• Question: why do farts and burps smell

    Asked by 648nepk36 to Ed, Kerrianne, Oli, yoyehudi on 17 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Ed Bracey

      Ed Bracey answered on 17 Nov 2017:


      Farts contain sulfurous chemicals, which smell kind of eggy.
      Burps have halides, which you find in onions and garlic.
      Mice actually use halides to communicate to each other.
      Mouse A will smell Mouse B’s breath and it will be a mixture of halides and whatever mouse B has just eaten.
      That way Mouse A will know that it’s probably safe to eat whatever Mouse B just ate.

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