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Joseph Pujol (1857-1945), better known as Le Pétomane, was a professional farter from France, who headlined at the Moulin Rouge. His stage name combined the French verb péter, "to fart" with “mane”, meaning "maniac", “fartomaniac”.
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Apparently, Le Pétomane was not passing intestinal gas, but had such fantastic control of his abdominal and rectal muscles, he could effectively suck air into to his rectum and expel it at will.
He discovered this talent as a small child. According to his biographers Jean Nohain and F. Caradec, the young Pétomane went swimming in the sea when he suddenly felt a very cold sensation in his bowels.
When he ran ashore, he pushed nearly litres of water out of his behind. Apparently the family doctor laughed this off & told him not to worry about it. As an adult, Pétomane started to perform his trick in front of his friends & realised he could also suck air in & fart at will
He took the name Pétomane and started touring his act in provincial towns. He quickly became a sensation and was soon heading for the bright lights of Paris.
He was soon the Moulin Rouge’s most profitable act, pulling in 20,000 francs a show. Not only could he fart popular show tunes, but he could smoke a cigarette, play the flute, and extinguish a candle from a metre away - all with his bottom.
He toured his act all over the world & even opened his own theatre. He performed in front of Edward, Prince of Wales, King Leopold II of Belgium, and Sigmund Freud.
By 1914, at the outset of World War I, Le Petomane retired from showbiz and ran bakery in Marseille. He passed away in 1945 at the ripe old age of 88 and was buried in the cemetery of La Valette-du-Var.
Only a few seconds of Pétomane exist on film, which you can see here. Unfortunately, the footage is soundless.
