I am not watching the Oscars, as I'm sitting in a Borders in Uptown. Free WiFi!
Anyway, I was at a page about an alcohol gas detector, so you could make your own breathalyzer. Sadly, it's out of stock, but they have carbon dioxide and methane detectors. Methane CNG Gas Sensor - MQ-4 So that made me wonder - do human farts have methane?
According to Dr. James L. A. Roth, the author of Gastrointestinal Gas (Ch. 17 in Gastroenterology, v. 4, 1976) most people (2/3 of adults) pass farts that contain no methane. If both parents are methane producers, their children have a 95% chance of being producers as well. The reason for this is apparently unknown. Some researchers suspect a genetic influence, whereas others think the ability is due to environmental factors. However, all methane in any farts comes from bacterial action and not from human cells.Huh.
Now I want to test my farts for methane....