When we think of classic literature, we usually think of sweeping historical epics, star-crossed lovers, and poignant insight into the human condition. If we’re being honest, the latter includes bodily functions—indigestion, hiccups, and farts.
While being held in high esteem, the following works weren’t above invoking the passing of gas. See if you can match the flatulent passage with the book it belongs to in the quiz below.
As you can see, mining toots for puerile amusement is not a new phenomenon. Historians have traced fart jokes as far back as 1900 BCE, when a Sumerian cracked that “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” It was a cheeky nod to a woman’s perceived unwillingness to confess to such an indiscretion.
But not everyone allowed their social status to prevent them from musing about farting. In 1781, Benjamin Franklin penned an essay about gas that was intended to satirize the ponderous scientific review process. Franklin (facetiously) wondered what might be done to improve the smell of flatulence, or what he dubbed “the great quantity of wind” that accompanies digestion.
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