# What makes snot slippery? How about vaginal lubrication? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592 "2004-10-22T13:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/1 "2004-10-22T13:33:13Z")
I did a couple of searches on “snot” and “mucus” and while there were plenty of threads posted, none appeared to ask this specific question. So - what makes snot slippery? Is it related to the chemical composition of oils/hydrocarbons? Is it because of the proteins in it - I believe proteins are long-chain molecules; is it the long-chain structure that results in slipperiness? How closely related are snot and vaginal lubrication? Is VL slippery for the same reasons snot is? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/2 "2004-10-22T15:00:52Z")
My boogers tend to be on the sticky side. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/3 "2004-10-22T15:10:36Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > My boogers tend to be on the sticky side. Ah - those are the _boogers_, though - what about the snot? ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/4 "2004-10-22T15:21:13Z")
**mucus** - noun The viscous, slippery substance that consists chiefly of mucin (glycoproteins), water, cells, and inorganic salts and is secreted as a protective lubricant coating by cells and glands of the mucous membranes. [Latin mucus.] Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Crap. My dictionary is 12 years old! So basically snot is a type of runny self-made slime. [Everything you wanted to know about mucus, but were afraid to ask.](http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/molecules/mucins.html) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/5 "2004-10-22T15:38:14Z")
**DeVena** - great link - informative. Thank you. So based on the fact that mucus is largely made up of “glycoproteins” is it the long-chain structure of the proteins that make it so slippery? ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-snot-slippery-how-about-vaginal-lubrication/270592/6 "2004-10-22T15:56:52Z")
Well Glycoproteins are from carbohydrates combining with proteins. This combo then sucks up water like it’s nobody’s business. Albumin, a glycoprotein, is what makes egg whites, well, slicker than snot.