Talk:Nose picking/Archive 2

Harmful?

Maybe someone else can answer this. Is nose-picking harmful? Just the repeated run-of-the-mill normal kind. Nastajus 12:27, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I did some more research, and it really looks like it is an activity everybody does and is socuially totally unacceptable in public. Except for when it is compulsive (perhaps my case) the amount of nose picking depends more on the individual production of dried mucus (e.g. by bacteria, etc) than on the lack of manner.

Some research on medical problems through nose piking come through inverted bias: if the question by a nosebleed is : were you picking your nose today? the answer will be yes: everybody does. This does not mean causality.

It seems logic that working with a handkerchief is less sensitive, and thus more dangerous than a WASHED finger. So I added a chapter on social acceptance, as this could be the core of the issue. 71.247.247.160 (talk) 02:13, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Eating?

What was the bit about eating and immune systems? There doesn't seem to be much about it. BunnyFlying (talk) 04:22, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

The link on yahoo news for the consumption of nasal mucous accumulation has vanished, but there are traces of it if you look on google. I am suspicious of it since it is near to april 1st. However, provided someone has no septum deviation or perforation, the consumption of the nasal mucous should be benign. Conversely, we trap a lot of bacteria on our fingertips, and especially under our fingernails (95%). So long as one would not insert their digit too high up into the nose 5 to 10 mm tops, it would seem logical that normal mucous production could trap any bacteria introduced. Dan (talk) 21:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Tutankhamen

The citation for the bit about Tutankhamen is sketchy at best. It appears to be a humorous (very possibly fictional) anecdote from a medical journal... "All the characters described are fictional, and any resemblance to any living person is entirely unintentional." I'll go ahead and remove that statement, unless a better source is provided. Aesacus (talk) 05:46, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Here's the bit I removed: The earliest record of nose picking comes from ancient Egypt, [[Circa|ca.]] [[1330 BC]], where a papyrus scroll found by the eminent archaeologist Dr. Wilbur Leakey details the financial payment of three heads of cattle, and food and lodging, to [[Tutankhamen|Tutankhamen's]] personal nose picker.<ref>Jayesh, D., 2004. "Medical Trivia" British Medical Journal, volume 328(7441), page 679 [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7441/679] Last accessed 31 August 2007</ref> Aesacus (talk) 05:52, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Delete

I'm half-predisposed to delete the entire article. Much of it is absolute rubbish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.39.147.122 (talk) 17:21, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

What about this theory?

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_28-3-2004_pg9_5

I'd like to comment on what I've researched on this topic.

There are medical conditions associated with nose picking. One is called rhinotillexomania, which is the compulsive picking of the nose, and can sometimes appear with trichotillomania, which is the compulsive plucking of hair or pulling the hair out of ones head, and can manifest in compulsively pulling hair from ones eyebrows, eyelashes, underarms, pubic region, beard, virtually anywhere one has hair. Other such compulsions include skin picking or cutting, eating, nail biting, the list goes on. Compulsivity can be related to psychological disorders such as borderline personality disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Generally people who have such compulsions also experience excessive anxiety and distorted or poor self image and can be prone to suicide. People (including children) with these compulsions also report often feeling worried.

Suggested treatment is behavioural therapy [Habit Reversal Training (HRT) and Stimulus Control (SC)] combined with SSRI drugs. Because such compulsions respond well to anti-depressant medications, it is fair to assume there is a neurochemical cause.

This is just my research on the topic. I'm not a psychologist or any such professionally accredited person, I just read what I could find on the subject, and it's far from a complete synopsis of OCD. If you happen to suffer from this disorder you are far from being the only one, and I'd encourage you to speak to your doctor or a counsellor about this treatable problem. There is lots of info on the net if you need to learn more before you can come forward and help yourself.

Mate- that is absolute rubbish. I know a lot of people who pick their noses habitually and they do not have these disorders. You sound like a pyschologist with your half-arsed pyscho-analysis. This isn't an article for scaremongering and pseudo-pyschology. Stick to the day job.

I agree. Almost no one will want to know that, you idiot!

This is silly. Let's keep it! --Ed Poor

I WAS KIDDING!!! (see User:Tarquin) I was kidding! nooooo (wail of anguish). what the heck. let's keep it. -- Tarquin

I was kidding too (except about the this is silly part). Should we delete the entire article, or what? --Ed Poor

well, it covers the subject in a serious manner, with medical links. I'd like to know where the quotations come from. -- Tarquin

Two of the quotations came from well-known folklore and the third, about the furniture, came from a book of ironic aphorisms by a gentleman named Van Lane Ferguson. Another from that book: "If you don't believe you exist, smell under your arms."

