The world’s most dangerous fart - Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti

譯者: Riley Huang 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

For most humans, farts are a welcome relief,

對於大部分的人來說， 放屁是種舒爽的解放、

an embarrassing incident, or an opportunity for a gas-based gag.

一個尷尬的小插曲，

或是個惡作劇。

But for many other creatures, farts are no laughing matter.

但對其他生物而言， 放屁並不是件好笑的事情。

Deep in the bowels of the animal kingdom, farts can serve as tools of intimidation,

在動物王國的肚腸裡， 放屁可以作為恫嚇的工具、

acts of self-defense, and even weapons of malodorous murder.

禦敵的方式， 甚至是惡臭的殺人武器。

The smelliest parts in the animal kingdom aren’t lethal,

動物王國裡最臭的屁雖然不致命，

but they might ruin your trip to the beach.

但很有可能會毀了你的沙灘之旅。

Seals and sea lions are well-known for having truly foul farts due to their diet.

海獅和海豹因為飲食 的關係會放出很臭的屁。

Fish and shellfish are incredibly high in sulfur.

魚類和貝類的硫含量非常高，

And during digestion, mammalian gut bacteria breaks down sulfur

而在消化過程中，哺乳類動物的 腸道細菌會分解硫化物

and amino acids containing sulfur to produce hydrogen disulphide,

和含有硫的胺基酸 來產生二硫化氫（H2S2）——

a gas with a smell resembling rotten eggs.

一種聞起來像臭雞蛋的氣體。

Seals and sea lions can’t help their funky flatulence,

海獅和海豹沒辦法控制 自己放出惡臭的屁，

But some animals deploy their farts strategically.

但有些動物放屁卻是有策略性的。

Both the Eastern hognose snake and the Sonoran coral snake

東部豬鼻蛇和索諾拉珊瑚蛇

use a tactic called cloacal popping.

都會使用一種叫做 「泄殖腔噴氣」的策略。

This involves sucking air into their cloaca—

他們會先將空氣吸到泄殖腔——

a hole used for urinating, defecating and reproduction—

一個用於排尿、排便和生殖的孔，

and then shooting it back out with a loud pop.

再「碰！」的一聲噴氣出來。

These pops are no more dangerous than a sea lion’s stench,

這個氣沒有比海獅的臭屁危險，

but they are effective at scaring off would-be predators.

但可以有效地嚇跑潛在的掠食者。

Meanwhile, the flatulence of beaded lacewing larvae are silent and deadly.

另一方面，毛蜻蛉科幼蟲的屁 是無聲又致命的。

Their farts contain a class of chemical known as allomone

他們的屁含有「利己傳訊素」，

that has evolved specifically to paralyze termites.

是一種專門用來麻痺白蟻的化學物質。

In fact, this allomone is so powerful,

事實上，利己傳訊素非常毒，

a single fart can immobilize multiple termites for up to three hours,

只要一個屁就能讓一群 白蟻長達三個小時無法動彈，

or even kill them outright.

或是直接殺死他們。

Either way, these toxic farts give beaded lacewing larvae plenty of time

但不管哪種方式，

這種毒屁讓毛蜻蛉科幼蟲有很多時間

to devour prey up to three times their size.

來吞食牠們體型三倍大的獵物。

For some other animals, however, holding farts in can be deadly.

然而，對有些動物而言， 把屁憋住是會致命的。

The Bolson pupfish is a small freshwater fish found in northern Mexico.

灰鱂是一種分布在 墨西哥北邊的小型淡水魚。

These fish feed on algae and other small organisms in the sediment.

這些魚以沉澱物中的藻類 和其他小生物為食。

But during the hottest days of the summer,

但在非常炎熱的夏日裡，

this algae produces a lot of gas.

肚子裡的藻類會產生很多氣體。

If a pupfish doesn’t fart this gas out, it becomes buoyant—

如果灰鱂沒有將這些氣體排出來， 他們就會浮到水面上——

making it easy prey for passing birds.

成為路過鳥類的獵物。

And it isn't just predators they have to worry about.

除了要擔心被掠食，

Excessive gas buildup can actually burst their digestive systems.

堆積過量的氣體可能會 將牠們的消化系統撐破。

Researchers have found groups of several hundred dead pupfish

研究人員曾發現數百隻死掉的灰鱂，

that failed to fart for their lives.

牠們因為沒有放屁而喪命。

Fortunately for humanity,

幸運的是，對人類而言，

animal farts can’t directly harm a human— outside making us lose our lunch.

動物的屁並不會直接傷害到人類 ——除了影響我們的食慾——

But in the right circumstances,

但在特殊情況下，

some animal flatulence can create surprisingly dangerous conditions.

有些動物的屁會造成意想不到的危險。

In the fall of 2015, a tripped smoke alarm

在 2015 年的秋天，

一架飛機因為煙霧警報器響而迫降

forced a plane to make an emergency landing.

Upon further inspection, officials found that there was no fire—

經過進一步的調查， 調查人員發現飛機並沒有起火，

just the burps and farts of over 2,000 goats being transported in the cargo bay.

只有在貨艙裡 2,000 多隻山羊的嗝和屁。

The change in air pressure had caused them to pass gas en masse.

因為氣壓的變化導致 他們排出大量的氣體。

Thankfully, this story of farting goats had relatively low costs.

幸好這個山羊放屁的故事 並沒有讓人付出很大的代價，

But the most dangerous flatulence in the world may actually come from

但世界上最危險的屁

實際上可能來自同樣平易近人的動物：

a similarly unassuming mammal: the humble cow.

不起眼的牛。

There are nearly one billion cows in the world,

世界上有將近 10 億頭牛，

most of them raised specifically for milk and meat.

大部分是為了生產 牛奶和牛肉而飼養的。

Like goats, cows are ruminants,

和羊一樣，牛是反芻動物，

which means their stomachs have four chambers,

代表他們的胃有四個胃室

allowing them to chew, digest and regurgitate their food multiple times.

幫助牛隻反覆地 咀嚼、消化及反芻食物。

This process helps them extract extra nutrients from their food,

這個過程能幫助他們 從食物中獲得更多營養，

but it also produces a lot of gas.

但也因此製造出很多氣體。

This is particularly troubling because one of the gases cows emit

這是個問題，

因為牛放出的其中一種氣體是甲烷——

is methane,

a major greenhouse gas that contributes heavily to global warming.

導致全球暖化的一種主要的溫室氣體。

One kilogram of methane traps dozens of times more heat in the atmosphere

一公斤的甲烷在大氣中吸收的熱

than one kilogram of carbon dioxide.

是一公斤二氧化碳吸收的幾十倍。

And with each cow releasing up to 100 kilograms of methane every year,

而每隻牛每年會排放 多達 100 公斤的甲烷，

these animals have become one of the biggest contributors

這讓他們成為造成氣候變遷

toward climate change.

最大的元凶之一。

So while other animals may have louder, fouler, or even more toxic farts,

所以說，雖然其他動物的屁 可能更大聲、更臭，甚至更毒，

cow flatulence may be the most dangerous gas ever to pass.

但牛的屁大概是 有史以來最危險的屁。