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Does It Fart #1
Does It Fart?
The ultimate guide to animal flatulence: the perfect gift for anyone who has ever farted.
Dogs do it. Millipedes do it. Dinosaurs did it. You do it: I do it. Octopuses don't (and nor do octopi). Spiders might do it: more research is needed. Birds don't do it, but they could if they wanted to. Herrings do it to communicate with each other.
At the beginning of 2017, an innocent question on twitter about snakes formed the hashtag #doesitfart and spread pungently across the internet - and major newspapers - as dozens of experts weighed in on which animals do and don't fart, and if they do, how much, how often, what it's made of, what it smells like, and what it's for.
Does it Fart? is the result: the fully authoritative, fully illustrated guide to animal flatulence, covering the habits of 80 animals in more detail than you ever knew you needed. What foods make hyena farts smell especially bad? What is a fossa, and does it fart? Why do clams vomit but not fart? What is a fart, anyway? With contributions from dozens of biologists, Does it Fart? is a book that will allow you to shift the blame onto all kinds of unlikely animals for years to come.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2017
130 people are currently reading
1635 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
July 6, 2018
Silent but deadly farts are the worst kind. The terrible, eye-watering smell that you try and pretend you aren't reeling backwards from, the sort where the Queen tightens her lips and gives side-eye to Prince Philip when she lets one loose. But they aren't really deadly. No one has died from being farted on.
However, the beaded lacewing, a pretty insect is a ferocious carnivore as a larva. When hungry it directs the tip of its abdomen to a termite's head and toots out a deadly gas cloud. One to three minutes later the termites will just lie on their backs with their legs waving around. Fresh food. That's a really silent but deadly.
Something truly disgusting. Cockroaches can not only run around when beheaded they can fart too. They are world-class farters and not only feast on human food, they fart over it as well.
Whether or not a creature farts depends on the design of it's intestinal tract and if it eats fibre. Most creatures do, but octopuses do not, and no one is sure if bats do. Orangutans, clever beasts, seem to enjoy farting and like to make raspberry noises as counterpoint to their toots, especially when lying in their nests at night. Yes, they sleep alone.
However, the beaded lacewing, a pretty insect is a ferocious carnivore as a larva. When hungry it directs the tip of its abdomen to a termite's head and toots out a deadly gas cloud. One to three minutes later the termites will just lie on their backs with their legs waving around. Fresh food. That's a really silent but deadly.
Something truly disgusting. Cockroaches can not only run around when beheaded they can fart too. They are world-class farters and not only feast on human food, they fart over it as well.
Whether or not a creature farts depends on the design of it's intestinal tract and if it eats fibre. Most creatures do, but octopuses do not, and no one is sure if bats do. Orangutans, clever beasts, seem to enjoy farting and like to make raspberry noises as counterpoint to their toots, especially when lying in their nests at night. Yes, they sleep alone.
April 19, 2023
Six years ago I went and asked a question on Bing. I had a burning question that I needed an answer to. That question was "do ants fart?" Yes, they do! So, as soon as I saw this book on Netgalley, I knew I'd have to read it. I enjoyed it. The sketches at times cracked me up, and I learned a bit about other gassy creatures! Sometimes it grew monotonous, but never for long. Mostly it was fun and interesting. I'd recommend this for the curious and the young. Or maybe for a gassy friend or relative! My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for letting me read and review.
April 5, 2018
You know those facts that you didn’t know you needed to know until you read a blurb and realise that you urgently need to know this vital information? Well, that sums up how I felt when I discovered Does It Fart? on NetGalley. I read the blurb, knew immediately that I needed this book in my life, hit the Request button and waited. Then my email notification arrived letting me know I was denied access to this title. My heart sank and I experienced one of my biggest NetGalley disappointments to date.
Yet I still desperately needed to read it ASAP so I waited as patiently as possible for the release date. Finally it arrived and I thought about ordering it through my local library but quickly determined that I needed it now, so downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading straight away.
I was anticipating a book with some facts but more laughs. In the introduction I read that “Not all farts are created equal” and that confirmed to me that this was definitely the book for me, so I eagerly read on. Then I found I was disappointed because my expectations didn’t match the reality of this book.
There are some interesting facts and you do find out the answers regarding whether an animal farts, doesn’t fart or maybe farts, but I found it was written in such a clinical way that the only laughs I got out of the book came from the illustrations.
Had I simply expected information telling me that this animal farts because it eats a plant based diet and has a certain type of stomach and digestive system, or this animal farts because it eats a meat based diet and has certain type of stomach and digestive system, I would have been satisfied. There was other information about each animal including details of scent glands and digestive enzymes, how many species of that animal exist and where they’re found along with the animal’s scientific name, but I didn’t need to laugh at all while I read.
I did like learning smelly facts including an animal that uses their farts to kill prey, another that uses farts to communicate and one that will die if they don’t fart, but I found these facts interesting rather than funny. Even the entry about unicorns mostly compared them to horses, cows and rhinos, making the assumption that because each of these animals fart then a unicorn would be likely to as well.
