alt.hn

3/15/2026 at 3:45:24 PM

UMD Scientists Create 'Smart Underwear' to Measure Human Flatulence

https://cbmg.umd.edu/news-events/news/brantley-hall-umd-scientists-create-smart-underwear-measure-human-flatulence

by ohjeez

3/15/2026 at 5:47:16 PM

Mythbusters made a version of this in an unaired segment of their 2006 episode about passing gas https://youtu.be/RHcDP_Yew-g?si=T7AONGdXPd4d_gM3

by gundmc

3/15/2026 at 6:18:10 PM

> in an unaired segment

checks out

by elcapitan

3/16/2026 at 2:32:08 AM

Historically (hysterically?); Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 – August 8, 1945), better known by his stage name Le Pétomane, was a French flatulist (professional fartist), comedian and entertainer. He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to seemingly fart at will. His stage name combines the French verb péter, "to fart" with the -mane, "-maniac" suffix, which translates to "fartomaniac". The profession is referred to as "flatulist", "farteur", or "fartiste". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Pétomane

by ayashko

3/16/2026 at 7:22:59 AM

Ofc Freud came to watch lol

by snthpy

3/15/2026 at 7:54:33 PM

I considered becoming and early adopter but decided my needs would be better served after someone develops an industrial/Mil-Spec variant with wider range of operating temperatures, environmental resistance, and impact rating.

by evanjrowley

3/15/2026 at 5:44:19 PM

Some PM somewhere is asking when this API will be available in the browser so that their site and its 413 trusted partners can delight their visitors with more relevant ads.

by impish9208

3/15/2026 at 7:26:28 PM

I need a pair that can measure pitch and timbre.

by shwaj

3/15/2026 at 11:50:26 PM

Same, but also measure blast radius

by jnaina

3/15/2026 at 4:39:20 PM

My first question was: who funded this? Seems like a candidate for a Proxmire Golden Fleece Award.

This research was supported by the University of Maryland, the Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase I and the UM Ventures Medical Device Development Fund.

by SoftTalker

3/15/2026 at 6:38:27 PM

Or just maybe, it was developed to further a legitimately needed area of medical research with direct human clinical relevance like quantifying differences in the microbiome for colorectal cancer, etc.

The concept of the Golden Fleece awards (and whatever Rand Paul’s version is called) linking a reaction of “sounds stupid to me” by a random layperson with “taxpayers are getting ripped off” is inherently faulty and weaponizing populism to sabotage publicly funded scientific research.

by toraway

3/15/2026 at 6:21:51 PM

I’ll remind us all that the subject of human flatulence has been one of interest for some of history’s greatest minds - and humorists - for several centuries at the very least:

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-32-02-02...

by MrWiffles

3/15/2026 at 8:45:07 PM

Calling farts “Quantity of Wind” is peak class. I will adopt this nomenclature

by financetechbro

3/15/2026 at 4:58:19 PM

I do think this has a chance of breaking records for clinical trial participation rates.

by xrd

3/15/2026 at 7:29:12 PM

Waiting on the legislation demanding that every underwear must have these "safety" features and then someone will insert a meter to those and start taxing us for every single puff.

by tomkarho

3/15/2026 at 7:57:20 PM

Countries struggle to keep drugs, immigrants or straight up vape shops away. If we fail to keep our most basic laws enforced, how do you imagine stuff like this working. Cheap sarcasm like this has no place on HN.

by dzhiurgis

3/15/2026 at 4:23:34 PM

When gas hits $5 a gallon at the pump, scientists get creative.

by shermantanktop

3/15/2026 at 7:05:24 PM

Time to rewatch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderpants

by whynotmaybe

3/16/2026 at 12:35:39 AM

I read the plot and noped out on that one, until I read the cast list. Paul Giamatti? Fine, it goes on the list for tonight. If for no other reason than to find out what the hell he’s doing in something like that.

by mikestew

3/16/2026 at 4:13:22 AM

The RedLetterMedia guys watched thunderpants and enjoyed it. If you can't be bothered watching it, you can watch their summary discussion of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGI-BKctOK8

by Khaine

3/16/2026 at 1:17:07 AM

Please, for the good of humanity, and of HN, report back.

by MrWiffles

3/16/2026 at 2:48:10 AM

I wish I could report success, but I can’t find it streaming. Amazon will sell me the DVD for $6, but I don’t know if I wanted to get that invested. I may have to hoist the sails…

by mikestew

3/15/2026 at 4:18:12 PM

Future Ig Nobel candidate?

I signed up for the study. I like to participate in studies at the local college and I track my sleep and stuff daily on my watch. Kind of excited about this. I'll report back with my data if I get picked

Update: dang

Thank you for your interest in the Human Flatus Atlas and for your willingness to participate in our study.

Due to overwhelming demand, we are currently experiencing a temporary pause in onboarding new participants. At this time, we kindly ask that you save the personalized consent form link you received, as it will be required to continue your participation once we are ready to bring you on board.

We will send a notification once we have expanded capacity to accommodate all participants.

We are thrilled by the incredible response to this study and truly appreciate your patience and enthusiasm. We look forward to your participation.

