# I give up; what makes snot stringy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412 "2001-01-04T16:22:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iisaac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a5b964/32.png) [@iisaac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iisaac)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/1 "2001-01-04T16:22:23Z")
Is there no bounds to human curiosity? I must know what is it in snot’s chemical composition that makes it stringy. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/2 "2001-01-04T16:31:20Z")
A WAG: it’s the dust you inhale through your nose. It gets filtered by your nose hairs, and comes out combined with slime. **PRESTO!** Snot! ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/3 "2001-01-04T16:39:37Z")
I’d say it’s the protiens, similar to egg whites. From: [http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Smell/nasal.html](http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Smell/nasal.html) > [@](#): > > This mucus contains water, mucopolysaccharides, antibodies, enzymes, salts, and odorant-binding proteins. Fried snot sandwich, anyone? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/4 "2001-01-04T19:16:02Z")
Proteins and sugars. Mainly the sugars. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/5 "2001-01-04T20:02:36Z")
Intuitively–proteins. Jelly is viscous, but not stringy. _And it’s mostly sugars._ Honey is viscous, but not stringy. _Ditto_. Hot cheese (as on pizza) is stringy. _Full of proteins & fats._ Pizza Physics teaches us that it proteins (or maybe fats) that make snot stringy. 🆒 And, that cheese is, well, Dairy Snot. :eek: EEEwwwww! Gross! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/6 "2001-01-04T21:45:16Z")
Actually, I read a really good article about something related. I’ll see if I can find a link. Basically, mucus is composed of polymers, which themselves are long stringy molecules. Applying a force or tension to the mucus causes the molecules to align preferentially with the direction of the force, giving it the stringy character. Other polymers, such as those that make up plastic grocery bags have more complex shapes that have other implications for behavior. In the case of the plastic bags, the polymers are “H” shaped. When you pull on them, the ends interlock, and give the bag tensile strength. But if you pull too hard, the polymers eventually slip past each other and the bag starts to stretch and tear. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-what-makes-snot-stringy/48412/7 "2001-01-04T21:47:57Z")
Here’s the article that I mentioned in the last post. Happy reading! [http://www.newscientist.com/slime/slime.jsp](http://www.newscientist.com/slime/slime.jsp)