are people in this world who have no problem with farts, be they their own or other people's. According to studies focusing on the issue, this is because age, gender, and cultural background all influence what a person perceives as disgusting.
