# Men who carry handkerchiefs... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594 "2018-10-27T16:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/81 "2018-10-31T16:37:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Next rant: People who use toilet paper! What’s up with THAT disgusting habit? As long as you only use one side… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/82 "2018-11-01T15:46:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I don’t know about work gloves, but a nose-wiping area (usually fleece) is a pretty common feature of cold-weather gloves for runners. > > [Best Running Gloves 2024 | Winter Gloves for Runners](https://www.runnersworld.com/gear/g20862641/best-running-gloves/) Being a runner in the past, I myself, have used these. But they are mostly for cold weather and the slight running that sometimes happens. In all my many years of running and using those gloves in never blew my nose on them or blew booger’s on them. Maybe you can’t see the difference but to me there’s a huge difference. ---
**Author:** ![Brawndo\_with\_Electrolytes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Brawndo\_with\_Electrolytes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brawndo_with_Electrolytes)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/83 "2018-11-01T16:11:36Z")
I’ve been using them since I was young & idealistic & wanted to save the trees. The fabric is recycled from old articles of my clothing too. You might be drastically overestimating the amount of snot being handled by this system. Mostly it’s like “I walked in from outdoors where it’s cold and I was exerting myself, and there’s ever the slightest drip.” If I ever have a serious “blowout” then that’s the end of that particular hanky for today. I carry four and have rarely used more than 2. Snot is mostly water and you can’t catch a cold from yourself, so calm down. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/84 "2018-11-01T16:32:46Z")
I produce copious amounts of snot during the winter, which lasts about six months where I live, and I have always found paper tissue only slightly less effective than 60 grit sandpaper in removing the skin from my nose. So I always carry a piece of fabric or two for blowing my nose, but it doesn’t have to be custom made. Usually, I simply cut up old torn sheets, T-shirts and the like, and throw the rags away after a good day or two. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/85 "2018-11-01T16:39:59Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > So, for those people who use hankies, how do you launder them? Please don’t tell me you wash them with the rest of your clothes! Whoa. There’s some triple strength squeam right there. You probably wouldn’t believe what I wash with the rest of my clothes. I live on a farm. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/86 "2018-11-01T17:07:43Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Being a runner in the past, I myself, have used these. But they are mostly for cold weather and the slight running that sometimes happens. In all my many years of running and using those gloves in never blew my nose on them or blew booger’s on them. Maybe you can’t see the difference but to me there’s a huge difference. No, I agree, those glove features are for a quick wipe, not a full-on nose blow. Parenthetically, because I do often get a seriously runny nose in cold weather, if I’m going to run in a cold-weather race (such as a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot), I’ll stash a couple of Kleenexes somewhere on my body. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/87 "2018-11-01T17:20:00Z")
My Dad usually kept a handkerchief with him. One day when I was probably 12-13, I was having a really bad allergy day and I had to be dressed formally. I don’t recall what the event was, but he loaned me a (clean) handkerchief for the day. It was incredibly useful. I used it to wipe my nose (I don’t think I ever actually hardcore blew into it) all day, and I never noticed that it was snotty or anything all the times I pulled it out of my pocket. I never used one again, and I’m not sure why. That day is a fond memory for me because I didn’t have to worry about my nose dripping or having snot on my clothes or hands. It was quite a feeling of relief. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/88 "2018-11-03T22:27:39Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Where in the hell do people in this thread find such cheap shitty tissues? I’m 63 years old and have been using tissues my whole life and have never blown one apart. Frankly I’m surprised that some people have so much trouble operating something as simple as a tissue. You can get them in grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores, and various public places. Kleenex is one popular brand. Perhaps you have less vigorous exhalations when you blow your nose. Seriously, everybody, what is up with this, yet another version of body-shaming people to separate them from their money by amplifying their fears of not appearing acceptable? People have mucus membranes. It’s a feature, not a bug. Can’t we just accept that? Come blow your noses next to me, folks. I won’t give you a hard time about it. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/89 "2018-11-04T04:07:53Z")
So wait just a goldarned minute. Am I to understand that there are people here who find handkerchiefs disgusting, but are perfectly fine with wiping their noses on a designated area of a glove? Where the wetness just stays there exposed to touching other things? As opposed to being folded in and then stashed in a pocket or purse? THAT to me is utterly gross. That’s why Og gave us silk glove liners. It’s so we can blow our noses on our hankies without littering the ski slopes with frozen fingers. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/90 "2018-11-04T13:12:55Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > As long as you only use one side… Hence the failure of Möbius Strip™ brand TP. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/91 "2018-11-04T14:11:10Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > So wait just a goldarned minute. Am I to understand that there are people here who find handkerchiefs disgusting, but are perfectly fine with wiping their noses on a designated area of a glove? Where the wetness just stays there exposed to touching other things? As opposed to being folded in and then stashed in a pocket or purse? > > THAT to me is utterly gross. That’s why Og gave us silk glove liners. It’s so we can blow our noses on our hankies without littering the ski slopes with frozen fingers. The main thrust of this thread is about blowing your nose, not wiping the cold weather running. If I am wearing those gloves and I get a slight run I’ll wipe it. But if I need to blow my nose of congestion or boogies I’ll pull out a disposable tissue I carry for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594/92 "2018-11-04T16:54:11Z")
Most of the time when I’m “blowing my nose” it’s just a little runniness, cold-weather or whatever. I don’t get the distinction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-who-carry-handkerchiefs/823594.md?page=4)