
Photo: Mr. Methane/Twitter
In the late 1980s, Mr. Methane started performing as an opening act for a local music band, and subsequently traveled to New York, where he both impressed and horrified show hosts like Howard Stern with his farting ability. He has produced musical parodies of famous songs, including Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight“, and has made appearances on show’s like Britain’s Got Talent, and Germany’s Das Supertalent. Dr Peter Whorwell, a renowned bowel specialist from Withington hospital in Manchester, by raising the diaphragm, Mr. Methane is able to suck air into the colon through an open sphincter, then close the sphincter before discharging the air. By moving the buttock cheeks, the entertainer has learned to alter the tone and pitch of his farts, allowing him to perform his unusual musical repertoire.
Mr. Methane’s story is similar to that of Le Pétomane (literally, the fart maniac), a 19th-century French entertainer who learned that he was able to suck air through his sphincter while swimming and then used this ability to build a career for himself in Paris. In 2018, Mr. Methane contacted Guinness Records and asked to have his attempt at releasing the most farts in one minute be acknowledged. He aimed for 50, but reportedly managed a whopping 86 farts. This wasn’t his first attempt at getting his name into the world’s most famous record book. He had contacted them in 1990 as well, but back then his talent wasn’t something Guinness wanted to be associated with their brand.
“Hopefully I’ll get into the book this time as they are a lot more liberal. But there’s room for improvement, maybe I could do 100 in a minute,” the super-farter said.