How often do people fart? That pressing question is currently being studied by scientists at the University of Maryland. Microbiologist Brantley Hall and his colleagues are attempting to map something scientists have largely ignored: the patterns and frequency of everyday human gas. “What’s real ly fascinating,” says Hall, “is that we don’t know how often people are farting.” The few studies that have tried to measure that relied on invasive techniques like rectal tubes, and most were conducted decades ago. “One in five people report excess intestinal gas,” he says. “But if we don’t know what normal is, we don’t know what excess is.” That’s why Hall is working on something called the Human Flatus Atlas, an attempt to create the first large-scale data set of everyday human gas. The project involves a “smart underwear” device that Hall has been developing since 2020. A first-of-its-kind contraption designed to reveal what your farts say about your gut health, the device is a small sensor that the user places in their underwear to record whatever passes through it. The resulting data goes to an accompanying iPhone app and then is uploaded to servers so that users—and researchers—can track gaseous trends. Apparently, people are quite curious about their gut health: More than 7,300 have signed up to participate so far. The demand has surprised even Hall, who initially expected only dozens of volunteers. The wave of responses has prompted the team to greatly expand production of the smart-underwear devices. The goal is to capture a broad cross-­section of participants across age, diet, and lifestyle. Participants are asked to wear the device—which the team describes as “comfortable”—for at least three days. Hall has been using one himself for more than a month. Beyond the team’s 2025 study, researchers are planning collaborations with universities across the country to expand the data and refine the technology. Hall says there’s plenty more to study, such as the ways that some foods and diets are connected to flatulence. “Right now, a major impediment for switching from a low-fiber diet to a high-fiber diet is the crazy gas symptoms you get,” he explains. “We’re trying to find a way to make that switch easier. Imagine a future where you could eat healthy without experiencing excess intestinal gas.” Eventually, Hall hopes the device could move beyond the lab and into the wellness market. “Hundreds of people have emailed asking to be part of the study, so there’s definitely some demand in the reduction-of-gas space,” he says. “We would love for it to be a mass-produced product.” This article appears in the April 2026 issue of Washingtonian.The post Why Maryland Scientists Are Studying Farts first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less