Dogs do it. People do it too. Heck, Terrance and Phillip from “South Park” do it.

And many people think it’s hilarious.

With one Google search providing more than 14.4 million Web sites dedicated to the smelly topic, there is one thing for sure: farting is a funny topic. And so are things that make farting noises, such as whoopee cushions.

What exactly is it? A whoopee cushion is a piece of rubber stuck together with a flap at one edge, said David Haversat, co-owner of the Razzberry cushion (same product, different name) manufacturer S.S. Adams Company.

The original whoopee cushion was about 10 inches in diameter, Haversat said. Manufacturers now produce the cushions in sizes ranging mostly from six to eight inches across.

To use the whoopee cushion, a person must blow into the flap to inflate the cushion. Then, the person places the product onto a chair or underneath a couch cushion and waits for its victim.

Haversat said the product is almost foolproof.

“It’s a good prank because it always seems to work,” he said. “As long as you don’t get caught.”

Sophomore Mark Forgette said he has used whoopee cushion many times.

“I used it on April Fool’s Day over and over,” he said.

The best place to use the device is in crowded places Forgette said. Then, the person gets really embarrassed.

Employees of the Jem Rubber Company in Canada invented the whoopee cushion, Haversat said.

After inventing the product, the Jem Rubber Company asked S.S. Adams Company founder (also creator of the jumping snakes and dribble glass) Sam Adams what he thought of the product, Haversat said. Adams deemed the product inappropriate and lewd and refused to buy it.

Even with the product’s disapproval, the Jem Rubber Company began to mass produce the whoopee cushion, Haversat said. After whoopee cushions sales started to increase, Adams finally began to buy the products from Jem Rubber, and market them as their own version called the “Razzberry Cushion.”

The whoopee cushion went high tech during the 1990s, Haversat said. People can also purchase self-inflating cushions or electronic whoopee cushions.

The self-inflating whoopee cushion is patented, Haversat said. As for the electronic whoopee cushion, it’s all the magic of a button.

“Instead of inflating them you push a button and it makes the noise,” he said.

S.S. Adams, however, only sells the original whoopee cushion, Haversat said.

“It was the first one out there and I think it works the best,” he said. “You can keep it in your pocket and use it anytime.”