Story Archive

Smoke Screen

KYW, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, Pa., was apparently enamored of a story from New South Wales, Australia. It wrote up advice from Clare Collins, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle, who answered the unnamed reporter’s burning question: What happens if you hold in a fart? In an article headlined “Fart Expert: Gas Can Leak Out Of Mouth If You Hold It In”, they report Collins advises that holding back intestinal gas could cause “some gas [to be] reabsorbed into the circulation and exhaled in your breath.” Thus, “the best thing for your digestive health is to just let it go.” (RC/KYW Philadelphia) ...But mainly, the KYW reporter had to use “Fart Expert” in a headline to win a bet.