I know I’m in the minority here as plenty of reviewers are talking about how hilarious this book is but the illustrations stole the show for me. They were fantastic and looked like they belonged in a cartoon or a funny graphic novel. The expressions on the animals’ faces were priceless, with plenty of big googly eyes and crosses replacing eyes for those in the flatulence firing line. All of the animals had so much character I could have written a story featuring each of them based on their expressions and the way they were posed alone. I definitely need to see more of Ethan Kocak’s artwork.
I am glad I read this book as it satisfied my curiosity and I now know the answers about whether the animals discussed fart or not. However I wish I’d waited to borrow it from the library rather than spending money that I would have preferred, in hindsight, to spend on several other books I know I would have enjoyed more and wanted to reread.
Yet I still desperately needed to read it ASAP so I waited as patiently as possible for the release date. Finally it arrived and I thought about ordering it through my local library but quickly determined that I needed it now, so downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading straight away.
I was anticipating a book with some facts but more laughs. In the introduction I read that “Not all farts are created equal” and that confirmed to me that this was definitely the book for me, so I eagerly read on. Then I found I was disappointed because my expectations didn’t match the reality of this book.
There are some interesting facts and you do find out the answers regarding whether an animal farts, doesn’t fart or maybe farts, but I found it was written in such a clinical way that the only laughs I got out of the book came from the illustrations.
Had I simply expected information telling me that this animal farts because it eats a plant based diet and has a certain type of stomach and digestive system, or this animal farts because it eats a meat based diet and has certain type of stomach and digestive system, I would have been satisfied. There was other information about each animal including details of scent glands and digestive enzymes, how many species of that animal exist and where they’re found along with the animal’s scientific name, but I didn’t need to laugh at all while I read.
I did like learning smelly facts including an animal that uses their farts to kill prey, another that uses farts to communicate and one that will die if they don’t fart, but I found these facts interesting rather than funny. Even the entry about unicorns mostly compared them to horses, cows and rhinos, making the assumption that because each of these animals fart then a unicorn would be likely to as well.
I know I’m in the minority here as plenty of reviewers are talking about how hilarious this book is but the illustrations stole the show for me. They were fantastic and looked like they belonged in a cartoon or a funny graphic novel. The expressions on the animals’ faces were priceless, with plenty of big googly eyes and crosses replacing eyes for those in the flatulence firing line. All of the animals had so much character I could have written a story featuring each of them based on their expressions and the way they were posed alone. I definitely need to see more of Ethan Kocak’s artwork.
I am glad I read this book as it satisfied my curiosity and I now know the answers about whether the animals discussed fart or not. However I wish I’d waited to borrow it from the library rather than spending money that I would have preferred, in hindsight, to spend on several other books I know I would have enjoyed more and wanted to reread.
May 17, 2023
Well...well....beam them up Scotty, they've got lift off!
From: cultural significance, to communication offensive; deadly weapon, to a source of laughter; boisterous amplitude, to silent missiles - carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide confirm that 'cloacal poppings' are not created equal.
Cow haters should hang their heads in shame. Their cow attack is (unintentionally) debunked in this book. Almost all living creatures are guilty. Termites, for instance, contribute between 5 to 19 percent of methane gas to the greenhouse effect. Their total weight on Earth is greater than that of humans! And speaking about humans, we contribute 63% of greenhouse gasses to climate change, excluding our own definitive flatus. Horses are more boisterous than cows, elephants, and whales dramatically more audible or 'malodourly'. It's unknown if the latter two species can trump the fossa. Fossa flatulence is much like the fossa: fierce. So much so that humans note that its pungent lingering odor can make one's eyes water. And you haven't heard the cockroach tale either. Astonishing. You should read this book.
"So if you hate your current job, spare a thought for the fart tester. These pioneers in flatology found that dietary supplements containing activated charcoal, Yucca schidigera, and zinc acetate reduced the intestinal production of hydrogen sulfide by up to 86 percent, thus decreasing the frequency of malodorous farts!
Farts are as much part of the ecological balance as it has become part of world history."Maasai beekeepers believe that the mongoose uses its farts to drive away bees so that it can raid their hives for the honey, while a Bedouin proverb, which concerns a dispute that creates an irreconcilable group, translates to “the mongoose farted among them”—it was believed that a mongoose fart could disperse large herds of camel and it would be extremely difficult to bring the herd back together."
The following comment is somewhat beside the point of this book, or maybe not. Not when hubby and I are debating these issues. So here is my humble contribution to the carbon dioxide issue: Agronomists will tell you that carbon dioxide is essential to plant growth and vegetation health. Huge restoration projects, all around the world, encompassing millions and millions of hectares of soil, are being carried out in which plants, such as Portulacaria afra forests are established. The UN is currently investigating the possibility of globally establishing 300 million hectares of this plant. This plant captures in massive quantities carbon dioxide from the air and releases it into the soil for plants to feed on. Compost does the same but in a lesser, yet equally essential way. A seven-thousand-mile green belt is currently planted across Africa to stop the Sahara desert from moving further south. If you are interested in this aspect of the review, you can watch this video on the miraculous restoration of the Loos Plateau in China: Hope in a Changing Climate - by John D. Liu (2009) . John has been a personal friend of ours for many years. We're working on international projects together. You will find this video highly interesting.
