Burping Contest

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"You win again, you magnificent beast!"
Manny Rivera, after losing one of these to Zebra Donkey.

Bob and Alice are in a competitive mood and ready to prove one's superiority over the other. Or maybe they're just hanging around on the couch with nothing to do other than drink lots of gassy beverages. In any case, they decide that there is a competition in order. How will they choose to match their skills? Playing a game of chess? Video games? Pistols at dawn? Nope. They'll just chug their drinks and belch. Loudest belch wins.

Basically, a Burping Contest is exactly what it sounds like. It happens in fiction, but clearly this is inspired by that timeless party game, most popular amongst the frat boy demographic but enjoyed by many children and adults around the world. This is a favored activity of the Gasshole, even if the person they challenge doesn't accept.

Examples of Burping Contest include:

Fan Fic

  • One occurs between Klein and Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes: The Series.
  • Another occurs in an Animaniacs fanfic in which characters from the show crashed a contest featuring newer Kids WB characters in what was possibly an attempt to gain back fame. All the notable characters appeared but not surprisingly Wakko won. Amusingly, Hello Nurse came in what appeared to be second.

Film

  • A sort of burping contest happens in the 1959 version of Ben-Hur when Ben Hur is treated to dinner by the local sheik. After the sheik lets out a huge burp, he looks to Ben, who gives a blank look back until prompted by nonverbal cues by Balthasar to let out his own (smaller, but still audible) burp.
    • Not a burping contest. In certain cultures, burping after the meal means you appreciated it, and not burping is unpolite.
    • A similar incident happens in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.
  • One of the "outtakes" from Pixar's A Bug's Life had Tuck and Roll (the pillbugs) interrupting a scene to have themselves a Burping Contest.
  • It happens in the first live action Scooby Doo movie, between Shaggy and Scooby.
  • In Revenge of the Nerds, Dudley "Booger" Dawson goes up against Ogre in one during the Frat Olympics. Booger wins the contest (by releasing a belch that goes on for nearly a minute).
    • In the sequal, Booger meets an old Asian guy who's even more of a slob then he is, and responds to Booger's belch with a longer, louder belch of his own. Booger then calls him "Master".
  • In summer camp movie Meatballs, camp counselor Tripper Harrison has a friendly belching contest with one of the campers.
  • In Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Charlie and Grandpa Joe have one of these to serve a very practical purpose: they need to release the gas they've ingested from Wonka's Fizzy Lifting Drinks in order to avoid floating to the ceiling and being sucked into an exhaust fan.
    • Parodied, as was the film itself, in the Family Guy episode "Wasted Talent", where they have fart to get out of it.
  • Unaccompanied Minors has one.
  • As does Daddy Day Camp.

Live Action TV

  • A regular tenet of the annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards is the celebrity burp-off, which is exactly what it sounds like. Winners have included Cameron Diaz, Hugh Jackman, and the penguins from Madagascar.
  • This sketch from Good Night Burbank, unusual in that both contestants are female.
  • An episode of ALF had the title character inviting a blind friend of his over to dinner. He then challenges her to a game of "guess the belch". Alf belches, and his friend chastises him with a cry of "Alf!" He, Completely Missing the Point, replies with, "No, no! You don't guess who belched, you guess what they ate!"


Video Games


Web Comics

  • Zeera the Space Pirate has some space Amazons holding an official burping contest. One of the competitors cuts loose with a burp that rattles the foundations of buildings. She's scored a "5". After she complains, a judge explains they're using the Richter Scale.


Web Original


Western Animation

  • Happened twice on ElTigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera. In one episode, Manny and the Zebra Donkey have one of these at an ice cream shop, and in another, Manny and Frida try to out-burp each other in the name of science. Their teacher doesn't buy it.
  • One episode of the Timon & Pumbaa spin-off series had Pumbaa competing against a barnyard pig in a contest that would determine who was the piggiest of them all. One of the trials consisted of this.
  • Homer Simpson had one with Jay Sherman in their crossover episode. In fact the only other person who can come close to Jay's skill is author Eudora Welty.

(BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!)
Krusty: Coming, Eudora!

    • One of the original Tracey Ullman shorts featured one between Bart and Lisa, with late entries from Maggie and Homer, and Marge trying to put a stop to the whole thing.
    • Then there's this bit of dialogue after Homer becomes an artist (something that has always been Marge's dream.)

Marge: How would you feel if I won a..a belching contest?
Homer: Actually, I'd be kinda turned on.

  • One Muppet Babies episode featured a burping contest between rocks.
    • And one between Animal and Piggy's doll. The doll wins.
  • Purple & Brown has a short of them making a farting and belching contest.
  • In Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Bloo and a snobby Imaginary Friend named Blake Superior have a musical contest involving different bodily functions. Bloo hiccups and Blake burps. In the end, they both lose to an imaginary friend who made fart noises with his armpits.
  • At the end of an episode of The Fairly OddParents, Timmy utterly dominates a burping contest. Shortly afterwards, Cosmo notes that a farting contest is coming up, and advises Wanda to start cooking again.
  • In an episode of Bump in the Night that revolves around Mr. Bumpy repeatedly travelling back through time to try and prevent himself from hurting Squishington's feelings, one of the ways in which he chases off his past-time duplicate is by winning one of these. The winning belch actualy blows his opponent right off of the desk.
  • Kuzco has one with a manatee in The Emperors New School, followed by a conversation with an angry Malina that mirror's Homer's and Marge's above.
  • In the Ed Edd n Eddy episode For The Ed, By The Ed, Ed and Eddy have one of these while emptying bottles of soda to pawn. Eddy urges Edd to join in, but Edd seemed incapable of letting out a single belch, until he lets out a huge one during one of his sentences.
  • In Total Drama Island, when Chris splits the teams up into guys vs. girls, the guys bond over one of these at their cabin. The winning burp, Geoff's, is so loud that it actually singes the fur off some squirrels hanging around outside. In a similar, albeit non-contest related, incident in the hour-long special that followed the first season, Izzy tries to teach Eva how to burp loudly. She chugs some soda and eats ninety-five marshmallows, then belches so powerfully she causes a tidal wave in a nearby pool. Owen thinks that's really hot.
  • One of the SKWOD shorts features one of these between Jax, Kick, and Logan with a pile of snacks as the prize. Jax is about to claim her winnings when a tremendous belch echoes throughout the halls. It came from Seth, who shows up and asks what everyone else is doing before spying the snacks and digging in.
  • Octus (as Newton) and Meat have one in Sym-Bionic Titan. Being a Ridiculously Human Robot, Octus wins quite easily.
  • In the The Legend of Korra episode "The Spirit of Competition" Korra and Bolin get into one on their date, much to the horror of the other patrons in the restaurant. Korra seems to come out on top.