Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuffworks dot com where
Speaker 1: smart happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain with today's question, what
Speaker 1: makes boogers sticky? Boogers are made out of mucus. Mucus
Speaker 1: is made by mucus membranes. Your body has mucus membranes
Speaker 1: in all sorts of places. The stomach, intestines, nose, lungs, eyes, mouth,
Speaker 1: and the urinary tract all contain mucous membranes that secrete mucus.
Speaker 1: Mucus contains mostly water and mucin. It is the mucin
Speaker 1: that makes boogers sticky. Musin is called a branched poly
Speaker 1: sack ride. A polysac ride is just a fancy name
Speaker 1: for a sugar chain. Starch, for example, is a polysac ride.
Speaker 1: As you've probably noticed, if you mix corn starch or
Speaker 1: flour with water, you get a sticky substance. Musin is
Speaker 1: doing the same thing. Mucus is essentially a thin pace
Speaker 1: made out of musin. You can play around with corn
Speaker 1: starch and water and get something very much like a booger,
Speaker 1: especially as it dries out. You are looking at synthetic boogers.
Speaker 1: In that case, do you have any ideas or suggestions
Speaker 1: for this podcast. If so, please send me an email
Speaker 1: at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more
Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics, go to how
Speaker 1: stuff works dot com