But back to the book: It is a tongue-in-cheek summary of amazing facts, enhanced by funny drawings of animals caught in the act. Dani Rabaiotti is a zoologist, and Nick Caruso is an ecologist. They are not flatologists but have enough friends in Science Twitter who assisted in compiling this amazing information on 80 species. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Okay, I had an agenda. With these facts, the cow-haters can now be happily beamed up to their own brand-new planetary constellation. That is as far as I am concerned. :-))
The importance of this book is that scientific facts were presented in a fun- often hilarious way. I had a few great laughs. The authors succeeded splendidly in accomplishing their idea while keeping me glued to the book.
A truly delightful read.
From: cultural significance, to communication offensive; deadly weapon, to a source of laughter; boisterous amplitude, to silent missiles - carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide confirm that 'cloacal poppings' are not created equal.
Cow haters should hang their heads in shame. Their cow attack is (unintentionally) debunked in this book. Almost all living creatures are guilty. Termites, for instance, contribute between 5 to 19 percent of methane gas to the greenhouse effect. Their total weight on Earth is greater than that of humans! And speaking about humans, we contribute 63% of greenhouse gasses to climate change, excluding our own definitive flatus. Horses are more boisterous than cows, elephants, and whales dramatically more audible or 'malodourly'. It's unknown if the latter two species can trump the fossa. Fossa flatulence is much like the fossa: fierce. So much so that humans note that its pungent lingering odor can make one's eyes water. And you haven't heard the cockroach tale either. Astonishing. You should read this book.
"So if you hate your current job, spare a thought for the fart tester. These pioneers in flatology found that dietary supplements containing activated charcoal, Yucca schidigera, and zinc acetate reduced the intestinal production of hydrogen sulfide by up to 86 percent, thus decreasing the frequency of malodorous farts!
Farts are as much part of the ecological balance as it has become part of world history."Maasai beekeepers believe that the mongoose uses its farts to drive away bees so that it can raid their hives for the honey, while a Bedouin proverb, which concerns a dispute that creates an irreconcilable group, translates to “the mongoose farted among them”—it was believed that a mongoose fart could disperse large herds of camel and it would be extremely difficult to bring the herd back together."
"If you are reading this you are undoubtedly aware of the ability of the human species, like other primates, to fart. Unlike other primates, though, our species appears to experience emotions associated with our farts: namely shame, embarrassment, disgust, but also joy, schadenfreude (joy in other’s misfortune), or perhaps even delight.
Humans have long been fascinated by their farts, which is exemplified by the odd myths and folklore surrounding them. For example, the water sprite, kappa, in Japanese folklore, is believed to be repelled by especially strong farts, while an Innu spirit of the anus named Matshishkapeu, which translates as “the fart man,” is a powerful and humorous spirit that is believed to be able to predict the future. Farts even appear in Dante Alighieri’s famous poem Inferno, in which the demons’ sign for the march was made by “a trumpet of his ass.”
The following comment is somewhat beside the point of this book, or maybe not. Not when hubby and I are debating these issues. So here is my humble contribution to the carbon dioxide issue: Agronomists will tell you that carbon dioxide is essential to plant growth and vegetation health. Huge restoration projects, all around the world, encompassing millions and millions of hectares of soil, are being carried out in which plants, such as Portulacaria afra forests are established. The UN is currently investigating the possibility of globally establishing 300 million hectares of this plant. This plant captures in massive quantities carbon dioxide from the air and releases it into the soil for plants to feed on. Compost does the same but in a lesser, yet equally essential way. A seven-thousand-mile green belt is currently planted across Africa to stop the Sahara desert from moving further south. If you are interested in this aspect of the review, you can watch this video on the miraculous restoration of the Loos Plateau in China: Hope in a Changing Climate - by John D. Liu (2009) . John has been a personal friend of ours for many years. We're working on international projects together. You will find this video highly interesting.
But back to the book: It is a tongue-in-cheek summary of amazing facts, enhanced by funny drawings of animals caught in the act. Dani Rabaiotti is a zoologist, and Nick Caruso is an ecologist. They are not flatologists but have enough friends in Science Twitter who assisted in compiling this amazing information on 80 species. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Okay, I had an agenda. With these facts, the cow-haters can now be happily beamed up to their own brand-new planetary constellation. That is as far as I am concerned. :-))
The importance of this book is that scientific facts were presented in a fun- often hilarious way. I had a few great laughs. The authors succeeded splendidly in accomplishing their idea while keeping me glued to the book.
A truly delightful read.
