A fart competition that took place in the India city of Surat last week has broken the internet. The ‘What the Fart’ competition put all things fart-related into the spotlight.
Farting is a natural process of the human body in which the body releases excess gas generated through different digestive processes. People also refer to the process as breaking wind.
The competition, brainchild of 48-year-old singer Yatin Sangoi and partner Mul Sanghvi, aimed to break taboos surrounding open discussions on the topic.
According to reports, contestants were tested on how loud, long and musical their gaseous releases were. “I want to normalise the process of farting.” Sangoi told the media before the competition began.
The competition offered a trophy and cash prizes for the winners, and tens of people from India registered for the event. However, only three showed up at the competition venue on the designated day.
Vishnu Heda, a 30-year old, won the INR2,500 prize despite doing ‘nothing’, as he put it, according to a report in Indian daily The Times of India.
An expert told TOI that it was normal for a healthy human being to fart 14-15 times a day. “Holding farts can lead to forgetfulness and dementia,” the expert said.
