Whale flatulence stuns scientists

News.Com ^ | August 14, 2003 | Simon Benson

[joesnuffy]

Whale flatulence stuns scientists

By Simon Benson August 14, 2003

IT'S one of the unfortunate consequences of being a mammal - flatulence.

And, more unfortunately for a group of whale researchers, nature took its course right under their noses - literally.

The researchers claim this is the first photograph of a minke whale letting one go in the icy waters of Antarctica.
It was taken from the bow of a research vessel.

"We got away from the bow of the ship very quickly ... it does stink," said Nick Gales, a research scientist from the Australian Antarctic Division.

However, the episode did not detract from their mission, which was to collect DNA from whale dung and attach satellite tracking devices in the first research of its kind to track where the creatures go and what and how much they eat.

Already some incredible stories about whales are emerging.

One pigmy blue whale wearing a satellite tracking tag was found to be returning to a former population off southern Australia which was thought to have been hunted to extinction by Russian whalers.

"Every piece of this research is surprising," said Dr Gales.

"Some is confirming what we thought. We know a lot about humpbacks, but we don't know anything about where they are going.

"Internationally there is a big push ... saying there are now too many whales eating too many fish and so we have to kill them.

"It's important that we determine what impact whales actually have on a fishery such as krill ... and how that fishery interacts with the whale."

The Daily Telegraph

[mhking]

Roll that beautiful bean footage....

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[new cruelty]

[New Horizon]

Who cut the blubber?

[DooDahhhh]

Whale toots and Hillary's ideology seem equal to me!

[ctlpdad]

What a friggin career.

Grandkid: "What did you do for a career, grandpa?
Granda: "I studied whale farts"
Grandkid: "I didn't think there were bigger loosers than the floor cleaners at Wal-Mart, but i guess I'm wrong"

[dagoofyfoot]

"We got away from the bow of the ship very quickly...it does stink," said Nick Gales...


Wow! Extremely detailed scientific annalysis!


What will these bright minds discover next?


Oh yeah, Tom Dassholes response..."I'm shocked and saddened!

[bedolido]

A fart is a combination of gases (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide) that travels from a person's stomach to their anus. When a person swallows too much air or eats foods that the human digestive system cannot digest easily gas becomes trapped in his/her stomach. The only way for this excess gas to exit the body is through the anus.

The gas that makes your farts stink is the hydrogen sulfide gas. This gas contains sulfur which causes farts to have a smelly odor. The more sulfur rich your diet, the more your farts will stink. Some foods that cause really smelly farts include: beans, cabbage, cheese, soda, and eggs.

A scientific name for a fart is flatus or flatulence.

The word fart is just one of many different terms used to describe the release of gasses from the human body. Other popular names for farts or farting include: gassers, stinkers, air biscuits, bombers, barking spiders, rotten eggs, and wet ones. You can pass gas, break wind, blast, beef, poof, rip one, let one fly, step on a duck, and cut the cheese.

Farts can be stinky, wet, loud, or silent but deadly. Pee-eeew!!!

Did you know?
On the average, a healthy person farts 16 times a day.
Hey guys, don't be fooled by girls who tell you that they never fart. Everyone farts, including girls. In fact, females fart just as much as males.
Many animals fart too. Cats, dogs, and cows. Elephants fart the most.
People fart the most in their sleep.
Farts that contain a large amount of methane & hydrogen can be flammable.

[dagoofyfoot]

Man, that's gross!


Funny, but gross!!!

[Lockbar]

Ok, there goes the Ozone Layer. And the stupid liberals have been blaming my air conditioner and spray paint for years!

[Hatteras]

You forgot the 'one-cheek sneak'.

[Eagle Eye]

You now need a "Pull my fin" alert and ping list.

[Calpernia]

Funny ping

[Calpernia]

Saw this....and thought of you :))

[AngryJawa]

"The gas that makes your farts stink is the hydrogen sulfide gas."

Dammit! Now the mystique is gone!

[ctlpdad]

we call em "bunts" or "WHO BUNTED" always followed closely by the "DADEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE".

I like the phrase "dry as a popcorn fart" or aftereating really hot food saying "it was so hot i'm fartin sparks!"

[Hatteras]

"The researchers claim this is the first photograph of a minke whale letting one go in the icy waters of Antarctica. It was taken from the bow of a research vessel."

Assuming that they are talking about a large whale and assuming that they are looking down at the ring of gas approaching them from below the surface and noticing what appears to be surface wave ripples outside of the ring...., maybe chunks of ice floating on the surface? Just how far off the water is the bow of this fella's boat?! He's got to be 70 or 80 feet off the water!

Hoax picture perhaps?

[Mercat]

"Did the whale try and blame it on the family dog?"

My two year old granddaughter has already figured that one out although sometimes instead of saying that the dog did it, she says that the little boy at day care did it... even though he's 1/3 mile away at the time. hehe.

[LoneConservative]

Heh...
An old friend of mine had a beautiful Black Lab named Jester. One day, Jester got into a bunch od Slim Jims that were left on a low table after a superbowl party. The resulting farts would just about levitate that dog off the floor.

[Straight Vermonter]

If you say the rhyme you did the crime.

[Dante3]

Wow!