March 14, 2018
This book was really enjoyable and well written! I loved learning about flatulence! 🌬 This book was fun and informative! My kids loved me telling them the different species that fart. I mean who doesn't laugh about a good fart? If you want to learn about "blowing wind" then I recommend this book! It is fart-tacular!😁
October 11, 2019
Final report. A worthwhile read, in small doses. Note that there's a kid's edition, and indeed the "adult' ed. at hand has the flavor of YA fart jokes. Which I liked, and still do, in moderation. Hence you will want to pace your reading of this one, I think. The authors are both wildlfe biologists, and do read the introduction (above) for how the book came to be: "Clearly, the public demands more information on animal farts." Heh. 3.4 stars.
Gems(?) from my notes:
Pet ferrets (p. 49), when scared, scream, fart and defecate, all at once. Memo to self: avoid pet ferrets!
Sea lions (p.51): according to zookeepers, have "the smelliest farts in the animal kingdom." And the sounds of farting seals can keep nearby campers awake at night. NB: best to camp upwind!
Progress report: off to a rousing start, with such pop-science gems as "Spiders. Fart status unknown. Further research (and funding!) is urgently required." And sea cucumbers! --which don't fart but have a parasite that likes to live in their anuses, subsisting on (urk) their hosts' gonads. The 'nads grow back pretty quickly. Left for further study is whether the parasites have a regular route through a cuke colony, or whether they hang around in their unlucky hosts nether regions, waiting for the buffet to be refilled . . .
Gems(?) from my notes:
Pet ferrets (p. 49), when scared, scream, fart and defecate, all at once. Memo to self: avoid pet ferrets!
Sea lions (p.51): according to zookeepers, have "the smelliest farts in the animal kingdom." And the sounds of farting seals can keep nearby campers awake at night. NB: best to camp upwind!
Progress report: off to a rousing start, with such pop-science gems as "Spiders. Fart status unknown. Further research (and funding!) is urgently required." And sea cucumbers! --which don't fart but have a parasite that likes to live in their anuses, subsisting on (urk) their hosts' gonads. The 'nads grow back pretty quickly. Left for further study is whether the parasites have a regular route through a cuke colony, or whether they hang around in their unlucky hosts nether regions, waiting for the buffet to be refilled . . .
September 4, 2019
This is a short & intriguing book. Each entry was brief, but really illuminating & there was enough humor, but not too much. It was an interesting look into many species from bugs to fish to people. He even covered some long extinct species with some good guesses. What surprised me the most were the species that didn't fart & why.
If my boys were 10 or so, I'd be reading this with them. As an adult, it was great reading, too. The only complaint I can think of is that it was too short! (From me, that's unheard of.) Highly recommended.
If my boys were 10 or so, I'd be reading this with them. As an adult, it was great reading, too. The only complaint I can think of is that it was too short! (From me, that's unheard of.) Highly recommended.
November 3, 2019
By far one of the more entertaining books I’ve read this year. It’s also based on solid science and very informative.
The writers, both scientists, compiled a list of animals, birds, fish, and insects and sought input from experts on each to ascertain if they fart, as well as how potent said flatulence would be. They also explain why they either do or don’t, in some cases using the anatomy of their digestive systems to draw their conclusions.
Written with both humor and fascinating factual content, I read through this in a sitting and felt it was time well spent.
I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, “True or Poo.” I’ll keep you posted.
The writers, both scientists, compiled a list of animals, birds, fish, and insects and sought input from experts on each to ascertain if they fart, as well as how potent said flatulence would be. They also explain why they either do or don’t, in some cases using the anatomy of their digestive systems to draw their conclusions.
Written with both humor and fascinating factual content, I read through this in a sitting and felt it was time well spent.
I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, “True or Poo.” I’ll keep you posted.
August 24, 2018
An entertaining book about a topic that will either be greeted with disgust or with laughter when discussed at the dinner table: does animal X fart?
The authors use the general meaning of fart rather then its stricter scientific meaning, so some animals that pass gas don't actually fart (scientifically), but even then the details are fascinating.
Yes, most of the animals featured in the collection do fart and the reasons they fart are many and varied: at one end (like for fish), farting to get rid of gas can be a matter of life and death. For others (like primates), farting could be a social signal! In between, the authors not only look at whether animals fart, but also how and why they fart and why some animals produce smellier farts than others.
You will also get an interesting education into the various way animals digest food (especially herbivores) that lead them to produce the gases that make up a fart in different proportions (from smelly to very smelly). Some anecdotal information (provided via pet owners) on how to reduce farts from some pets is also provided.
All in all, an entertaining read from beginning to end. Each animal is covered in one or two pages, with entertaining drawings of some farting animals.
The authors use the general meaning of fart rather then its stricter scientific meaning, so some animals that pass gas don't actually fart (scientifically), but even then the details are fascinating.
Yes, most of the animals featured in the collection do fart and the reasons they fart are many and varied: at one end (like for fish), farting to get rid of gas can be a matter of life and death. For others (like primates), farting could be a social signal! In between, the authors not only look at whether animals fart, but also how and why they fart and why some animals produce smellier farts than others.
