It's not just pillow talk

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. July 15 (UPI) -- A groundbreaking scientific study has found that claims about a flatulence-fighting pillow are not all hot air.

It took an experiment in which healthy, normal volunteers agreed to eat big bowls of pinto beans and wear airtight silver Mylar pantaloons, but scientists found that the pillow -- known as the Toot Trapper -- actually lives up to its Texas manufacturer's promise.

In the study, a research team from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis showed that the Toot Trapper, a polyurethane cushion coated with activated charcoal, eliminated 90 percent of the offensive fumes.

In the study, the scientists also found that women pass gas that has higher concentrations of odor-causing chemicals, and produce stronger odors than men. But, they also found that men make up for it by passing more gas.

The investigation appears in the journal Gut, a publication of the prestigious British Medical Association.

Lead author Michael Levitt says he had a serious, scientific objective for the study, and it was only partly related to finding out if a cushion coated with activated charcoal could make life easier for bean eaters in polite society.

His main goal was to find out what makes ``rectal gas'' smell so bad, and to see if these chemicals play a role in serious diseases, like colitis.

The stink, he says, comes from high concentrations of sulfur- containing gases -- mostly hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol and dimethyl sulfide. These gases are formed by gut-dwelling bacteria that aid digestion by breaking down sulfur-containing foods like broccoli, cabbages and beans.

Levitt, who is known as an expert in the study of flatulence, a scientific specialty that dates back to 1816, says, ``The somewhat serious aspect is that these gases are as toxic as cyanide.''