Charles James Fox began his Essay Upon Wind with this disclaimer: “I think I hear the Curious Reader exclaim, ‘Heavens! That the brain of man should be set to work upon such cursed nonsense – such damned low stuff as farting; he ought to be ashamed of straining his dull faculties to such a nasty absurd subject.'” Yet the brain of man remains as fascinated with the subject today as it was in Fox’s time, to judge by the number of hits which internet items on Malawi’s supposed ban on farting have attracted. One says “supposed” because that country’s justice minister appears to have been speaking either in error or in jest when he said a provision to criminalise farting was included in a new law. He may even – who knows ? – have been trying to cover up an emission of his own by a sudden burst of chatter. That is one of the many techniques used to distract attention in such a situation. The most obvious is to look pointedly at another person, sometimes combining this with a batting motion of the hands. However, farting etiquette hardly ends there. If you are in audience with a royal person who breaks wind, for example, the subject apologises, not the prince. And the fart can be art, as was recounted by the Guardian’s Paris correspondent Peter Lennon in a famous 1960s piece on the French music hall performer Joseph Pujol. Suppressing farts, Jonathan Swift believed, leads to congestion of the brain, adding: “If in open Air it fires, In harmless Smoke its Force expires.” Malawi ministers, take note.
Parp.
Posted 13 years ago
