Social Culture of Farting: A B2 English Reading Unit

Level: B2

Printable: Student handout (PDF) | Teacher’s key (PDF)

Reading

Everyone passes gas, but estimates of how often vary. The Cleveland Clinic, a US hospital, gives a range of 14 to 23 times a day, while in a 2026 study by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, 6,416 adults who logged each time on a phone app recorded an average of five a day. Doctors describe intestinal gas as normal and not dangerous, although it can be painful. Yet in most social settings, passing gas in front of others counts as a breach of etiquette, and talking about it comes close to being a taboo. In a survey commissioned by Paddy Power Games, 19 percent of British respondents named farting in public as one of the most embarrassing things that could happen, and 34 percent said it had happened. Commissioned surveys are weak evidence, but they fit a wider pattern of embarrassment.

People manage this norm in predictable ways. They try to restrain the gas, leave the room, hope for silence, or joke about it, and when concealment fails, they often shift the blame. Several languages have proverbs about that last move. A Korean saying holds that the person who farted gets angry, meaning that someone who will not admit a fault blames others. A Japanese proverb links farts and house fires: with both, the fuss starts at the source, so the person who caused a problem is often the loudest to complain. Such sayings give people one more reason to be discreet.

Concern about this etiquette is old. The Roman biographer Suetonius says that the emperor Claudius was thought to have considered an edict allowing guests to break wind at the table, after hearing of a man who had risked his health by restraining himself out of modesty. Whether Claudius meant it seriously is unclear: he may have been joking, and Suetonius reports only that he was said to have thought of it. In the 1500s, Erasmus’s handbook of manners for children warned that fidgeting on your seat gives the impression that you are farting. Bodily noises were already a topic in books on good behavior.

In Islamic law, the issue is ritual, not social. Passing wind is held to invalidate wudu, the state of ritual purity needed for prayer. A hadith collected by al-Bukhari says that a person who doubts whether it happened should not leave the prayer unless he hears a sound or smells an odor, and scholars use this text to stress that certainty is needed before ritual purity is considered broken. Here the concern is not embarrassment but the validity of worship.

Humor treats the same taboo differently. A Sumerian proverb about a young woman who never farts in her husband’s lap survives on tablets from about 1900 BC, and a 2008 university study called it the oldest recorded joke, although it is a proverb whose intended meaning is unclear. Japanese artists painted comic fart battles, known as he-gassen, for centuries. A scroll at Waseda University is an 1846 copy of a work from 1680. Popular writers suggest that such scrolls may have been meant as satire of foreigners, but the artists are unknown, so this reading is speculative. In 1890s Paris, Joseph Pujol, known as Le Pétomane, starred at the Moulin Rouge. He was reported to have astonishing control of his abdominal muscles, and he may have drawn in air rather than passing intestinal gas.

Language shows how flatulence stands for other ideas. In Mandarin, fàngpì means to break wind, but it also works as a rude way of saying “nonsense.” In such cases, a bodily function becomes a way to ridicule speech, or an insult aimed at the speaker. The Korean and Japanese proverbs above use it to expose guilt instead.

Careful conclusions must be modest. Anecdotes from different periods do not prove a universal rule, and systematic cross-cultural research appears to be scarce. Even counting may be affected by embarrassment. The CSIRO team let participants see only their own data, a design meant to reduce socially influenced reporting, and the researchers suggest that the higher, often-repeated estimates may have rested on limited evidence. The same act is framed as a matter of manners in European handbooks, ritual purity in Islamic law, blame in Korean and Japanese proverbs, and comedy in Sumer, Edo Japan, and Paris, and people seem to tolerate it most easily where it is private or comic. A survey that asked people in many countries the same questions would be the next test.

Vocabulary

Each word has a frequency score, a rank, and a tag. The score shows how common the word is in modern English: higher means more common, and each full point means roughly ten times more common. The rank is the word’s position on a list of about 321,000 English word forms, from most to least common. The tag shows where you are most likely to meet the word: Current, Formal, Literary, or Dated. The paragraph number shows where the word first appears in the reading. The labels are information, not instructions. Deciding which words are worth your time is up to you. How to read the scores, ranks, and tags.

Passing gas in front of others can count as a breach of etiquette.
The company was fined for a breach of safety rules.

Business etiquette varies from country to country.
It is poor etiquette to check your phone at dinner.

Talking about death is a taboo in some families.
The subject was once a taboo on television.

He blushed with embarrassment when he forgot her name.
The results fit a wider pattern of embarrassment.

Silence in the library is a social norm.
People manage this norm in predictable ways.

She tried to restrain her laughter during the speech.
They try to restrain the gas.

When concealment fails, they often shift the blame.
The manager took the blame for the mistake.

Pressure of this kind encourages people to be discreet.
The detective made discreet inquiries.

Erasmus warned that fidgeting on your seat gives the impression that you are farting.
Stop fidgeting with your pen during the exam.

Certainty is needed before ritual purity is considered broken.
Washing before prayer is an important ritual.

Passing wind is held to invalidate wudu.
A mistake in the form can invalidate the whole application.

The scrolls may have been meant as satire of foreigners.
The show is a satire of modern politics.

A bodily function becomes a way to ridicule speech.
The other students ridiculed his accent.

It can also work as an insult aimed at the speaker.
He took her comment as an insult.

The cases suggest that societies tolerate flatulence most easily where it is private.
The school will not tolerate bullying.