Sincerely, The Human Flatus Atlas Research Team

by zoklet-enjoyer

3/15/2026 at 5:00:28 PM

Ig Nobel is doing more for science than Nobel:

- It's fun.

- The prizes are accessible to young scientists who actually need the career boost from the publicity (as opposed to established scientists who are mostly boosting the prestige of the prize)

- They promote awareness of how diverse and awesome science is.

by dguest

3/15/2026 at 4:56:36 PM

Sincerely, TH FART

by batch12

3/15/2026 at 5:19:44 PM

Small annoyance, the team name is missing an E.

Wish they had gone with The Human Enterologic Flatulence Atlas Research Team.

by salad-tycoon

3/16/2026 at 12:58:22 AM

32 a day!?! I guess I’m not that abnormal after all then.

by impure

3/15/2026 at 4:27:41 PM

Life is stranger than fiction.

by nullorempty

3/15/2026 at 4:34:46 PM

I need a smell amplifier

by portly

3/15/2026 at 4:29:10 PM

And I just invented a fart-tube to route gasses away from sensors - already assuming farts will be taxed.

by nullorempty

3/15/2026 at 5:09:55 PM

I know this is worthwhile, especially with the rise in colorectal cancer in younger adults, perhaps this will help in early detection.

But I did take a double take and go “Is it April already?”

by nytesky

3/15/2026 at 5:55:42 PM

These measurements will not be complete if they do not measure the other two states of matter, liquid and solid. I don't know about you, but they've been known to appear.

by euroderf

3/15/2026 at 6:38:28 PM

As long as you're not achieving Plasma you're probably fine.

by WaxProlix

3/15/2026 at 5:44:34 PM

Some things should be left unknown.

by fortranfiend

3/15/2026 at 5:36:57 PM

Meta should buy this and make people in 3rd world countries watch this in real time

by bdangubic

3/15/2026 at 5:39:18 PM

Was just thinking about the surveillance aspect of this. Nobody would be able to pretend it was someone else who farted.

by tootie

3/15/2026 at 5:39:45 PM

This reminds me of one of the pinnacles of Canadian culture, Kenny vs Spenny. In one episode titled “Who Can Blow the Biggest Farts?” they used a device that measures flatulence to judge who blew the biggest fart.

I assume with this underwear we all can participate in gamified flatulence with a global leader board.

by throwup238

3/15/2026 at 4:14:55 PM

I wonder what comes after that, a tax for methane emissions?

by toenail

3/15/2026 at 4:25:29 PM

You speak in jest but compared to other taxes that have been proposed.. I can't say that you'd be wrong

by Simulacra

3/15/2026 at 4:22:01 PM

"This workplace is an Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. Violations will result in a daily standing charge docked from your pay."

by kotaKat

3/15/2026 at 4:25:28 PM

…and the Danes will tax it, just like they tax cow farts.

by paulbjensen

3/15/2026 at 4:41:46 PM

Well, given that both are destructive to the planet, that makes some sense.

(Also, cow burps are the bigger issue)

by CalRobert

3/15/2026 at 5:15:22 PM

Clearly. Seems like the top concern for today's the powers that be.

by nullorempty

3/15/2026 at 4:51:01 PM

Methane is the most harmful gas right now, but the solution for some reason is more money to the gov. Maybe we should do something about that meat industry

by ramon156

3/15/2026 at 5:10:38 PM

Methane you say.

May be they should just stop the wars for now. Stop spilling oil into the seas. Stop dropping bombs. Stop all the crazy shit they are doing.

As far as meat is concerned - our bodies need meat and fat to stay healthy.

by nullorempty

3/15/2026 at 5:56:29 PM

> Stop all the crazy shit they are doing.

But then we would have to accept methane is an excellent fuel and that we have an abundance of it. No one on the fortune 500 likes that idea.

by 6510

3/15/2026 at 7:52:09 PM

digital Farthings, here they come

by svilen_dobrev

3/15/2026 at 5:30:56 PM

That sounds like a classig igNobel Prize candidate!

by MarkusWandel

3/15/2026 at 6:32:42 PM

if they are electrified, they can be hacked to be an ignition source

by nacozarina

3/15/2026 at 6:55:01 PM

Hand ‘em the IgNoble prize already

by aanet

3/15/2026 at 6:21:30 PM

Can we bind it so when I fart it closes the tab?

by oulipo2

3/15/2026 at 5:17:31 PM

- imagine if you had superpowers to do anything

- i would replace everyone s underwear secretly with a bass base to emit a loud noise everytime someone farted

- imagine how many loud bops you would hear at the airport every second

by vivzkestrel

3/15/2026 at 4:20:00 PM

Tired: Kohler's poop camera.

Sleepy: Withings' piss sensor.

Wired: Smart fart panties.

by kotaKat

3/15/2026 at 4:52:36 PM

This can potenitally help people actually tell if their microbiome is okay. Seems like an actually useful study and will be very helpful for doctors.

by k4rnaj1k

3/15/2026 at 5:23:18 PM

Finally, we might have proof that family member(X) truly is releasing biological weapons grade flatulence at the next holiday get together.

by salad-tycoon