All About Boogers! Trivia Quiz

Answer: all of these

They are mostly dried or semi-dried mucus, with dirt, dust, pollen, bacteria and germs mixed in. The mucus dries around these foreign invaders, much the same way that an oyster forms a pearl around a foreign object that finds its way into the shell. It is then easier to expel from the body via the nose.

Answer: Boogers Are My Beat

Leave it to Barry to come up with such a title. Published in 2003, it is a compilation of humor columns he wrote for the Miami Herald.

Answer: cilia

They actually push the mucus towards the nose OR towards the throat. Either way, it keeps the foreign matter from reaching the lungs. Those pushed towards the nose are expelled via sneeze, nose-blowing or the ever-popular "finger removal" technique. The mucus pushed towards the throat is swallowed, as gross as that sounds!

Answer: True

Known in Japanese as "Gorilla no Hana Kuso," which translates literally into "Gorilla boogers," they are actually sweetened, dried black beans. The packaging features a drawing of a gorilla picking its nose!

Answer: rhinotillexis

Compulsive nose-picking is called rhinotillexomania. Eating the resulting harvest is known as mucophagy. I bet that at least SOME of you out there have been guilty of this, whether you'll admit it or not! It's actually not a good idea to practice rhinotillexis, because the blood vessels in the inner nose are both very fragile and very close to the surface. Nose picking can easily rupture these vessels, making you more susceptible to infection.

Answer: False

While nose boogers are made mostly of mucus, eye boogers (or "crusties" as they are often called) are comprised mostly of dried rheum, which is a different and more watery substance than mucus. Both substances perform essentially the same task, however, that of keeping foreign objects away from more sensitive areas of the body.

Answer: Anthony McFarland

Defensive lineman Anthony "Booger" McFarland began his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999, as a first-round draft pick from Louisiana State University. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in 2002, although he did not play in that game due to injury.

He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, just in time to claim another Super Bowl ring with the Colts that very same year. He got the nickname from his mother, who called him a "little booger" as a very young child, and the name stuck. And yes, he actually does like this nickname! Ed Jones was known as "Too Tall" Jones, Greene was better known as "Mean Joe" Greene, and Hendricks was known as "The Wild Stork".

Answer: False

It's actually a sign that it's working exactly as it should. The mucus in your nose is designed to trap foreign particles that enter the nose, preventing them from reaching the lungs, where they would cause harm. The presence of boogers means the mucus is performing its job!

Answer: about a liter

Most of this finds its way towards the back of the throat, where it is swallowed, usually rather sub-consciously (thankfully!). This volume can increase dramatically in the presence of an infection in the sinuses.

Answer: False

Ben Franklin (1706 - 1790) did, however, write one titled "Fart Proudly". I swear, it's the honest truth! It was a collection of essays, many of them humorous in nature. It's still in print and can be found readily online.