The whoopee cushion has stood the test of time, as have the jokes, quotations, riddles, and mishaps of characters and public figures who find themselves literally elevated, or propelled, by the power of the human emissions system. Seekers of lowbrow laughs continually turn to the rear to release the pressures of being graced with pipes and pipettes. Now they can turn elsewhere—to this comical collection of facts and fancies about the windy wonder and the art it has inspired. For three decades, humorist Don D. Nibbelink obsessed over this most common human experience. The result is this witty paean to all that is silent but deadly that takes readers from 12th century inns to modern road signs in Germany, from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Among the book’s petomanic pleasures are a recipe for Nun’s Fart, a delightful traditional French bakery treat; notes to fellow farters; commentary on the classics (beans, beer, and belching); a thoughtful chapter called “Around the World in 80 Farts”; farting contests and the fart bomb; sections on pyrotechnical farts, silver screen farts, and musical farts, imitation farts, and terminal flatulence; and loads more.