In 1999, author Jim Dawson observed that fart lighting has been a novelty practice primarily among young men or college students for decades but is discouraged for its potential for causing harm.
[1] Such experiments typically occur on camping trips and in single-sex group residences, such as tree-houses, dormitories, or fraternity houses.
[3][4] In his book The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life, author Jim Dawson explains how a great deal of unhappiness is due to people's inability to exert control over their thoughts and behavior and that "stupid stunts", including lighting flatulence, were a way to make an impression and be included in group bonding or hazing.
[6] Another Zappa book quotes his neighbor Kenny Williams saying that it demonstrates "compression, ignition, combustion and exhaust.
The odor associated with flatus is due to hydrogen sulfide, skatole, indole, volatile amines, and short-chain fatty acids also produced by the bacteria.