You will also get an interesting education into the various way animals digest food (especially herbivores) that lead them to produce the gases that make up a fart in different proportions (from smelly to very smelly). Some anecdotal information (provided via pet owners) on how to reduce farts from some pets is also provided.
All in all, an entertaining read from beginning to end. Each animal is covered in one or two pages, with entertaining drawings of some farting animals.
June 30, 2020
Niesamowicie odprężająca książka na te dni, kiedy nie ma się siły na nic ambitnego - wbrew pozorom nie tylko dla młodszych, chociaż można spokojnie kupić ją już dzieciakom z podstawówki (10-11 lat?), które lubią nauki przyrodnicze. Sporo ciekawostek (wiedzieliście np., że rekin ma tak dużą gęstość ciała, że nie może się zatrzymać, bo opadłby na dno?), lekki ton, przystępny (ale nie infantylny) język w sam raz dla laików i młodszych czytelników, zwięzła forma - w sam raz na jedno popołudnie albo do czytania po kawałku w wolnych chwilach, kiedy ma się dla siebie tylko parę minut. Nie jest to na pewno arcydzieło literatury popularnonaukowej, ale też nie próbuje takim być - po prostu dostarcza ciekawostek, którymi można z powodzeniem zabawiać ludzi na imprezach. Kilka razy naprawdę roześmiałam się na głos, a to raczej rzadko zdarza mi się podczas czytania.
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April 29, 2018"Now, according to @PlethodoNick and @DaniRabaiotti, there are almost 10,000 species of birds and none of them fart. We know that birds evolved from dinosaurs. So can we infer from this that dinosaurs didn't fart? Was the Cretaceous a dino-fart-free zone?"
Stuart MacBride 26/04/2018
Stuart MacBride 26/04/2018
January 1, 2019
“The book we didn’t know we needed” indeed!
November 6, 2019
Added some great fodder for my ever growing collection of fairly useless facts.
March 11, 2021
Ինֆորմատիվ, թեթև, օգտակար, գրագետ։
Մի էկոլոգ ու մի կենդանաբան որոշում են գրել կենդանիների գազարձակման մասին գիրք, որն իր էպիզոդներում առաջարկել է կարդալ Ologies փոդքաստի հեղինակ Էլի Ուարդը։ Սա գիտությանը մոտենալու ու ամենաբարդ բաները մաքսիմալ զվարճալի ու պարզ կերպով ներկայացնելու իմ ամենասիրելի ձևերից մեկն է։
Կարդալուց միակ անհարարությունս այն էր, որ երբեմն որոշ փաստեր ստիպված էի ստուգել տարբեր աղբյուրներով վստահ լինելու համար՝ արդյոք պսևդոգիտական բաներ չեմ կարդում, բայց կեսից հասկացա, որ այլևս կարիք չկա, ամեն ինչ տեղը տեղին է։
Մի էկոլոգ ու մի կենդանաբան որոշում են գրել կենդանիների գազարձակման մասին գիրք, որն իր էպիզոդներում առաջարկել է կարդալ Ologies փոդքաստի հեղինակ Էլի Ուարդը։ Սա գիտությանը մոտենալու ու ամենաբարդ բաները մաքսիմալ զվարճալի ու պարզ կերպով ներկայացնելու իմ ամենասիրելի ձևերից մեկն է։
Կարդալուց միակ անհարարությունս այն էր, որ երբեմն որոշ փաստեր ստիպված էի ստուգել տարբեր աղբյուրներով վստահ լինելու համար՝ արդյոք պսևդոգիտական բաներ չեմ կարդում, բայց կեսից հասկացա, որ այլևս կարիք չկա, ամեն ինչ տեղը տեղին է։
December 31, 2018
Delightful, funny, hilarious! Packed with facts about farting and non-farting animals.
January 2, 2018
If the fish are unable to fart out the gas, their inability to stay away from the water's surface puts them at risk of predation by birds.... so they would benefit from doing so more often, as it really is a case of fart or die.
This was educational... and no, I am not joking.
The book basically came to be when a child asked one of the authors if a specific animal was capable of farting... and it resulted on being a great question. From there the authors, with the contribution of several scientists and biologists, were able to expand the question to great number of animals that you never thought or guess could fart.
Being someone with a background in biological sciences, I found this to be a perfect book to teach and to learn things that you never thought of. I mean, this is a book that will crack you up while educating you, as it will board the topic not only by answering the question does it fart? but it will give you a scientific reasoning on why it does, doesn't and/or how that helps the animal. I was amazed!
If you are up for having some fun and learning interesting facts about biology... give this book a try.
June 9, 2018
It is hard to describe this book. It was engaging and hilarious, but it was also quite educative and contained useful scientific trivia.
I also enjoyed it for its manageable size and surprisingly memorable chapters. It made it easier for me to read this book while I was on my recumbent bike as I was reading about 5 or 6 species and was able to easily put it down.
