Australia's leading research agency is asking people across the nation to track their flatulence with the help of a purposely funny app.
The hilarious project was born out of a 2021 gut health study that found that Aussies are punching above their weight when it comes to farting. Some 60 percent of those surveyed reported "excessive flatulence", with almost half of these people saying they experience this on "most days."
Age, sex and whether someone has changed their diet recently is also recorded, in order to gather more nuanced data on what's going on 'down there' Down Under. Anonymity is maintained via the app, with it assigning each participant a code.
While there's a serious side - helping scientists better understand gut health of people aged 14 and over across the nation - it's hard to stifle a giggle, with the app asking participants to record not just when they passed wind, but to rate the fart's characteristics: charting stench (from odorless to toxic), loudness (silent to deafening), duration (brief to eternity), how long the smell lingered (fleeting to perpetual) and its detectability (discreet to blatant).
“Research is only as good as the data we have, and we want to work with as much of our diverse Australian community as we can to drive innovation in health and wellbeing research and deliver meaningful outcomes,” said Project Lead and CSIRO Behavioural Scientist, Dr Emily Brindal.
The US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases notes that studies have reported that people pass wind 8-14 times a day, but up to 25 times is what experts believe to still be "normal." Phew!