When it comes to practical jokes, the world famous Whoopee Cushion is a gas.

Believed to have been invented in Toronto around 1930 by the JEM Rubber Company and sold with the tagline, “It gives forth noises that can be better imagined than described,” the classic gag has had audiences of all ages yucking it up for almost 90 years.

“Flatulence and fart jokes, in some ways, transcend time,” Todd Coopee, an Ottawa-based toy historian, said on the eve of April Fool’s Day, when Whoopee Cushions are sure to get a workout.

But the basic rubber bladder filled with air — known for releasing blush-inducing bathroom noises — had to convince customers the world was ready for gassy gags before it ever got a chance to trumpet its tooting tune.

Stan Timm has studied the origins of the Whoopee Cushion and spilled the beans on how it came to be.

After JEM Rubber realized the potential of its invention, he said, representatives started peddling bottom-burp balloons to toy and novelty catalogues. But their first foray into the big time nearly left the company deflated.

JEM approached the S.S. Adams Company, an American distributor that was the undisputed joke, puzzle and magic-trick manufacturer on the continent, complete with a loyal fan base of prepubescent purchasers.

Sorenson knocked the wind out of the product, pronouncing it “too indelicate.”

“They said, ‘This is something that is kind of nasty,’” said Timm, explaining that JEM then turned to the Johnson Smith Company, whose customers found the faux flatulation fantastic.

They arranged to sell two versions, one for 25 cents, and the other — advertised in the catalogue as “superior in every way” — for a pricey $1.25.

Despite the tough times during the ’30s, the fake farters sold like hotcakes.

“I think the Depression had a lot to do with the sales, because people were looking for something inexpensive that they could have fun with or make a joke over,” said Timm.

A few years ago, the novelties expert found a “superior” version for sale online and bought it for a reasonable $5. Sadly, the rubber sac had solidified and been silenced forever.

“They never came out and said, you know, ‘flatulation,’ but they advertised a ‘peculiar sound’ which everybody kind of understood,” said Timm, noting that the novelty item was introduced during a different, more polite time.

One man who truly understands the orchestral offerings of the modern Whoopee Cushion is Trevor Cox, an acoustics professor at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom.

In 2009, he ran a psychoacoustic experiment to find the funniest Whoopee Cushion sound. Over six years, about 68,000 participants supplied 400,000 ratings of Whoopee Cushions.

“It wasn’t a lifelong desire to work with them, or a traumatic event involving a Whoopee Cushion as a child, that led me to do it. Sometimes it’s just nice to have fun,” he said. “Although I suppose that’s the scientific equivalent of sitting in a cold bath of baked beans.”

The results won’t come as a surprise: People under the age of 10 found fart sounds funniest, and sounds with a “whinny” quality were declared most amusing.

Although he said he’s exhausted his interest in Whoopee-Cushion science, Cox still uses the trick tooters as a teaching aid to show students how humans make noise, calling it a “lecture they’ll be sure to remember.”

Born in a fit of giggles in Toronto decades ago, the simple prank has provided countless hours of entertainment and turned innocent cushions everywhere into fart-joke fodder, but Coopee said the next generation will be all digital.

With apps and electronic versions wafting through the market, a whiff of the Whoopee Cushion will always live on.

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Toronto has played a role in numerous off-the-wall inventions over the years:

Pablum

White-grey and largely flavourless, Pablum was the brainchild of three Toronto doctors, Frederick Tisdall,Theodore Drake and Alan Brown, who created the cereal powder to provide early nutrition for babies.

Paint roller

A Toronto man named Norman Breakey got on a roll while looking for a way to save time while painting — literally. He created the first paint rollers and sold them to local hardware stores and paint crews, but failed to patent the design — which led to imitators and patents that pushed him out of the market.

Five-pin bowling

Not everyone can sling a regulation-sized bowling ball down an alley. In 1909, Tommy Ryan, owner of the Toronto Bowling Club, cut the number of pins in half and supplied smaller balls, which led to the game that’s still played across the country to this day.

Hat trick

There’s no shortage of legends surrounding the coining of the “hat trick,” but the Hockey Hall of Fame claims it’s the crowning achievement of Sammy Taft, the colourful owner of a Toronto hat store, because of a promotion where he would give a free hat to any player who scored three goals during an NHL game in Toronto.

Table hockey

A homemade game cobbled together using hangers, clothes pins and springs was the design debut of Donald Munro, a Toronto man who wanted to create a game for his family. His invention became the first table hockey set, and the game proved so popular he started a toy company.

Sphinx cat

Once known as the Canadian Hairless, Sphinx cats were first bred in Toronto when a hairless kitten named Prune was mated with his mother to take advantage of a recessive gene. Later, other hairless cats in the United States ensured the breed could continue, and it lives on today.

Correction - April 7, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly omitted Dr. Alan Brown from the list of Canadian doctors who invented Pablum.