A kind correspondent has reminded me that the book is called We Bark at Midnight by Van Lane Ferguson, published by Tuttle. This talk page is evidently the only place on the www you can find this out. Ortolan88

Aoooooooooooooooooouw! Put the quotations back in! -- Tarquin 11:43 Dec 20, 2002 (UTC)

Another quote he sent me, "I guess being an ordinary, everyday Alabama commonlaw wife just wasn't good enough for Edna." The quote that was censored from the article by a humorless square was, "I know he picks his nose. I felt under his furniture." The other two square-censored quotes, not from the book, were, "How did you know I went to Harvard?" "I noticed your class ring when you picked your nose." And, "You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." Ortolan88

I vote for restoring the censored quotes. They were refreshing and entertaining and interesting. There's nothing wrong with an encyclopedia that has a bit of panache and cheek to it. Having serious information is one thing, but being dry and dull is another. I may just restore those quotes myself. soulpatch

This isn't the most serious entry in the wikipedia, but this is the first time I've been banned to bad jokes, etc. I put those quotes in, not entirely tongue in cheek, because I thought they gave an indication of the attitudes against nose picking that society has. Some people have no sense of humor, which, I maintain, is a genuine sense that helps us analyze and understand. Ortolan88

LOL. thanks for the laugh ! user:anthere

If they're real quotations, put them back in with the srouces! -- Tarquin

I don't understand the concept of "real quotations". Two of them were very common well-known jokes that I have heard and told for years. One of them came from a very obscure source, so obscure I remember only the author (although the book is probably in my attic). There's a legal concept called "taking judicial notice", meaning that a lawyer doesn't have to prove that the sun rose on the day in question, that the ocean is wet, etc. They were in no way "false quotations", which I assume would mean that I had made them up, but "real quotations" does not, it seems to me, necessarily mean quotations with sources. If I said, "It is magnificent, but it not war", I would give the source, but if I said, "Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs", I might not. These quotations were in the latter category. My goodness, if there is to be an article on nose-picking at all, no one is going to expect The Harvard Review of Near-Eastern Ontology and Metaphysics to be cited. Ortolan88

-- If I can't cite The Harvard Review of Near-Eastern Ontology and Metaphysics I don't want to be in your revolution.  :-)

Mettre ses doigts dans son nez

C'est degoutant, c'est malsain,

Alors qu'on peut les fourrer

Dans le nez de son voisin

Jacques Charpentreau

Poor attempt at translation

Puts their fingers in their nose

it's disgusting, it's unhealthy,

Whereas one can line them

In the nose of his neighbor

Nastajus 03:14, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

No mention of why Kellogg's Frosted Flakes are not so-called in the U.K.? --KQ

Are those what we call "Frosties"? What has that got to do with nose-picking? The only thing about breakfast cereal I can think of is in Raymond Briggs' Fungus the Bogeyman, the packets of "Flaked Corns"... -- Tarquin 22:16 Sep 26, 2002 (UTC)

"Bogey-flavoured beans"

Should the reference to "bogey-flavoured beans" be included in an article on nose-picking? I propose that it be moved to the (linked-to but as yet unwritten) article on snot-eating. I may be joking, of course. ;) -- Oliver Pereira 10:58 Nov 11, 2002 (UTC)

Sure, why not? It's nose-picking in popular culture, no?BunnyFlying (talk) 04:20, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

---

Googling suggests that the author of "Rucker: a life fractal" is Eli Halberstam, not the author cited. Is this true?

Yes and no. "Rucker: a life fractal" is a fictional novel: it does not exist. It is mentioned in Paulos' book Beyond Numeracy, in which he explains what it would be, and by way of example writes a review of it. -- Tarquin

---

You may want to check out Henry A. Kissinger ;-) // Liftarn

---

Why on earth does the article only say 'dried' mucous? And perhaps some altenative methods for extraction like the suction bellows I see toddlers getting stuck up their noses. Two16 17:21 Jan 9, 2003 (UTC)

---

One thing is that, at least for some, dried mucus is bloody painful and itchy and there's no amount of wind that will dislocate it. I believe there are people whose physique just somehow causes this kind of buildup. This is a source of ridicule much like all those early-bird disdain toward people with delayed sleep phase syndrome. Why would it be a psychological disorder when it much more resembles ordinary physical reflexes?

Why yes, I am indeed writing a comment about this subject at half to four in the morning.  ;) --blades 00:37, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

Be happy. You just made me vomit in my mouth.

