, also known as '''belching''', '''ructus''' or '''eructation''', is the release of
Gas from the digestive tract (mainly
Esophagus and
Stomach ) through the
Mouth . It is often accompanied with a typical sound and sometimes an odor.
Burping is typically caused by eating or drinking too fast, and thereby swallowing (
Aerophagia ) and subsequently expelling
Air , in which case the expelled gas is a mixture of
Nitrogen and
Oxygen . Burps can also be caused by imbibing
Carbonated drinks such as
Beer ,
Soft Drink s, or
Champagne , in which case the expelled gas is
Carbon Dioxide from the drink itself.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease can also cause involuntary burping. Some studies (
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The sound of burping is caused by the
Vibration of the
Cardia (
Esophageal Sphincter ) as the gas passes through it. The current world record for the loudest burp is 118.1
Decibel s, set by
Paul Hunn from
London ,
England . (This would be noticeably louder than a chainsaw at a distance of 1 meter.) Similar sounds, such as that created by
Tupperware , are sometimes also referred to as burps.
In the
Western World , audible burping is considered impolite, although generally not as much as
Flatulence . Some people will cover the mouth with their hand in the same fashion as one used to guise a
Yawn . However, burping is viewed as acceptable and humorous among young children and some adults. Often times, children engage in burping contests to determine who can produce the loudest burp.
Babies are particularly subject to accumulation of gas in the stomach whilst feeding, and this can cause considerable agitation to the child unless it is ''burped''. The act of burping an infant involves placing the child in a position conducive to gas expulsion (for example over the adult's shoulder, with the infant's stomach resting on the adult's chest) and then lightly patting or rubbing it on the lower back so that it burps.
Because burping can cause
Vomiting in infants, a
Euphemistically -named ''burp cloth'' or ''burp pad'' is sometimes employed on the shoulder to protect the adult's clothing.
It is possible to voluntarily induce burping by swallowing air and then expelling it, and by manipulation of the
Vocal Tract produce burped speech.
While this is often employed by children as a means of entertainment or competition, it can also act as an alternative means of
Vocalisation for people who have undergone a
Laryngectomy , with the burp replacing laryngeal
Phonation . This is known as
Esophageal Speech .
Other
Mammal s, such as
Cow s and
Sheep also burp; in these cases, the gas expelled is actually
Methane produced as a byproduct of the animal's
Digestive Process .
Anaerobic Organism s such as ''
Escherichia Coli '' (''E. coli'') and
Methanogen ic
Archaea produce this effect. An average cow is thought to emit between 542
Litre s (if located in a barn) and 600 litres (if in a field) of methane per day through burping and flatulence, making commercially farmed cattle a major contributor to the
Greenhouse Effect . This has led scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of
Perth ,
Australia , to develop an anti-methanogen vaccine to minimize methane in cattle burps
{Link without Title} .
Some
Fish are also known to expel air from their gills; here the burp is produced by gas being expelled from the
Gas Bladder .
Other animals, such as
Horses and
Rats , completely lack the ability to burp (or
Vomit ) at all.