At the same time, it was entertaining enough that I read some passages aloud to my fellow co-workers because the format of the book made it easy for me to read during short periods of downtime.
Surprisingly, the content was also memorable as I could remember what species experience flatulence and why. So this is another plus.
It goes without saying that I also appreciated illustrations. Some of them conveyed the gist of the article to the T.
Just something small, easy to remember, easy to pick up and put down, and entertaining.
I also enjoyed it for its manageable size and surprisingly memorable chapters. It made it easier for me to read this book while I was on my recumbent bike as I was reading about 5 or 6 species and was able to easily put it down.
At the same time, it was entertaining enough that I read some passages aloud to my fellow co-workers because the format of the book made it easy for me to read during short periods of downtime.
Surprisingly, the content was also memorable as I could remember what species experience flatulence and why. So this is another plus.
It goes without saying that I also appreciated illustrations. Some of them conveyed the gist of the article to the T.
Just something small, easy to remember, easy to pick up and put down, and entertaining.
December 3, 2018
Fish fart. Birds DON’T. Bugs do, sometimes even killing their prey with the obnoxious odor. Cleverly written with a dry-wit sort of humor, yet still scientific in the explanation of the digestive systems of different species.
November 23, 2021
Does It Fart?: The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence
by Dani Rabaiotti and Nick Caruso
🌟: 3 / 5
📚: This book contains 80 animals and one question: do they fart?
💭: Much like a toot, this is one of those books that absolutely could have knocked my socks off blown me away but ended up just kind of being a little sad and stinky. I can only assume that whoever edited it made the decision that this book couldn’t go beyond existing as a gag gift that would languish on a shelf for a while without being read— you know the type.
And quite honestly, I was really disappointed by it. While parts are genuinely well written and researched (the list of acknowledgements reads as a Who’s Who of Science Twitter circa 2017), there is little structure to this book. It repeats itself endlessly (it genuinely reads as the same paragraph about cow-like animals and their gastric prowess twelve times at least), something that could have been eliminated if animals were grouped together in any way. Even as an actual reference, this book isn’t actually helpful— the order is completely random so that even opening up to a table of contents still requires some searching to find animals (even alphabetical order would be helpful, just like, as a bare minimum).
While I think this could be a fun book to read with kids (and there IS a kids’ edition), there is a slight hump of biology knowledge that readers need to come to the table with. Despite there being a glossary of terms, many concepts that are brought up but never explained— such as how fermentation or digestion works— that could help readers understand the reasons why an animal does or doesn’t fart.
Clearly there was a decent amount of research and expertise that went into writing this, but with the lack of any references or citations or even referencing what different contributors provided expertise on specifically, it makes it way less useful as an actual serious resource. In all honesty, much of Does It Fart? could be edited into bullet points instead of the two-ish paragraphs that every animal got.
It’s a decent, short read, but really doesn’t go beyond something that you would buy as a contribution to a White Elephant (an animal which, by the way, DOES fart) party. I had fun reading it, but it’s not something I would recommend widely.
by Dani Rabaiotti and Nick Caruso
🌟: 3 / 5
📚: This book contains 80 animals and one question: do they fart?
💭: Much like a toot, this is one of those books that absolutely could have knocked my socks off blown me away but ended up just kind of being a little sad and stinky. I can only assume that whoever edited it made the decision that this book couldn’t go beyond existing as a gag gift that would languish on a shelf for a while without being read— you know the type.
And quite honestly, I was really disappointed by it. While parts are genuinely well written and researched (the list of acknowledgements reads as a Who’s Who of Science Twitter circa 2017), there is little structure to this book. It repeats itself endlessly (it genuinely reads as the same paragraph about cow-like animals and their gastric prowess twelve times at least), something that could have been eliminated if animals were grouped together in any way. Even as an actual reference, this book isn’t actually helpful— the order is completely random so that even opening up to a table of contents still requires some searching to find animals (even alphabetical order would be helpful, just like, as a bare minimum).
While I think this could be a fun book to read with kids (and there IS a kids’ edition), there is a slight hump of biology knowledge that readers need to come to the table with. Despite there being a glossary of terms, many concepts that are brought up but never explained— such as how fermentation or digestion works— that could help readers understand the reasons why an animal does or doesn’t fart.
Clearly there was a decent amount of research and expertise that went into writing this, but with the lack of any references or citations or even referencing what different contributors provided expertise on specifically, it makes it way less useful as an actual serious resource. In all honesty, much of Does It Fart? could be edited into bullet points instead of the two-ish paragraphs that every animal got.
It’s a decent, short read, but really doesn’t go beyond something that you would buy as a contribution to a White Elephant (an animal which, by the way, DOES fart) party. I had fun reading it, but it’s not something I would recommend widely.
September 29, 2019
For what this is, it's a delight. It's short - less than a hundred pages - and every entry is one page long. No more, no less. Every entry answers the central question: "does it fart?" and then if yes, how, and if not, why not. There are rare cases where the answer is "we don't know" and it explains why that is.
