Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology, aliens, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government conspiracies, cults, ghosts, EVPs, myths, ancient artifacts, religion, strange facts or just the plain unexplainable.
This week: Strange Facts
Nowadays they'll let just about anybody be a celebrity. History doesn't mind though, because it's used to it. It seems that for years and years people have been getting rich and famous for strange, very strange reasons. Take Le Pétomane for example. According to Wikipedia:
"He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to fart at will."
We think we smell the next Idol franchise. Pun intended.
The single greatest farter the world has ever known was Joseph Pujol, a Frenchman who lived from 1857 – 1945. You know how Peter Parker got bitten by the spider, and then went on to discover his powers? Well Pujol had a similar experience. Again, according to Wikipedia:
"Soon after he left school he had a strange experience while swimming in the sea. He would put his head under the water and hold his breath whereupon he felt an icy cold penetrating his rear. He ran ashore in fright and was amazed to see water pouring from his anus."
If we were making this up, we swear we'd tell you. Pujol went on to suck water up from pans into his rectum and spurt it several yards for his friends amusement. He soon discovered he could do the same with air.
In 1887 at the tender age of 30, Pujol first took the stage using the name Le Pétomane, a nickname his army buddies gave him which means roughly 'the farting maniac'. Pujol quickly won crowds over with his amazing fart-at-will skill. His act included mimicking the sound of cannon fire, thunder storms, playing the flute with a somehow connected rubber hose, and even rectally performing the national anthem of France.
The man was so popular, in fact he was booked to play the Moulin Rouge in Paris at the cost of 20,000 francs per show. Pujol's working relationship with the Moulin Rouge eventually lead to a lawsuit when the cabaret sued him for using his special powers to raise money for a financially ailing friend. The great farter eventually struck out on his own.
As time went on Pujol refined his craft. He began writing and reciting barn yard poetry which he would punctuate with fart-impressions of animal sounds. At his peak every show's climax would be his impression of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Read that last sentence one more time, and contemplate how awesome that show must have been.
Pujol died at the ripe old age of 88. A Paris university offered his family a big chunk of money to study the body, but the family refused. Since then there have been movies made about him, songs written about him, and even a musical that won the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival's 'Best musical' category. Though we couldn't find any recorded Pujol shows to accompany this story, we could find an interview with Mr. Methane, a modern day Le Pétomane equivalent. Fart away!
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