# Favorite pimple stories (maybe TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684 "2002-03-29T02:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/241 "2003-04-15T01:03:39Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned [tonsilloliths](http://www.drgreene.com/21_568.html)! > [@](#): > > Children with large tonsils and deep crypts often do get food particles trapped in there. Because saliva contains digestive enzymes, trapped food begins to break down. Particularly, the starch or carbohydrate part of the food melts away, leaving firmer, harder remains of food in the tonsils. . . . > > The tonsils also trap other mouth debris such as bacteria and old cells from the surface of the mouth’s lining. Some of these cells contain small amounts of keratin, the same substance found in fingernails and rhinoceros horns. Whatever the nature of the debris, it is then attacked by white blood cells. The aftermath of this battle leaves the crevices of the tonsil strewn with hardened remains. . . . > > Microscopic studies of these tonsilloliths have shown them to contain a combination of food particles, bacteria, oral debris, and white blood cells in a concentrically laminated pattern – rather like a pearl. Usually they are small gritty particles found in the center of soft, cheesy flecks. Sometimes, however, they become quite large, appearing as rough, yellow or gray, round stones. They involve much of the fascinating grossness of zits and cysts, but with added challenges! You’ve got to keep your tongue out of the way, maintain proper lighting on the tonsil, and wield a Q-tip or toothbrush simultaneously, with only two hands. And of course, during the careful mining process, you have to overcome the gag reflex and also avoid swallowing the nasties, because then fascinating gross just becomes disgusting, vomit-inducing gross. (Did I mention they smell like old gym socks?) ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/242 "2003-04-15T01:10:48Z")
Old gym socks are a big understatement. Tonsilloliths usually have threads of their own, they’re so special. To get the thread back on pimples, I get these great pimple/cyst things on my sides fairly often. They’re usually deep under the skin, and hurt like hell when squeezed, and will go away on their own if I let them. But that’s no fun. If they’re close to a hair follicle, I squeeze them out. Lovely explosions of off-white gunk followed by gunky blood. Mmm, pustule. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/243 "2003-04-15T02:03:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > **When I clean out from under my toenails, I get this gunk that has an odd peanut-buttery smell. Dead skin, maybe? It doesn’t collect under my fingernails, only my toes.** Probably just a little goo left over by some fetishist who eats peanut-butter and [toe]jam sandwiches by day, and has his way with your feet at night when you are asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/244 "2003-04-28T18:00:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\*Probably just a little goo left over by some fetishist who eats peanut-butter and [toe]jam sandwiches by day, and has his way with your feet at night when you are asleep. \*\* _Looks suspicious_ **Muffin** , is that a confession? Because I could have sworn I saw you sneak through my bedroom window last night… .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/245 "2003-04-28T18:10:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Well, so much for lunch. > > Anyone interested in being an MPSIMS moderator for a day? Ugh. \*\* Me!!! Pick me!!! Over here! \ ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/246 "2003-04-28T18:40:35Z")
Well, I just recently discovered that my fiance is a shameless zit hunter. I was scratching at an annoying painful one on my back that I couldn’t quite get leverage on. She noticed, immediately pinned me down, squeezed with me writhing and screaming in pain until the sucker popped. She then ran laps through the house with the gunk on the tip of her finger, cackling with glee like she’d just animated Frankenstein. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/247 "2003-04-28T19:44:52Z")
I was raised to be a pore miner. I believe it’s the only reason my parents had kids. Sure enough, my sister pimples well, but I? I have flair. Since I was old enough to operate the alcohol-cotton ball-sterilyed needle tools of the trade, I have been the official Nit-picker/Pimpler of my childhood home. (Hey, we were poor! Other kids got to play baseball, but NO not us!) My brother is the official splinter remover - we all had our jobs to do. Several really interesting ones but generally small, quick ones - I was good at my job. No one got anything REALLY nasty while I was on watch. But my mom had a couple of Old Faithfuls - on her jaw, on the back of her neck, and on her side. The one on her side is dry and just has to be dug out from time to time. But the ones on her face and neck had to be worked on at least once a month. That was fine until I went to college. I was only home once every 6 months or so… Then they started getting deeper. Then when I got married, whoa boy! BIG, REALLY BIG. So big that Mom’s jaw would have a visible lump. I would come in and work on them a little - wait a few hours (for them to ripen) and then ewwww. The smell was unbelievable. I mean really foul. Fetid. It truly did smell like rotting meat. The pimples would be squiggly and spurty - I’d have to cover myself in towels to work on them. Totally disgusting - but strangely facinating. She finally went to the surgeon last year and had them removed. I had been keeping them cleaned for 30 years. The doctor was amazed that she had let them go that long - you shouldn’t mess with inflamed sebaceous cysts. So they were cut out and then stitched up. And you can barely see the scars. But ya know? I kinda miss them. ---
