# Nose Shape Theories **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611 "2017-03-20T14:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/1 "2017-03-20T14:51:31Z")
So apparently there are these theories that people from populations that have lived for a long time in different climates tend to have different nose shapes as a result. The basic idea - which has apparently been around for a long time - is that wider nasal passages are better in hot areas, while narrower nasal passages are better in cold areas. What’s new is that researchers have gone about measuring the noses of people from various climates, and say they’ve confirmed that the differences are great enough such that they must have resulted from selection pressures and not random drift. Couple of random cites: > **[How Climate Helped Shape Your Nose](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-changed-shape-your-nose-180962567/)** > > New research shows how the width of our nasal passages is literally shaped by the air we breathe > **[Climate may have shaped the evolution of the human nose](https://www.popsci.com/climate-nose-shape-evolution/)** > > Climate has shaped the human nose, producing wider nostrils in warmer regions and smaller nostrils in cooler regions. Read on: What I haven’t seen addressed, though, is whether the underlying theories are true or have been tested. Meaning, is the notion that the different sized/shaped noses work differently a documented fact? Do people whose ancestors come from colder climates (and hence tend to have noses adapted for those climates) tend to have nose/air-related troubles in warmer climates? And vice versa for people whose ancestors come from warmer climates and find themselves in colder climates? It’s possible that with modern indoor lifestyles and climate controls these issues don’t exist to the same extent. But most people end up spending a decent amount of time outside, and the nose is one part that doesn’t tend to be shielded when outside, so you would think it would still have some impact, if true. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/2 "2017-03-20T18:14:48Z")
I don’t know about “documented fact”, but I have certainly seen airflow studies and the like that seem to back it up. Although I’m not sure if there’s been a divergence from some medium ground, so much as broader “tropical” noses \*are \*the norm, and narrow, longer noses specifically are a more recent adaptation - the famously big-nosed Neanderthals had even more of a cold-adapted nose. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/3 "2017-03-20T19:44:36Z")
One particular nose that facinates me I suspect comes from england but not really sure. I see it much more on females than males. The tip of the nose is somewhat bulbous with a dimple right in the middle at the top. Very distinctive. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/4 "2017-03-20T20:31:24Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > One particular nose that facinates me I suspect comes from england but not really sure. I see it much more on females than males. The tip of the nose is somewhat bulbous with a dimple right in the middle at the top. Very distinctive. Photo? ---
**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:** [March 20, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/5 "2017-03-20T20:40:57Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > One particular nose that facinates me I suspect comes from england but not really sure. I see it much more on females than males. The tip of the nose is somewhat bulbous with a dimple right in the middle at the top. Very distinctive. Like [Dudley Moore’s?](http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/studio-headshot-of-actor-dudley-moore-he-is-shown-smiling-wearing-a-picture-id640269993) ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/6 "2017-03-20T21:51:41Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Like [Dudley Moore’s?](http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/studio-headshot-of-actor-dudley-moore-he-is-shown-smiling-wearing-a-picture-id640269993) ``` Exactly ``` ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/7 "2017-03-20T23:37:28Z")
I don’t know. I have what I would consider a rather round-tipped nose, not red or discolored, with wide nasal passages, and my ancestors are from Denmark, Germany, England, and Ireland, so I’m I’d I would disprove this theory. I would love a nice, narrow, aristocratic nose, but I am from peasant stock, and it shows. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/8 "2017-03-21T01:48:14Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I don’t know. I have what I would consider a rather round-tipped nose, not red or discolored, with wide nasal passages, and my ancestors are from Denmark, Germany, England, and Ireland, so I’m I’d I would disprove this theory. > > I would love a nice, narrow, aristocratic nose, but I am from peasant stock, and it shows. You don’t disprove anything other than that features in a population cover a spectrum, and we’re talking about averages for populations, not mandatory sizes for individuals. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/9 "2017-03-21T01:49:25Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Like [Dudley Moore’s?](http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/studio-headshot-of-actor-dudley-moore-he-is-shown-smiling-wearing-a-picture-id640269993) Karl Malden is another one ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/10 "2017-03-21T03:03:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You don’t disprove anything other than that features in a population cover a spectrum, and we’re talking about averages for populations, not mandatory sizes for individuals. You’re right. I take a theory, and assume that my individual case can prove or disprove the theory, which is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611/11 "2017-03-21T19:14:31Z")
Didn’t Cecil once mention nose shape when he discussed the Eskimos as being optimally adapted for cold-weather?