Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag ... And Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha. Her flagship column, “Ask a Clean Person”, debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we’ve launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings.

Dear Lifehacker, If I have an overheating laptop on my lap and I do a big fart, would an explosion be possible? I find myself lifting the laptop away just in case.

When you pass gas, or someone next to you does, a cloud of stink is sure to hang around for a while. But is it possible to outrun the smell as soon as you hear it? This video has the answer.

Farts are weird. It seems perfectly fine when we let one rip, despite the stink bomb it may be. We can tolerate our own, but if someone else cuts the cheese? Aw, heck no. Theirs is unbearable. Here comes the science.