When did the "pull my finger" schtick come about?

alaspooryoric

The gag has been around since at least before 1959, when it occured in Yasujiro Ozu's film "Good Morning". A technical analysis of the prank by an Ask.com site follows: "A mark is asked to pull the finger of the illusionist (the person playing the joke), who simultaneously farts so as to suggest a causal relationship between the pulling of the finger and the subsequent expulsion of gas. References in popular culture tend to treat 'pull my finger' as a meme, saying the line but not showing the result, apparently on the assumption that the result is well known". http://www.ask.com/wiki/Pull_my_finger Jun 15 11, 3:31 PM

pitts0275

I think this question has additional historical significance, in terms of its multi-culturalism, and it should be noted further. In my significant studies on the matter, that is the first instance I am aware of regarding flatuence humor that travelled from the eastern traditions to the western arsenal of classic fart comedy. Some highlights of my copious research: Genghis Khan had no sense of humor about farting, in fact he found passing wind so objectionable his conquest of Central Europe was started in part to answer the question "Who Farted", ever since his advisor Kaeler the Smellseeker pointed out the cuisine of these places were quite heavy in sauerkraut and smoked proteins. After the scorched earth misery following Khan's departure not much was funny about farting for the people of Europe....in fact some vows of silence of the surviving feudal monastaries of the late middle ages added "speaking from one's butt" as a violation of most monastic vows of silence. Enter the early renaissance....it is well-known Silk Road verbal tradition credits 13th Century venetian about town Marco Polo with the first mention blaming a mysterious "duck" for farting whilst sitting around the campfire after the consumption of excessive amounts of mutton and noodles. Giving this tradition more credibility is that venetians were known to have heavy traded with Florentines, who are known to be large consumers of beans. Linguists have postulated that the use of fart jokes by Polo for humor drifted around to various eastern languages and culture from his favor with the Chinese Royal Court. There is no proof that Polo made it to Japan, so one can safely assume the tantalizing possibility that eastern cultures have comedic feelings about passing wind all their own. This is akin to finding a link of youtube video of a man getting hit with a football in his groinal area etched in an mayan temple! My research will not just focus on Western sources, and after I'm done with my analysis of fart references in the Book of Kells I intend to read The Art of War with an eye for butt gas references. I applaud FT for bringing this to light and continuing to build bridges between cultures. Thank you, well done, and keep on tootin' :^) Jun 15 11, 10:08 PM