The tone is light but not crass, and it sometimes gets a touch dark - see the entry on cows, and how they're contributing to global warming - it mostly stays funny and informative.
One more thing: there's cute art for some of the entries. It's charming, but my god everything's about farts with these people.
Highly recommended as a book you should borrow from the library - you'll get a chuckle out of it and learn some stuff.
The tone is light but not crass, and it sometimes gets a touch dark - see the entry on cows, and how they're contributing to global warming - it mostly stays funny and informative.
One more thing: there's cute art for some of the entries. It's charming, but my god everything's about farts with these people.
Highly recommended as a book you should borrow from the library - you'll get a chuckle out of it and learn some stuff.
February 26, 2023
Przyjemna bardzo i zabawna. Bardzo ładne ilustracje
Read
April 6, 2018Essential reading for anyone writing shifters...
octopus don't btw...
octopus don't btw...
May 24, 2020
There are 2 versions: one for adults and another that is a children's version of this book (Does It Fart?: A Kid's Guide to the Gas Animals Pass) because we all have a burning need to answer this question...
Seriously, this is one of those short books likely destined for most folks' bathrooms as an occasional read - and I'm sure it would work well as that book. It is a scientific look prompted by a family member's question concerning snake farts. You might think that the answer is a straightforward
yes or no, but there are a few maybes, a couple of not any mores, and one nobody knows sprinkled in there. The illustrations that accompany the text are cute and humorous.
A few of the interesting / funny tidbits I picked up along the way:
- A plane full of goats (2,000) had to land early when the fire alarm was set off by the copious amounts of gas produced during the flight.
- Sea anemones have an opening called a siphonophore that does double duty as a mouth and an anus. [This brings to mind whole new ways to insult people without them knowing you are doing it...I can think of a few folks where it is hard to tell the difference...]
- Most, but not all, mammals fart. Sloths are known not to fart due to their slow digestive habits. The jury is still out on bats - a mystery still being studied.
- If you've ever owned a dog, you know they fart. But the authors point out that scientists developed a dog coat to collect the flatulence (the fancy scientific name for farts) and that this required "a designated smell tester to rank each fart on how bad they smelled - so if you hate your current job, spare a thought for the fart tester." [OMG - I was rolling in the floor]
Seriously, this is one of those short books likely destined for most folks' bathrooms as an occasional read - and I'm sure it would work well as that book. It is a scientific look prompted by a family member's question concerning snake farts. You might think that the answer is a straightforward
yes or no, but there are a few maybes, a couple of not any mores, and one nobody knows sprinkled in there. The illustrations that accompany the text are cute and humorous.
A few of the interesting / funny tidbits I picked up along the way:
- A plane full of goats (2,000) had to land early when the fire alarm was set off by the copious amounts of gas produced during the flight.
- Sea anemones have an opening called a siphonophore that does double duty as a mouth and an anus. [This brings to mind whole new ways to insult people without them knowing you are doing it...I can think of a few folks where it is hard to tell the difference...]
- Most, but not all, mammals fart. Sloths are known not to fart due to their slow digestive habits. The jury is still out on bats - a mystery still being studied.
- If you've ever owned a dog, you know they fart. But the authors point out that scientists developed a dog coat to collect the flatulence (the fancy scientific name for farts) and that this required "a designated smell tester to rank each fart on how bad they smelled - so if you hate your current job, spare a thought for the fart tester." [OMG - I was rolling in the floor]
April 12, 2019
I can’t believe I finished this book. Started in October 2018 😂
It’s not meant to read in one sitting, but it is funny and very informative. It includes a wide variety of species although a small book like this surely missed a bunch more. It was even nice enough to include the megalodon. Does the megalodon fart? The answer sadly, is not anymore.
The book was fartastic. Not a coffee table book, but maybe bathroom book? Well researched and has a light casual tone to it. All readers will enjoy it.
It’s not meant to read in one sitting, but it is funny and very informative. It includes a wide variety of species although a small book like this surely missed a bunch more. It was even nice enough to include the megalodon. Does the megalodon fart? The answer sadly, is not anymore.
The book was fartastic. Not a coffee table book, but maybe bathroom book? Well researched and has a light casual tone to it. All readers will enjoy it.
April 21, 2018
Truly a great tome for a troubled time. The sentence that broke my heart (regarding the question of whether Spiders fart) was this: "No work has been done to verify this to date, however, so the truth remains a mystery until urgently needed research funding is allocated."
Sigh.
A great book. And that's no hot air.
Sigh.
A great book. And that's no hot air.
October 27, 2018
Admit it - no matter what your age is, you know this makes you giggle. Farts. They're funny, definitely. I dare you to convince me otherwise. This books is fascinating and kept me thoroughly entertained for a good few hours. It's short read, but packed full of fun animal facts (not just about farts!) and I guarantee you more than a couple of chuckles along the way!
