The 鈥淪ex Machines Museum鈥� in Prague (who would have ever guessed that there is such a place) has on display an item that appears to be made of a leather funnel attached to an inflatable leather bag. According to accompanying caption it is a 鈥渧anvera,鈥� described as a device worn by 17th聽century aristocratic Venetian women under their voluminous skirts with the intent of catching gaseous emissions. Whether this is a one-of-a-kind joke item or was actually worn by women worried about social etiquette, isn鈥檛 clear. What is clear is that concerns about flatulation were around as early as 2400 years ago.
Hippocrates, regarded as the 鈥淔ather of Medicine,鈥� believed that trapped gases cause an imbalance in the body and recommended the use of herbs such as fennel, anise and coriander to ease their expulsion. These herbs, known as 鈥渃arminatives,鈥� actually can relax the intestinal muscles including the anal and stomach sphincters allowing gases to escape more readily either as burps or flatus. The Roman Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), who ruled at a time when social norms frowned on passing wind, supposedly heard of a senator who had severe cramps because of an attempt to hold back gas. A likely apocryphal account claims he contemplated passing an edict that would allow guests at banquets to let loose without worrying about etiquette to prevent such calamities.
Over the years, passing gas has always been looked on as socially unacceptable because of the foul odour produced. In 1781, Benjamin Franklin used his sharp wit to address the problem. In a famous essay he urged scientists to 鈥渄iscover a chemical substance or dietary additive that could be mixed with food to make intestinal gas inoffensive and as agreeable as a perfume.鈥� Instead of bringing shame, this would allow people to 鈥渇art proudly.鈥� However, another hundred years would pass until scientists began to get a handle on the problem. They suggested handling it with charcoal!
In the late 1700s, German-Russian chemist Johann Tobias Lowitz discovered that charcoal can remove colors, smells, and tastes from liquids and pioneered its practical use for purifying drinking water and removing impurities from sugar syrup. Although charcoal found use in a number of industrial processes, only in the late 1800s did physicians think of giving powdered charcoal to patients troubled with excessive gas. The effectiveness wasn鈥檛 great, and charcoal also caused blackened stools, constipation and interfered with the absorption of medications.
One idea to circumvent the problems with oral charcoal was to attack the problem at the other end. Why not try charcoal impregnated pads placed in underwear to absorb the emissions? Several patents were granted for these, but the first one to describe underwear designed to incorporate a replaceable carbon filter was granted in 1997 to American inventor Chester Weimer. It was made of air-tight polyurethane-coated nylon with elastic sewn around the waist and legs. There was an exit hole at the bottom covered with a pocket into which a pad made of layers of felt, glass fiber, polypropylene and 鈥渁ctivated鈥� charcoal was inserted. Activated charcoal is produced by heating carbon with steam in the absence of oxygen. This creates numerous tiny channels in the charcoal thereby greatly increasing the surface area to which gases can bind.
Weimer鈥檚 invention was stimulated by his wife鈥檚 frequent odiferous emissions as a result of suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn鈥檚 disease. The sewer-like odour of the hydrogen sulfide, methane thiol and dimethylsulfide released in her 鈥渨ind鈥� was very troublesome. The underwear Weimer finally produced to solve his wife鈥檚 problem worked so well that in 2001 he founded a company, the 鈥淯nder-Tec Corporation,鈥� to produce 鈥淯nder-Ease鈥� underwear.
Weimer鈥檚 ingenuity did not go unnoticed. He was the recipient if the 2001 Ig Nobel Prize in biology for his invention of 鈥渁irtight underwear with a replaceable charcoal filter that removes bad-smelling gases before they escape.鈥� The Ig Nobel聽Prize is a satirical award honoring real scientific research that 鈥渇irst makes people laugh and then makes them think.鈥�
In 2010, the producers of the 鈥淪hark Tank鈥� television program were looking for unusual products to feature and got wind of Weimer鈥檚 invention. They thought that inviting him and his wife to make a pitch for funding to grow their company would be entertaining. It was, but the Sharks did not bite, claiming that the market for such a product was too small. One of the Sharks, entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran, remarked that she 鈥渨ould rather have gas and wear sexy underwear.鈥� Although they received no funding from the Sharks, the publicity the program generated boosted sales, especially around holidays when people bought Under-Ease as a joke item. Unfortunately, after an initial lift, sales flattened and the company went out of business in 2021.
But prolific flatulators need have no fear. A number of similar products have entered the marketplace. 鈥淪hreddies鈥� is a British Company that sells underwear with a built-in activated carbon impregnated panel that absorbs odiferous gases as they pass through. The name originates from British soldiers who found that during long marches underwear fibers would break down and 鈥渟hred.鈥� While 鈥淪hreddies鈥� have been shown to work in trials, they are not problem free. They can only be laundered with washing soda since detergents inactivate the carbon and the fabric is also opaque to airport scanners. Wearing Shreddies may result in the uncomfortable situation of having to remove them but as the manufacturers says, they can be safely transported in carry-on luggage.
The briefs, which have been joined by deodourizing pyjamas and jeans, also come with instructions for odour-free flatulation. 鈥淭o avoid gas escaping around the filter we recommend that you stand with your legs together and try to let your wind out slowly. When sitting, keep your knees together so that flatulence escapes through the carbon panel.鈥� One might conclude that wearing the right garment and following the instructions will, as Benjamin Franklin had hoped, allow people to 鈥渇art proudly.鈥�
