Igniting the gases produced by flatulence is a method known as fart lighting, pyroflatulence, or flatus ignition. The act is sometimes referred to as a “blue angel,” “blue dart,” or, in Australia, a “blue flame” since the ensuing flame is frequently blue in color. There are several amusing implications from the fact that flatus is combustible and the actual burning of it in this manner. Other flame colors, such orange and yellow, could occur based on the gas combination that forms in the colon.
Although fart lighting has been a novelty habit for decades, mostly among young males or college students, author Jim Dawson noted in 1999 that it is prohibited due to its potential for injury.[1] Usually, these trials take place in same-sex group homes like fraternity houses, tree houses, and dorms, as well as during camping excursions.[2] Since the introduction of online video sharing tools, hundreds of independently created documentaries and parodies have been uploaded to websites like YouTube. Most of the individuals seen in the videos are male young teens.[3][4] Author Mark Richard Leary describes in his book The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life how a large portion of sadness is caused by people’s incapacity to exercise control over their There are numerous anecdotal accounts of flatus ignition, and the practice is prevalent in popular culture. Author Neil Slaven quotes Frank Zappa discussing “the manly art of fart-burning” in Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa, and Zappa’s lyrics for “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black” include “Ronny helping Kenny helping burn his poots away.”[6] Another Zappa book quotes Zappa’s neighbor Kenny Williams as saying that it demonstrates “compression, ignition, combustion and exhaust.”[7] There have also been documented cases of flatulence during surgery that resulted in patient injury and a possible risk of death.