**Author:** ![Crystal\_Task](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Crystal\_Task](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crystal_Task)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/248 "2003-04-28T20:03:03Z")
I never get spots, so I guess i’m lucky. But on the other hand I do get rashes and blisters because i’m allergic to alot of things. so I guess we’re kinda even huh? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/249 "2003-04-28T20:23:09Z")
I only recently found out the copiously icky bumps on my husband’s shoulder are sebaceous cysts, thanks to SDMB. They are pretty darn malodorous, but I love to operate on them. He’s more offended by the stink than I am. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/250 "2003-04-28T21:53:57Z")
Caricci says: > [@](#): > > I only recently found out the copiously icky bumps on my husband’s shoulder are sebaceous cysts, thanks to SDMB This is the reason I’m addicted to the SDMB. The education you get here on the boards is second to none. I wonder if there are any institutions of higher learning who grant degrees for pore mining? ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/251 "2003-04-29T01:16:40Z")
**Medstar** , the heck with the mining degree. I say we script this thing, apply for an NEA grant, and hit the road. _Poreformance art for the masses!_ ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/252 "2003-04-29T22:16:42Z")
I like your thinking, **MercyStreet**. After the six month road show, we get a TV show which lasts for seven years, enough for syndication, which gets us our first fortune. Then we write, produce and direct 10 motion pictures. And to think it all started with a thread full of zit stories. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/253 "2003-04-29T23:37:57Z")
I definatly think that she should do a movie for herself. I can see it now : The Pimple from Outer Space!!! AHHHHHHH!!! It’s coming to get us all!!! ---
**Author:** ![ajlilhammer225](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@ajlilhammer225](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajlilhammer225)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/254 "2003-04-30T00:20:20Z")
You rule Broomstick!! I wanna start the fanclub!!! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Magic8ball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Miss\_Magic8ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Magic8ball)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/255 "2003-04-30T00:21:36Z")
Had one IN my eyebrow once… couldn’t really see it, as it was covered with hair, but everytime I raised my eyebrow when someone said or did something stupid(I’m still in high school, so believe me, that was often) I would feel it… it was almost painful. So, that night, I decided to make it go away. I pop it, and out comes a nice, plentiful amount of pimple juice. But that wasn’t all… oh no. About 12 of my eyebrow hairs came out too… It took almost a month to grow back in… People asked me if I had an accident with a razor… ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/256 "2003-07-30T15:59:29Z")
I just popped a blackhead on the little bump that surrounds the entrance to the ear. The zit butter came out a rather odd color; opaque, and bright yellow, like a daffodil. The most strange thing about the butter is the consistency; not smooth and creamy, but having a definite chalky, almost gritty feel. What causes it? Fossilized skin cells or fossilized pus? ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/257 "2003-07-30T16:32:39Z")
I noticed my first zits when I was in the 7th grade. It was during gym class and somehow I found myself in the locker room alone. I looked in the mirror and saw 2 zits on my nose and they were filled with green gook. I didn’t know what to do but to pop them. There was a loud snap and then ooze. It was gross. I am scarred for life over this. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/258 "2003-07-30T17:00:09Z")
**Isabelle** may be on to something. **Coldfire** , were you scarred by snapping & oozing zits? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/259 "2004-01-23T15:32:42Z")
Hey, it’s been six months. Why not resurrect this thread again? After all, I got two great sigs from it. E3 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684/260 "2004-01-23T16:02:19Z")
My most memorable zit was a blackhead on my hip that I swear was there for a couple years. Try as I might to squeeze, nothing happened. Just kept getting bigger and itchier. Finally, inspiration struck. I took a large paper clip, and bent it to get a digging tool. To my surprise, I was able to poke my surgical tool into that clogged pore UP TO THE BEND IN THE PAPER CLIP!. I scraped that clip around the outside of that pore, and then squeezed. Much like hardened toothpaste, it slowly came out of that pore in one large lump roughly the size of a pistachio nut. I marvelled at that precious lump for a moment, smelling its waxy perfume. Finally I crushed and rolled it between my fingers, and put it to my nostrils to such in that precious dead bacterial aroma. Then it was over. Did I have the mother lode? Sadly, that pore has never again borne fruit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-pimple-stories-maybe-tmi/100684.md?page=14)