A new study has discovered that women's farts smell worse than men's.
It has long been known that men are generally more emphatic about farting. But the findings of the study may come as a surprise to many.
Apparently flatulence has been the subject of scientific studies and experiments dating back to at least 1816, but have primarily focused on the study of the composition of gas. Apparently the trace components of flatus that give off some of the odors have been difficult to study.
For the study, 16 healthy individuals with no gastrointestinal disorders were each fed pinto beans and a laxative. They each wore a "flatus collection system" that consisted of a tube and a gas impermeable bag.
After the flatus had been collected from the subjects, a gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic analysis occurred was used to identify the composition of the gas.
Two judges were also brought in to perform a blind smell test to try to determine the differences in the gases and rated them on a scale of 0-8, with 8 being "very offensive." The judges were not aware they were smelling human flatus and the results showed that words used to describe the smells were "rotten eggs," "decomposing vegetables" and "sweet."
After all of the results were collected, it was concluded that "the flatus of women had a significantly higher concentration of hydrogen sulphide and a greater odor intensity than did that of men."
It was also found that "men tended to pass higher volumes of gas than did women."
Source: gut.bmj.com
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