Just an old kid’s joke? Perhaps, but have you ever delved deeper into snot to learn the secrets of that mysterious substance? What exactly is that gooey, viscous liquid that gushes forth on command with a good blow; hopefully into an immediately discarded disposable tissue and not a cloth handkerchief to be folded and reinserted into one’s pocket for future use?
Snot, or mucous as the stodgy old medical community refers to it, are nasal secretions that originate mostly from submucosal glands and goblet cells. Mucus is composed of water (95%); glycoproteins (2%); albumin, immunoglobulins, lysozyme, lactoferrin and other proteins (1%); inorganic salts (1%); and lipids (<1%).
So the next time you see someone using a handkerchief for nose blowing rather than accessorizing their Brioni Men’s Floral Dinner Jacket (Bergdorf Goodman – $10,000), ask them the following: “Do you really want to spend the day carrying around moist albumin and immunoglobulins?” They will thank you later.