Cultural Examination

I wonder if culture could be examined. A friend of mine in highschool explained to me that public nose-picking was common and was not considered inappropriate in the least back home in Jamaica. The idea was that they were keeping their nose clean. I didn't think to mention their unclean finger. =) -- Sy 18:15, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Nose picking in East and West

From the article: "Although a very common habit, it is a mildly taboo subject in most East Asian and Western cultures"

My guess is that someone first wrote "in most Western cultures" (probably by an expert in the wide field of Western culture). Later someone from an East Asian background (again, an expert) probably tagged the "East Asian" bit. I think it's safer if people just wrote "in most cultures" even if that makes you sound like an ignorant (Insert your country here)-ian by assuming that it is the same for other cultures. One should use common sense and write it as "in most cultures," implicitly implying the whole globe, especially since if it isn't true, others can correct it. It's slightly cocky to think one's own culture is the only one with hygiene or etiquette.

Re: Nose-picking in East and West

Actually when visiting East Africa (specifically Tanzania and Zanzibar) I noticed that it's not considered taboo at all to have a thorough route around your nose, inspect what you find and flick it wherever. Whilst sitting in a bar with friends. You might wonder if it's just the company I was keeping, but you'll also see it mentioned in guide books as well. So arrogant assumptions all round then! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.118.30 (talk) 21:17, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Pictures

Today, Brookie and 24.18.2.187 decided to remove images from the article. I think they are both germane and should be put back. Image:Sexynose.jpg should definitely stay with the article. It goes along with the old saying, “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.” (except, in this case, you can!) Why should it matter that one of the users of Wikipedia was the one who took the picture and started this article? At least this picture was contributed under the GFDL.   — Chris Capoccia ^T⁄_C 19:54, August 3, 2005 (UTC)

I totally agree. I took the sexynose pic and just think its a fun pic, which does a great job illustrating the text. It is even used on Wikipedia:Unusual articles to illustrate it. I say they stay! --[[User:JonMoore|— —JonMoore 20:24, 29 May 2006 (UTC)]] 20:30, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

The quote is fine. The primary picture is fine. The secondary picture is digusting -- and adds NOTHING to this piece. Boisemedia 00:56, August 4, 2005 (UTC)

Which picture are you referring to as primary? Both pictures involve picking a nose. Why is one worse than the other?   — Chris Capoccia ^T⁄_C 02:18, August 4, 2005 (UTC)

The image that is at the top of the page (this in the primary position) of one person picking his nose is needed to illustrate the article. The second is there just for some strange sense of vanity. I cannot see what it adds. The quote below it is fine, and actually quite appropriate -- but seeing people stick their digits in others noses does nothing for the integrity of this piece. It seems rather… self serving. Boisemedia 02:45, August 4, 2005 (UTC)

The picture in question does add to the piece because it shows that sometimes you can pick your friend’s nose, even though the popular saying says you can’t. A contribution is not self-serving just because the contributor appears in it. It is a unique picture that pushes the envelope of normal social interaction to contradict an aphorism.   — Chris Capoccia ^T⁄_C 3:21, August 4, 2005 (UTC)

I Agree with Boisemedia, Image should be removed, it really shouldn't appear in encyclopedia, come on, it's hard to take this article seriously when you see that picture, when I saw it I was thinking that it's a vandalism --Defufna 09:45, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

How is it self serving? I admit it is a picture I took. It is a humorous picture. The people at Wikipedia:Unusual articles thought it was good enough to chose over the primary picture to illustrate the article. I had nothing to do with that choice. [[User:JonMoore|— —JonMoore 20:24, 29 May 2006 (UTC)]] 03:03, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

The photo adds nothing. It looks far cleaner without. I left the quote in. 24.18.2.187

24.18.2.187, you should build some consensus when there is an active discussion about a revision before you impose your own individual sense of Aesthetics.   — Chris Capoccia ^T⁄_C 21:50, August 5, 2005 (UTC)

I believe 24.18.2.187 is a sockpuppet for someone else who is a regular contributer. -[[User:JonMoore|— —JonMoore 20:24, 29 May 2006 (UTC)]] 22:43, 5 August 2005 (UTC)

Have worked to build consensus. Have worked to compromise. Do you have a better compromise? 24.18.2.187

Sorry, but anonymous users who only come to edit a single article with their own agenda are not interested in consensus or compromise. Get some real, logged-in users to agree with your POV. Starting a revert war is not very endearing.   — Chris Capoccia ^T⁄_C 13:57, August 6, 2005 (UTC)

Let's try this - putting that picture with the quotations actually makes a lot of sense -- the "Aesthetics" are better (I guess), and makes the layout flow better. Boisemedia 17:11, August 6, 2005 (UTC)

I deleted a joke on the page that was making fun of the jokes and not an actual quotation. He even wrote about putting the joke in the article in a forum.

Are There Any Women Here Today?

(a quote from Monty Python's Life of Brian)

I don't see any mention of the fairer sex in the article. Are we to assume that the feminine gender don't indulge, or is there bias in the reporting? Enquiring minds wish to know...

My contribution to the folklore: a little ditty from my childhood, which I can't at the moment dignify with a source of reference:

Everybody's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it, Pickin' their nose an' chewin' it, chewin' it...

It might have been Shakespeare but I couldn't swear to it.

As it happens, it was Irving Berlin and the reference is Everybody's Doing It Now. AncientBrit 22:09, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

If there is a vote to retain/remove I vote for retain. Some say that's because I'm retentive... AncientBrit 21:59, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

This is the talk page - has that reference been removed from the main article page ? I'd vote for keeping 'doing it' in a 'cultural references' section. I don't see any mention of the less-fair sex in the article, either - I think the bias is in the reading, not the writing. Maybe the photos ? --195.137.93.171 05:20, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Unusual_articles#Science links here with a picture of a lady indulging ... --195.137.93.171 05:23, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

References

The South African poem mentioned in the sentence about making fun of nose-picking should be properly referenced. Anyone know anything about it?Alberrosidus 02:33, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

Reference number 6 now links to a page saying the article has moved. I found something similar here - but have never done any referencing for wikipedia before and am not sure what they need exactly, I tend to just edit bad spelling and typos.84.92.167.173 (talk) 04:01, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Harmful?

Maybe someone else can answer this. Is nose-picking harmful? Just the repeated run-of-the-mill normal kind. Nastajus 12:27, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm a nose picker, and proud!!

Why are retrograde infections unlikely?Nastajus 21:08, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

The Pick

Remember that Seinfeld episode? Maybe worth including in this article. Come on, it's already silly, might as well run with it!

How bout how 99% of wikipedia moderators pick their nose and eat it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.122.93.108 (talk) 19:45, 5 February 2007 (UTC).

Nah - it just the wikinazi admins who do that!

--PeterMarkSmith 16:33, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Trafic

I think there should be a 'Nose-picking in Culture' section. Or Art ? There is a scene in Jacques Tati's film Trafic where motorists stopped at traffic lights all pick their noses ... --195.137.93.171 05:15, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanxs!

Thanxs for making me laugh! I might try out the art of booger-eating... >_< Jumping cheese 04:34, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Eating?

What was the bit about eating and immune systems? There doesn't seem to be much about it... -whoops, sorry forgot to sign... BunnyFlying (talk) 04:22, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

The link on yahoo news for the consumption of nasal mucous accumulation has vanished, but there are traces of it if you look on google. I am suspicious of it since it is near to april 1st. However, provided someone has no septum deviation or perforation, the consumption of the nasal mucous should be benign. Conversely, we trap a lot of bacteria on our fingertips, and especially under our fingernails (95%). So long as one would not insert their digit too high up into the nose 5 to 10 mm tops, it would seem logical that normal mucous production could trap any bacteria introduced.

Dan (talk) 21:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Tutankhamen

The citation for the bit about Tutankhamen is sketchy at best. It appears to be a humorous (very possibly fictional) anecdote from a medical journal... "All the characters described are fictional, and any resemblance to any living person is entirely unintentional." I'll go ahead and remove that statement, unless a better source is provided. Aesacus (talk) 05:46, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Here's the bit I removed: The earliest record of nose picking comes from ancient Egypt, [[Circa|ca.]] [[1330 BC]], where a papyrus scroll found by the eminent archaeologist Dr. Wilbur Leakey details the financial payment of three heads of cattle, and food and lodging, to [[Tutankhamen|Tutankhamen's]] personal nose picker.<ref>Jayesh, D., 2004. "Medical Trivia" British Medical Journal, volume 328(7441), page 679 [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7441/679] Last accessed 31 August 2007</ref> Aesacus (talk) 05:52, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Rmv sentence

I was bold and removed the following sentence:

The most common nose picking plan is to pick your nose with your index finger of your right hand.

No verification, and surely that's personal choice/preference? londonsista ^Prod 19:58, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

Pointers

Who calls it "pointers"? JuliusNero (talk) 20:36, 12 February 2009 (UTC)