# Never, ever, stick a lit match up your nose

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 26, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361 "2000-10-26T02:57:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![darik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@darik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darik)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361/1 "2000-10-26T02:57:35Z")

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Hi. Long-time lurker, first post.  
At a birthday party recently, while lighting the candles, my sagely father told me not to stick the match up my nose. His reasoning was the “stuff” (cartiledge?) near the top of your nose is so soft, it would melt around the match head, and the match would become unremovable.  
Not that I’m planning on it or anything, is this true?

-D

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**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361/2 "2000-10-26T03:03:49Z")

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NO.  
But do not stick the match up your nose. Or ANYTHING else. The nose is for breathing.  
As far as the softness of the stuff (cartilage), you can check it youself, from outside (it’s under the skin).

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361/3 "2000-10-26T03:36:41Z")

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Melting would not be an issue. I guarantee that the pain would make you remove it long before anything started melting.

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**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361/4 "2000-10-26T03:40:36Z")

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What a novel way to remove those irritating nasal hairs! A nasal tonsorial.

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-ever-stick-a-lit-match-up-your-nose/38361/5 "2000-10-26T05:30:05Z")

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Reminescent of my favorite Dear Abby letter:

> [@](#):
>
> _“My husband says I’m crazy because I’m a Democrat, but he burns the hair out of his nose with a lit match; so who is crazier?”_