Activity Page

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Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Comprehension Questions

What contrast does the reading draw in the first paragraph between the medical view of passing gas and the social view? What is the limit of the survey evidence?
How do people manage the social norm about flatulence, according to the second paragraph? Describe what the Korean and Japanese proverbs say about blame.
What do the passages from Suetonius and Erasmus suggest about the age of this etiquette? Why does the reading hedge its account of Claudius?
Explain why the reading says that the Islamic case is about ritual and not social embarrassment. What role does certainty play?
Compare the Sumerian proverb, the Japanese scrolls, and the performances of Le Pétomane. What limits does the reading place on each?
How does the Mandarin word fàngpì show that flatulence can stand for other ideas?
Why does the reading say that even studies of how often people pass gas may be affected by embarrassment?
The reading draws a limited pattern from its cases. State the pattern and explain why the writer calls it limited.
Evaluate the range of evidence in the reading (ancient texts, art, surveys, proverbs, religious rulings). Which types are strongest and which are weakest for the claims made?

IELTS-Style Questions

True, False, or Not Given: “People in all cultures find farting embarrassing.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Yes, No, or Not Given: “The writer believes there is firm evidence that the he-gassen scrolls were satire of foreigners.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Author’s purpose: Why does the writer include a religious ruling, a proverb, and a comic scroll in the same reading? What effect does this have on the reader?

AI Discussion Prompt

I just read a B2 English lesson called Social and Cultural Components of Farting. It covered the gap between the medical view of passing gas and the social view of it as a breach of etiquette, Korean and Japanese proverbs about blame, the Roman emperor Claudius and Erasmus on manners, the Islamic rule that passing wind invalidates wudu, humor and art (a Sumerian proverb, Japanese fart-battle scrolls, Le Pétomane), the Mandarin word fàngpì, and the limits of the evidence. I am an English learner at about B2 level. Please have a respectful and light conversation with me about manners, humor, and taboos in different cultures. Present more than one perspective. Ask one question at a time, starting with something accessible. Encourage me to use words like etiquette, taboo, norm, discreet, and tolerate. Respond to my ideas first, then gently point out one or two language errors or more precise word choices.

AI Vocabulary Prompt

I want to practice vocabulary from a lesson about the social and cultural side of farting. Please quiz me on the following words one at a time, using a mix of question types: multiple choice, true/false, and sentence completion. Give me feedback after each answer before moving on, and bring back the words I miss later. Here are the words: breach, etiquette, taboo, embarrassment, norm, restrain, blame, discreet, fidgeting, ritual, invalidate, satire, ridicule, insult, tolerate.

Discussion Questions

How would you describe the etiquette around passing gas in your own culture? Is it the same at home, at work, and in public?
The reading says that gas is normal but talking about it is close to a taboo. Why do societies treat some normal bodily functions as taboo?
What are the strategies people use when they cannot hide it: leaving, joking, blaming? Which do you think is the most acceptable, and why?
The Korean and Japanese proverbs are about blame. Does your language have a saying with a similar idea? What does it show about the culture?
Claudius reportedly considered an edict allowing flatulence at the table. Would a rule like this help or harm social life? Why?
Erasmus wrote a manners handbook for children. Should children be taught etiquette about bodily functions? At what age, and how?
In the Islamic case, the concern is ritual purity, not embarrassment. What other rules in religions or traditions link the body to ritual?
The reading warns that the satire reading of the he-gassen scrolls is speculative. How should we interpret old jokes and artworks when the artists are unknown?
Humor about bodily functions appears in many periods. Why do you think it is so common, and does it change how serious topics are discussed?
Le Pétomane was a star performer. Is it surprising that a taboo subject could become entertainment? What other taboo subjects became entertainment?
The Mandarin word fàngpì is used as an insult. Which bodily words are used as insults in languages you know, and why?
Commercial surveys are weak evidence. How can readers judge the reliability of surveys about embarrassing topics?
Should schools, offices, and public transport have rules about odors and sounds, or should people simply tolerate them? Give reasons.
The reading limits its conclusion because cross-cultural research is scarce. What kind of study would you design to compare attitudes across countries?

Language Focus: Modals of Speculation About the Past

What it is: To say what was possibly true in the past, use may, might, or could plus have and the past participle (may have been, could have happened). The form shows that the writer is not sure. Negative forms (may not have, could not have) show doubt or impossibility.

Why writers use it: Historical and cultural writing often works from incomplete evidence. Modal forms let a writer separate what is known from what is only possible, and they help readers see how much weight a claim can bear.

Examples from the reading:

“…he may have been joking, and Suetonius reports only that he was said to have thought of it.”
“…such scrolls may have been meant as satire of foreigners…”
“…he may have drawn in air rather than passing intestinal gas.”
“…the higher, often-repeated estimates may have rested on limited evidence.”

Practice task: Rewrite with a modal of speculation: “Perhaps the artist wanted to make fun of foreigners.” Begin with The artist…

(Example answer: “The artist may have wanted to make fun of foreigners. (Might have wanted is also possible.)”)

Recommended Resources

Suetonius, The Life of Claudius, 32 (translation by J. C. Rolfe) (Lexundria). The Latin biographer’s paragraph on Claudius’s dinner parties, including the sentence about the edict. Read the sentence and notice how it is hedged.
He-gassen (Wikipedia). An overview of the fart-battle scrolls, the Waseda University copy, and earlier examples. Compare its details with the reading.
Sumerian Double Negative (and Fart Joke) (Language Log). A linguist’s note on the Sumerian proverb, with the original text and a literal translation.
Chart Your Fart: Calling Aussies to Track Flatulence for Science (CSIRO). The Australian science agency’s 2024 call for volunteers to log their gas on a phone app, explaining what the study wanted to find out about normal digestion.
Brits Reveal Their Most Embarrassing Moments (The Star (UK)). A newspaper report of the commissioned survey used in the reading. Read it critically as an example of weak evidence.