# Why Is Mouthbreathing Associated With Stupidity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665 "2003-07-20T00:18:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/1 "2003-07-20T00:18:12Z")
Perhaps it would be best to start with an explanation: I am a mouthbreather. This is, in part, because of my perpetually clogged sinuses, and, in part, out of habit. I’ve found that mouthbreathing is not recommended by dentists because it dries out the gums. However, I’ve yet to find an explaination for why “mouthbreather” and “idiot” are used interchangably. Does anyone out there know? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/2 "2003-07-20T02:40:15Z")
Many people whose intelligence is in the lower registers tend to let their mouths hang open when they are neither talking nor eating. Most people tend to close their mouths when not using them. Thus, there is a (not wholly justified, but not totally removed from reality) stereotype that people who habitually leave their mouths open are of lower intelligence. The other pejorative phrase, based on the same observation, but quite a bit older, is “slack jawed.” I would guess that a person who simply breathes through their mouth, while holding it open just far enough to permit breathing, would be a bit less likely to be treated as suffering from mental deficiencies than a person whose jaw habitually hung slack, although the use of the phrase “mouth breather” does not make the distinction. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/3 "2003-07-20T03:07:20Z")
A curious thing I have noticed is that in some cases, it is the SMART folks who are actually the mouth-breathers, and it the dullards (the “mouth-breathers”, paradoxically) who are too stupid to figure out why this is to their advantage. I’m talking about when there is a foul odor in the air. Whenever this happens in a crowded area, I notice some people holding their hands or their shirt over their nose to try and filter the smell out. Anybody with half a brain knows that by simply breathing through your mouth instead of your nose you won’t smell a thing! ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/4 "2003-07-20T03:34:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Anybody with half a brain knows that by simply breathing through your mouth instead of your nose you won’t smell a thing! _Some folk’ll never eat a skunk But them again some folk’ll. Like Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel"_ ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/5 "2003-07-20T03:53:08Z")
**tomndebb** - beg your pardon here but. > [@](#): > > Many people whose intelligence is in the lower registers tend to let their mouths hang open when they are neither talking nor eating. Most people tend to close their mouths when not using them… do you have a cite for that? I know what your saying here, but I think a cite is necessary for put anystock in a claim like that… Steven Hawkings has his mouth gaping open almost all the time, and I doubt you can find anyone who would say he’s a dullard. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/6 "2003-07-20T03:53:26Z")
**tomndebb** - beg your pardon here but. > [@](#): > > Many people whose intelligence is in the lower registers tend to let their mouths hang open when they are neither talking nor eating. Most people tend to close their mouths when not using them… do you have a cite for that? I know what your saying here, but I think a cite is necessary to put any stock in a claim like that… Steven Hawkings has his mouth gaping open almost all the time, and I doubt you can find anyone who would say he’s a dullard. ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/7 "2003-07-20T04:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Steven Hawkings has his mouth gaping open almost all the time, and I doubt you can find anyone who would say he’s a dullard. The fact that ALS affects muscle control without affecting intelligence hardly offers any evidence that there isn’t a preponderance of the slack-jawed population who are in fact idiots. I agree he should have posted a cite for the way he worded that, but given the lack of attention in the medical literature to slack-jawed idiocy…he should instead have said something like “I’ve noticed that lots of slack-jawed people I’ve met are idiots.” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/8 "2003-07-20T04:20:13Z")
A cite? I suppose I could go look one up. On the other hand, the phrase “many people whose intelligence” followed by “most people” was certainly no claim that there is some sort of direct correlation between open mouths and intelligence. (Which is why I further noted that the stereotype was “not wholly justified, but not totally removed from reality.”) That Dr. Hawking suffers a neurological problem just _might_ indicate that he is not typical on _any_ sort of generalizations. One citation (not acceptable in this sort of discussion, of course) would be personal experience. Deb worked for over ten years for an institution serving MRDD children. It was not that diffcult, when walking into a room of older teens and their late teen caretakers to recognize who was which without knowing them, personally. I’m not happy with all these sites, but: [A dental site that explicitly lists mouth breathing among “Dental Conditions Associated with Mental Retardation”](http://www.ddhealthinfo.org/ggrc/doc2.asp?ParentID=3177) [Discussion of mouth-breathing problems for children with Down Syndrome (half way down page)](http://www.ican-do.net/down_syndrome.htm) [Another site dealing with Down Syndrome kids addressing mouth breathing](http://www.utmem.edu/otolaryngology/Residents%20&%20Students/Medical%20Students/Pediatric%20Study%20Guide/Down's%20syndrome.html) ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/9 "2003-07-20T04:20:21Z")
I agree **cooper**. _totally off subject:_ I was fairly skilled in the **cooper** business whilst in graduate school. I worked in an old whaling port as a re-enactor in a museum. I could make a barrel quite well back then…mr.cooper. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/10 "2003-07-20T04:23:10Z")
Thanks **Tom**. I was just being nitpicky. It’s late here in CT. and I have an awefull case of insomnia. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/11 "2003-07-20T04:46:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by I Love Me, Vol. I \* > \*\*A curious thing I have noticed is that in some cases, it is the SMART folks who are actually the mouth-breathers, and > it the dullards (the “mouth-breathers”, paradoxically) who are too stupid to figure out why this is to their advantage. > > I’m talking about when there is a foul odor in the air. Whenever this happens in a crowded area, I notice some people holding their hands or their shirt over their nose to try and filter the smell out. Anybody with half a brain knows that by simply breathing through your mouth instead of your nose you won’t smell a thing! \*\* You _must_ be joking. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/12 "2003-07-20T04:49:41Z")
Many people who suffer from Down’s syndrome breathe through their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/13 "2003-07-20T05:11:34Z")
I suffer from endlessly clogged sinuses, so I too am a mouth breather. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/14 "2003-07-20T07:15:33Z")
It’s all my fault. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/15 "2003-07-20T08:20:03Z")
Well, to gape means [1 a : to open the mouth wide b : to open or part widely \ 2 : to gaze stupidly or in openmouthed surprise or wonder 3 : YAWN](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary). I suppose someone who seems to habitually gape could be considered to be in a constant state of stupidity, surprise or openmouthed wonder at pretty much everything. "Look, a pencil (mouth falls open & stays that way). Wouldn’t take long for this to mutate to mouthbreather. As for breathing through your mouth to avoid unpleasant odors, that’s true. Just keep in mind that your nose _filters_ that unpleasantness. Your mouth is _tasting_ it, sans filtering. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/16 "2003-07-20T09:56:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*You _must_ be joking. \*\* Not joking. This really happens. I have always thought it paradoxical: The mouth-breathers are the smart ones in this situation and the so-called “mouth-breathers” are so stupid they avoid the simple thing that will eliminate the foul smell-- breathing through their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/17 "2003-07-20T10:49:06Z")
Breathing through the mouth simply results in you TASTING that which otherwise would simply be a bad smell. Thus, the truly intelligent are back to pulling our shirts over our noses:) ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/18 "2003-07-20T11:08:35Z")
Hey, **I Love me, Vol, I** , I’m right there with you. But I have the impression that this doesn’t work for everyone. Don’t you have to ‘pull’ some inner-nose muscle to block off the nasal area from any smell-contamination? Otherwise you will still smell a little bit. (BTW, when is vol. II coming out?) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/19 "2003-07-20T11:50:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by I Love Me, Vol. I \* > \*\* > > I’m talking about when there is a foul odor in the air. Whenever this happens in a crowded area, I notice some people holding their hands or their shirt over their nose to try and filter the smell out. Anybody with half a brain knows that by simply breathing through your mouth instead of your nose you won’t smell a thing! \*\* Exactly-I found this when using the bathroom after my father, or scooping the litterbox. And no, you don’t really TASTE it, because smell and taste are really different-taste is actually a result of smell. (Your tastebuds detect sweet, salty, bitter and sour). ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665/20 "2003-07-20T12:36:34Z")
Just FTR I’m a kind of switch-breather, since my teeth are too big (most people would call me bucktoothed), I look ridiculous when I close my mouth completely, so I can alternate from nose- to mouthbreathing and most people won’t notice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mouthbreathing-associated-with-stupidity/189665.md?page=2)