There's not a ton of animals that DON'T fart. But there are a few "maybe" and "definitely nos" in here (birds, for one, do not fart). But the facts behind the farts are what makes this book! There's one animal... I won't give up what kind, but the fart emitted from a group of these critters on a transport plane, were so bad they actually set off fire alarms and caused an emergency landing! Some animals, like the fish species Herring - use farts as secrets codes to communicate - I swear! While others, as defense mechanisms... I mean, I believe that 100% because nothing makes me jump of the couch faster than a dog fart!
There's just about every animal in here you can imagine, including my faves, the hippo of course, and dogs, but also some fun ones - like dinosaurs - do they fart?? Well, not anymore - duh! lol
I loved this book - it was great fun - and I really enjoyed reading it. Laughing while learning is the best kind of book. And this one is perfect for both! Can't wait to read more from these zoologists, ecologists and scientists, who dare to examine and study such a stinky subject - so the rest of us can laugh about it!
There's not a ton of animals that DON'T fart. But there are a few "maybe" and "definitely nos" in here (birds, for one, do not fart). But the facts behind the farts are what makes this book! There's one animal... I won't give up what kind, but the fart emitted from a group of these critters on a transport plane, were so bad they actually set off fire alarms and caused an emergency landing! Some animals, like the fish species Herring - use farts as secrets codes to communicate - I swear! While others, as defense mechanisms... I mean, I believe that 100% because nothing makes me jump of the couch faster than a dog fart!
There's just about every animal in here you can imagine, including my faves, the hippo of course, and dogs, but also some fun ones - like dinosaurs - do they fart?? Well, not anymore - duh! lol
I loved this book - it was great fun - and I really enjoyed reading it. Laughing while learning is the best kind of book. And this one is perfect for both! Can't wait to read more from these zoologists, ecologists and scientists, who dare to examine and study such a stinky subject - so the rest of us can laugh about it!
April 5, 2018
As the mother of boys who are always interested in farts and find them the funniest things ever, I knew I had to read this book and I’m so glad I did! I learned a lot and had some laughs along the way too.
The authors have researched all kinds of animals from birds, to roly-polys, to camels. It briefly describes the digestive systems of each of these creatures and adds some humor to it as well. Most animals, it appears, fart but some do not.
While having a chuckle here and there, I was amazed at the enormous amount of information that I absorbed along the way.
I think this is a delightful book for young children on up to adults. You never stop learning and you never stop laughing.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The authors have researched all kinds of animals from birds, to roly-polys, to camels. It briefly describes the digestive systems of each of these creatures and adds some humor to it as well. Most animals, it appears, fart but some do not.
While having a chuckle here and there, I was amazed at the enormous amount of information that I absorbed along the way.
I think this is a delightful book for young children on up to adults. You never stop learning and you never stop laughing.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
January 31, 2020
My hangup is that I hate the third word in the title there. I don't like to say it or type it, though actually all words for it are kind of stupid.
However, the science is interesting, and even with my hangups they can be funny. This book is well done for that. Good information and explanation, lots of interesting facts beyond flatulence, and delightful illustrations.
I appreciate that in general the animal faces are gleeful if they have dealt it and chagrined if they have smelt it, and just flummoxed for one tail-over-tea kettle ferret.
However, the science is interesting, and even with my hangups they can be funny. This book is well done for that. Good information and explanation, lots of interesting facts beyond flatulence, and delightful illustrations.
I appreciate that in general the animal faces are gleeful if they have dealt it and chagrined if they have smelt it, and just flummoxed for one tail-over-tea kettle ferret.
January 7, 2021
Do you know what is the most common question animal researchers get asked?
- 'Does it fart?'
Well, this book is super hilarious yet packed with science. I always thought of hippo as being cute, but it seems is one of the deadliest mammals on the planet and a poop sprinkler :)) Also didn't know that herring do fart, some snakes do, but birds don't. And maybe the only mammal known not to fart is the sloth, when even cockroaches do, especially on our food! Such a variety of creatures and all of them with different and unique digestive systems.
- 'Does it fart?'
Well, this book is super hilarious yet packed with science. I always thought of hippo as being cute, but it seems is one of the deadliest mammals on the planet and a poop sprinkler :)) Also didn't know that herring do fart, some snakes do, but birds don't. And maybe the only mammal known not to fart is the sloth, when even cockroaches do, especially on our food! Such a variety of creatures and all of them with different and unique digestive systems.
February 2, 2018
I enjoyed this.
An educational book which, despite and because of the subject matter, raises a lot of good ecological points. I learnt a lot from it.
It has to be noted that there definitely is a dearth of research into certain animals and whether or not they fart. I hope this book inspires further research and the funding it requires.
I definitely recommend this book to scientists young and old as well as fart aficionados.
An educational book which, despite and because of the subject matter, raises a lot of good ecological points. I learnt a lot from it.
It has to be noted that there definitely is a dearth of research into certain animals and whether or not they fart. I hope this book inspires further research and the funding it requires.
I definitely recommend this book to scientists young and old as well as fart aficionados.
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