“Let’s face it–farting is funny. But there’s a time and place…”. A co-worker of mine said this to our group of teenagers after we returned from the cafeteria following lunch. A girl had let one loose as the kids were lining up to go back to the rehab unit. The kids broke out in hysterics, of course, and although we always instruct them to be absolutely quiet in the hallway, it was hard to admonish them and keep a straight face. Because, the truth is, farting IS funny, at least to me. In fact, even at thirty-five years old, farting is ALWAYS funny to me. Even when I’m alone in the apartment, if I rip a good one, it’s cause for laughter. You’d think it would’ve gotten old by now. I mean, how many things are funny the five millionth time you hear them?
I understand WHY farting is funny. It’s a taboo, and when it happens unexpectedly in the right context, it’s as delightfully embarrassing as a boob falling out of a woman’s dress, or a booger dangling from your buddy’s nose as you introduce him to his blind date. It has something to do with being ashamed of our bodies and the battle between culture and nature for rule of our psyches. But boobs and boogers can only take you so far, and incidents involving them need to be spread out over a period of days, maybe even weeks, if they are to elicit a good belly laugh. A fart, however, never fails to bring a smile to my face, and that smile is inevitably followed by a suppressed snicker and then, despite all conscious efforts to maintain propriety, I finally succumb to the sweet release of all-out laughing my ass off.
Laughter, in and of itself, is a total mystery to me when I really think about it. How did such an odd behavior evolve in humans?
Another co-worker of mine told me that, in his college days, he and his buddies used a hand-held cassette recorder to make a compilation, a “best of” album composed of nothing but their farts. They called it “Poop Tones”. What could be more childish and distasteful. And yet I laughed for ten minutes straight just hearing about it. Just saying the word “poop,” right now, to myself, makes me laugh, hard. I’m still laughing. I can hardly type. Wait a minute. I’ve got a good one brewing… hold it… wait… here it comes…