WebMD 1:01: How Boogers Are Formed

You loved them as a kid, you flung them across the room, and you probably even ate a few.

Please say you're talking about mini marshmallows.

Nope. I'm talking about boogers.

Oh, even better. Way more interesting.

Oh, and much more functional. I mean, boogers do things that mini marshmallows could only dream of doing.

Your nose is built with a fantastic gooey substance called mucus, and we produce close to a liter of it every day.

Yeah. That's good. That's good.

And that mucus keeps the lining of your nose nice and moist while warming the air you breathe.

OK, come on, boogers. Let's get to the boogers already.

I'm getting there now. Every breath you take is filled with dust, dirt, and germs, but the mucus in your nose traps all that gunk and stops it from going further into your body.

And helping the mucus collect all this debris are the tiny hairs inside our nostrils.

Wow. I had no idea. I'm never going to trim my nose hairs again.

Eww. I can't think of anything more disgusting than trimmed nose hair. It is way too important. [SNIFF] I let mine grow.

Oh. Nice. But you know what? We still haven't talked about boogers.

In the final phase of boogerfication, the mucus, dirt, and other junk dry up and clump together, forming the nasal classic-- the booger.

See, a booger is the culmination of a very important process. From here on out, I will not fling.

It's about time.