# Can anyone here sniff a string up their nose and down through the mouth?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 29, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520 "2008-01-29T22:47:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520/1 "2008-01-29T22:47:28Z")

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And if so, do you have any pointers on how to do so sucessfully? I’ve read the SDMB column on it but it hasn’t helped, and I’d really love to be able to do this.

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**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520/2 "2008-01-30T03:23:11Z")

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[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]  
And if so, do you have any pointers on how to do so sucessfully? I’ve read the SDMB column on it but it hasn’t helped, and I’d really love to be able to do this.  
[/QUOTE]

When I was in my teens we used to do it with dental floss. We just created a small ball at the end and put it up our noses, then we’d inhale really hard (while pinching the other nostril shut) and you could feel it at the top of your throat. Then it’s a matter of getting it out of your mouth. It’s been lots of years since I did it though… 🆒

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**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520/3 "2008-01-30T03:32:07Z")

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I did it once with a piece of spaghetti. Cooked, of course. It was quite easy witha slippery piece of pasta. I imagine a string might hurt.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520/4 "2008-01-30T03:34:07Z")

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Well, we can’t all achieve world peace.

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**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-here-sniff-a-string-up-their-nose-and-down-through-the-mouth/435520/5 "2008-01-30T03:43:49Z")

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See if you can google up a vid of sideshow artist Todd Robbins doing that with a long balloon. . . then inflating it.