Believe it or not, someone has actually invented a pill that makes your farts smell like roses or chocolate. It sounds like a joke, but according to their inventor, they work wonderfully.

The pill is the brainchild of 65-year-old French inventor Christian Poincheval.  Christian says that he began developing the pills six years ago, after a rather copious dinner with some friends. “We had just come back from Switzerland and we were eating a lot with our friends and the smell from the flatulence was really terrible,” he revealed.

“When we were vegetarian, we noticed that our gas smelled like vegetables, like the odor from a cow pat, but when we started eating meat the smell of the flatulence became much disagreeable,” he added. “We couldn’t breathe so me and my friends decided something had to be done. We needed to invent something that made them smell nicer.”

So he went to see a scientist to look into ways of inventing a natural remedy for the common problem. Together, they researched natural ingredients that would reduce flatulence and after months of experimentation, came up with the recipe for his pills. He began selling the rose-scented ones in 2006, and recently added chocolate for this year’s festive season. It contains vegetable coal, fennel, seaweed, plant resin, bilberry and cacao zest.

Christian claims that the pills are really popular, and he sells at least a few hundred jars every month. “I have all sorts of customers,” he said. “Some buy them because they have problems with flatulence and some buy them as a joke to send to their friends. Christmas always sees a surge in sales.”

The pills are sold on Pilulepet, at a price of €9.99 ($12.5)  for a jar of 60. Even if they don’t work as intended, you have to admit they make great Christmas gifts for wacky friends.

via The Local