Jon Stewart issues final 'Daily Show' request: 'If you smell something, say something'

Jon Stewart couldn't let his final episode end without one last "get real" message to his viewers.

The fun of seeing a parade of famous alums and then a behind-the-scenes look at the team who put "The Daily Show" together on, well, the daily - was put to rest.

Stewart asked for Camera 3 and began with "Bulls--t is everywhere." After breaking to laugh and ask if the kids were still around, he continued: "There is very little that you will encounter in life that has not been in some way infused with bulls--t."

He acknowledged the kind of B.S. that wasn't harmful, white lies that "keeps people from making each other cry all day."

But, then, he said we had to keep watch for "the more pernicious bulls--t, your premeditated, institutional bulls--t designed to obscure and distract." He referred to the "Patriot Act," gay rights, the climate change debate, among other issues.

He also provides this basic rule: "So whenever something's been titled freedom, family, fairness, health, America: Take a good long sniff. It may contain traces of bulls--t."

He then ended his speech with a final request to his viewers - something that actually encapsulates what Stewart has been doing on "The Daily Show" for 16 years:

"So, I say to you tonight friends," he said. "The best defense against the bulls--t is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something."