Are Office Farts Dangerous? Here’s The Science.
So in the age of COVID-19 we freeze with EVERY sneeze we hear. Could be a sneeze on TV and I'm thinking of washing the remote. But should we give a hoot if you toot? Scientists from "the land down under" think maybe so. Since farts originate in our own "down under" it seems they earned the right to speak their piece. Take a peek here.
So that article gave us the term bottom-based emission which is very polite. But the following piece gets our hands a little dirtier.. And I quote:
Our deduction is that the enteric zone in the second Petri dish was caused by the flatus itself, and the splatter ring around that was caused by the sheer velocity of the fart, which blew skin bacteria from the cheeks and blasted it onto the dish. It seems, therefore, that flatus can cause infection if the emitter is naked, but not if he or she is clothed. But the results of the experiment should not be considered alarming, because neither type of bacterium is harmful. In fact, they're similar to the ‘friendly’ bacteria found in yogurt.
My sincere apologies to yogurt fans.
So we learn that wearing pants is the most logical step to prevent flatulence from furthering the spread of the virus. TV's Stephen Colbert also added this
“Experts recommend that for safety sake, please fart into your elbow.”
So the once despicable fart; if in proper pants- may be less of an office no-no than some of these far less aromatic options: