# Why does earwax remove beer foam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889 "2003-09-06T05:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/1 "2003-09-06T05:14:14Z")
So if I pour myself a beer, and it has a lot of head on it, the head will go away almost instantly if I place my finger in my ear just ever so slightly, not even thinking I even got earwax on it, and then place it into the beer. It doesn’t go down by just sticking my finger in there, and I obviously don’t need a lot of earwax to do it, so how does it work? Is this one of those things man was never meant to know? Like piss shivers? ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/2 "2003-09-06T05:28:19Z")
It’s not the foam, it’s the grease. Skin oils on your finger eat thru foam like crazy. Skip the ear, that’s just gross. I rub my finger along my nose first, which is slightly less gross. ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/3 "2003-09-06T13:52:42Z")
ick you two! ::rushes off to experiment:: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/4 "2003-09-06T14:38:21Z")
For less grossness, skip both ear and nose. Use a potato chip. Much more hygenic. [More than you ever needed to know about the physics of beer foam](http://www.taproom.com/beer/foam.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/5 "2003-09-06T14:48:54Z")
[More than you need to know about earwax](http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/pediatrics/cqqa/earwax.html). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/6 "2003-09-06T19:37:57Z")
Interesting…I think I’ll switch to that chip idea… (I actually just did the ear thing once after seeing a friend of mine do it with every beer he ever has that gets poured into a cup. I always said it was gross, but I wanted to try it once to see what would happen.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/7 "2003-09-06T20:43:34Z")
Really any sort of oil will do to weaken the surface tension and kill the foam. Even the oils from a tiny pinch of black pepper is sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/8 "2003-09-07T02:12:58Z")
What if I pour beer in my ear? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/9 "2003-09-07T04:34:13Z")
Then you probably have a drinking problem. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/10 "2003-09-07T05:26:56Z")
What if I have tears in my beer AND in my ears, from lying on my back in the bar crying over you? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/11 "2003-09-07T05:36:07Z")
Then you probably have a country music problem. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/12 "2003-09-07T10:29:54Z")
Ever thought about learning to pour a beer properly? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/13 "2003-09-07T11:29:08Z")
A light shake of salt will do the same thing. For the opposite problem, a gum wrapper or cigarette paper. (Dip in silver paper when their pints go flat, how about that, far out man! - PW) ---
**Author:** ![Koth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Koth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/14 "2003-09-07T12:13:47Z")
That wouldn’t work with soda too, would it? The gum wrapper, I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/15 "2003-09-07T12:40:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* > \*\*Then you probably have a drinking problem. \*\* He never got over Macho Grande. ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/16 "2003-09-07T14:26:55Z")
This is really the wrong forum/ ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/17 "2003-09-07T14:41:31Z")
Is nor. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-earwax-remove-beer-foam/199889/18 "2003-09-07T14:41:31Z")
Is not