TIL: There Are Pills Designed To Make Your Farts Smell Like Chocolate

Humans are inventive problem solvers, if anything. Christian Poincheval, for example, created pills designed to mask the smell of your farts. He recently popped up in my algorithm, and of course, if anything tickles my inner child, it’s something fart-related. Could this guy be a genius or a jokester?

Poincheval, an eccentric 75-year-old from France, created Pilule Pet (which loosely translates to fart pills) in 2007. Some of the poot scents he offers are chocolate, ginger, and rose. Apparently, the idea came one fateful night over dinner with friends. He had consumed so much food that he couldn’t help but let it rip.

Fortunately, he already had a background in homeopathic remedies. After three months of tests assisted by a science lab, Poincheval figured out the right formula for fragrant flatulence. According to the website, he uses 100% natural ingredients and actual cocoa in the chocolate pills, though he offers little specifics. Based on a 2015 interview with The Verge, some include vegetable carbon and fennel. 

The site, however, does say that the pills are verified for human consumption by the FDA and France’s Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). Skepticism aside, a February 3 Facebook post shows that Pilule Pet still sells chocolate-scented fart pills, so Poincheval must be onto something. 

So, do these pills actually improve how your fart smells? YouTuber Angie Eats It All put the chocolate ones to the test and shared the results. One thing to consider is that the site recommends taking 2 to 6 capsules per day with food. Angie says that over two weeks of taking them, her farts completely disappeared rather than produced a chocolatey aroma. BuzzFeed got in on the action, too, only to conclude that the pills do not work. Take from it what you will. 

Pilule Pets start at $20.84, with discounts on multiples. They ship from France and are made with French ingredients. To learn more about Christian Poincheval, the curious creator of fart pills, he talks more about them on the website.