WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Do Boogers Form?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren bog o Bam here with another classic

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<v Speaker 1>episode from our archives. One of the things I love

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<v Speaker 1>about this podcast is that we get to cover some

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<v Speaker 1>really big important questions about our planet, our society's, our future,

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<v Speaker 1>and also questions about boogers. Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren bog

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<v Speaker 1>Obam here. You've probably caught someone in the act of

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<v Speaker 1>picking their nose and inspecting the contents and disgusting, right,

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<v Speaker 1>But you do it too, except maybe you opt to

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<v Speaker 1>remove your boogers using a tissue in the privacy of

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<v Speaker 1>your own home or car, or that empty elevator you're

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<v Speaker 1>riding to the tenth floor. Whatever. We don't judge whether

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<v Speaker 1>you know them as a bat in the cave or

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<v Speaker 1>a nose goblin. There's a good reason for boogers, even

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<v Speaker 1>when they stick around in gelatinous little lumps. The lining

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<v Speaker 1>of the nose and sinus is also known as the

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<v Speaker 1>epithelium produce at least one court. That's one leader of

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<v Speaker 1>mucus every day. That's a lot of snot the mucus

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<v Speaker 1>in your scientusys keeps the nasal linings moist and helps

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<v Speaker 1>with your sense of smell. Most importantly, though, it traps dust, bacteria, pollen,

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<v Speaker 1>and other contaminants. Mucus essentially acts as a sticky fly strip,

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<v Speaker 1>grabbing pollutants and keeping them from getting into your respiratory system.

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<v Speaker 1>Without mucus, most of these particles would end up in

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<v Speaker 1>your lungs. The trapped mucus clinged miniature hairs called cilia.

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<v Speaker 1>The cilia move the mucus toward the nearest exit, either

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<v Speaker 1>toward the front of the nose or the back of

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<v Speaker 1>the throat, where it's swallowed in small amounts. But sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>the mucus has trouble fully exiting the nostrils. It begins

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<v Speaker 1>to dry out and may become clumped together. Additional dust

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<v Speaker 1>and other debris join forces with the drying mucus and huila,

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<v Speaker 1>a booger is formed. Buggers form more frequently when you

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<v Speaker 1>have the common cold or about with allergies. Dry, dusty

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<v Speaker 1>or air conditioned air can cause an increase in booger

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<v Speaker 1>formation too. Even with all this aired influence, a booger

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<v Speaker 1>may remain soft and rife with airborne particles. Sometimes, however,

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<v Speaker 1>a booger can become extremely hard and have rough edges

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<v Speaker 1>that can pierce the nasal lining, causing it to bleed.

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<v Speaker 1>Now for rather indelicate matter, the next time you see

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<v Speaker 1>a child, or help us all, an adult, inspect the

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<v Speaker 1>contents of his or her nasal cavities. Watch for surreptitious nibble.

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<v Speaker 1>Turns out the people eating their boogers maybe taking a

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<v Speaker 1>step forward on the evolutionary ladder. A biochemist at the

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<v Speaker 1>University of Saskatchewan theorized that eating boogers is actually a

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<v Speaker 1>way of introducing germs into and thus strengthening the immune system.

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<v Speaker 1>This hygiene hypothesis asserts that dining on bits of mucus

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<v Speaker 1>may actually build a superpowered immune response that could give

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<v Speaker 1>booger eaters an edge over the rest of us. Bone

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<v Speaker 1>up a teeth. Today's episode was originally produced by Tristan

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<v Speaker 1>McNeil and is based on the article how do boogers

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<v Speaker 1>form in your nose? On how Stuffworks dot com written

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<v Speaker 1>by laure L Dove. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio and partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is produced by Tyler Klang. Or more podcasts my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows, h