Concerning the column about the dangers of picking one’s nose, I remember hearing a news story 10 or 15 years ago about a man who died from picking his nose. He was driving in his car, with his finger way up in there, and he had a collision. He would have lived, except that the impact shoved his finger up into his head. Quite a lousy way to die! I vaguely remember his mother commenting something like “I always told him not to pick his nose, but I never thought it would kill him.”
In case you’re wondering: Yes, I’m serious. This really happened.
Unlike Cecil, it’s not my job to research these kinds of things. I remember it clearly, so as far as I’m concerned, it happened. Feel free to doubt me. Or if you yourself have the free time, you can research it yourself, but I don’t have the time or inclination to search for this so that someone I don’t even know believes I’m telling the truth.
By the way, thanks for the warm welcome to the messageboards.
Actually, Mighty LoPan, the rule of thumb here is that if you make an assertion, you should do your best to back it up (this doesn’t apply to the more frivolous fora, like IMHO, CS, or MPSIMS, but it does apply to the fact-seeking fora like this one).
Anecdotal evidence isn’t terribly useful, because more often than not the original story - if there was one - differs tremendously from the anecdote itself. It’s the old friend-of-a-friend system at work.
No one doubts that you remember hearing/reading this news story. However, we would like to know where you heard/read this news story, so that we may research it ourselves to corroborate it.
Otherwise, it’s just an anecdote, which in and of itself is no more useful and idle gossip.
I put it up only because I thought it was an interesting aside to Cecil’s column. I wasn’t expecting anyone to get any real use out of the information, and I certainly didn’t think it would be some kind of flamebait. I don’t see why it would even be worth finding the details, but here’s the rest of what I remember: It was part of a morning news blurb broadcast on WAAF 107.3 in Boston some time around 1989. I’m not certain if it was a local news story or one that was circulated nationally because it was so odd.
Cecil said “Hence the high school injunction not to pick yer zits.” Ironically, my wife says the first thing her dermotologist did was pop all her zits. So, I guess you just have to trust these things to a professional!
While it may be difficult to kill yourself by picking your nose, it is quite possible to transmit a potentially deadly antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria to an individual that’s immune system is compromised. About 40% of us are “transient carriers.” Here’s your friggin’ cite.
Yeah, it does sound like a very suspicious story, and I wouldn’t believe it myself if I didn’t hear it directly from a news source. Of course, that doesn’t help any of you to believe it.
And for the record, I’m much rather go out by getting a BJ in the car than by picking my nose.
“Now this really pisses me off to no end!”
– David LoPan
I googled “nose blowing dangers” and the first site, http://www.sirc.org/media/archives/arch_scare_jan_2000.html advised "gentle’ Nose-blowing. It referenced a Lexington Herald article that dead-ended. So what’s considered gentle? 5 mph? 25 mph? Sneeze-velocity 100 mph? And if the gentle nose-blow fails to dislodge the booger, are you just supposed to walk around with it up there, mocking your pathetic attempts at hygiene? Hell no, I say! I’m bringing in the finger of justice, the digit of destiny, the mighty phalange of rightousness! And no, I don’t care if I’m at a stop light! Face my wrath, mucal fiend! I banish you and your kind to the underside of my car seat! Once again I will breathe the sweet air unobstructed!
Sorry, but even if you did hear it directly from a news source that doesn’t really prove much of anything. Many urban legends and hoaxes get reported as real news by the media. A good example is the bambi hunting story which was picked up by news media all over the world and was totally false. Other people may be able to post other examples. In fact, that would make an interesting thread by itself.
"There’s a very thin plate of bone (called the ethmoid bone) that separates the nose from the brain. If, say, she picked with a freakishly long fingernail, or maybe a chopstick, it would be possible for her to poke right through this bone. A doctor specializing in ear, nose, and throat conditions told me that if this were to happen, she would probably leak brain fluid. And the bacteria in her nose could get in her brain, causing meningitis, which can kill people.
“Another picking peril: Let’s say you ram your hand up your nose very, very hard. This could push the ethmoid bone into your brain. And that can cause death.”
So, I can see how a car crash could cause death if someone had their finger up their nose.
However, I was unable to find any reference to an actual death-by-nose-picking. Oh well.
…and dare I say it? This person’s column seems more researched than Cecil’s…
I have lurked on this board for quite some time. I was moved to register by the extremely snotty attitude this “derleth” person comes across with. Abusing LoPan, perverting his name on purpose (you were able to remember that the plural of forum is fora – good for you, smarty – but not the gentleman’s name), and adding gratuitous snarky remarks in one short, completely unnecessary post, is sadly representative of far too many on this board.
I think this place is a refuge for a lot of geeks who still haven’t gotten over being physically unappealing, unpopular in high school, passed over by the womenfolk in favor of the star wide receiver, or something along those lines. It is a shame because many of the other folks on the board are gracious.
I have always wondered why big, strong people are almost uniformly docile while smart people, on the other hand, are often condescending and downright mean. Perhaps the contrast stems from the fact that physical supremacy is immediately apparent to observers.
Physically magnetic people learn at a very early age that not making themselves as unnoticed as possible, (1) attracts flaming, and; (2) attracts fuck-me-out-of-charity fruitbaskets. :dubious:
