Knowing the Nos of Nose-blowing

By Jack Pillemer

Winter is here with many people sniffing, sneezing, coughing and especially nose-blowing. No matter how it is done, the act of clearing the nose of mucus in public makes everyone a little uncomfortable.

On a bus ride last week, the man sitting next to me - a middle-aged gentleman with large hands - stood up from time to time in order to find something deep inside his trouser pockets. He fished out a very creased, red handkerchief, put it to his nose and trumpeted like an elephant two or three times. He then squashed the handkerchief into the palm of his hand and returned it to the depths of his pocket. "Did he really have to draw so much attention to himself?" I wondered.

A school boy took out a roll of toilet paper. He carefully measured off a piece. After he had blown his nose, he pressed the moist paper into the center of the toilet roll with his thumb, together with all the other moist

pieces he had collected there during the entire day at school. "Did he have a large collection at home?" I thought to myself.

A pale elderly lady sitting diagonally across from me took a tissue from under the sleeve of her sweater, gently squeezed the flesh around her nostrils, folded the tissue in two and slipped it back under her sleeve. The used tissue was still readily available for its next use. I felt like advising her to use a clean tissue, but said nothing.

Man centuries ago, tissues, toilet paper, and handkerchiefs were not considered necessary when blowing one's nose. Blocking one nostril and breathing out forcefully was the accepted method. However, in refined polite society one was expected to take special care: A 13th century text advised men as follows:

"When you blow your nose or cough, turn round so nothing falls on the table."

In the 14th century, men had found a solution to the blowing of their noses but it was frowned upon by some. The men were told:

"It is unseemly to blow your nose into the tablecloth."

In 1530 in Netherlands, a Christian philosopher and educator, Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote on how children should be educated. He believed that it was easier to teach children than change adults. He advised children not to copy their elders but to act in the following way:

"To blow your nose on your hat or clothing is rustic, and to do so with the arm or elbow befits a tradesman; nor is it much more polite to use the hand, if you immediately smear the snot on your garment. It is proper to wipe the nostrils with a handkerchief, and to do this while turning away if more honourable people are present. If anything falls to the ground when blowing the nose with two fingers, it should immediately be trodden away."

By 1558, it seems that the handkerchief was the polite way to clear ones nostrils. Della Casa, expanded on the advice given by Erasmus when he wrote:

"Nor is it seemly, after wiping your nose, to spread out your handkerchief and peer into it as if pearls and rubies might have falled (fallen) out of your head."

In the 18th century, a book called "On the Nose, and the Manner of blowing the Nose and Sneezing" was published in France. The advice given indicates that Frenchman still had a lot to learn.

• It is very impolite to keep poking your finger into your nostrils.

• It is vile to wipe your nose with your bare hand, or to blow it on your sleeve.

• You should take your handkerchief from your pocket and use it quickly in such a way that you are scarcely noticed by others.

• It shows lack of respect towards the people you are with to unfold it in different places to see where you are to use it....

• You should avoid making a noise when blowing your nose.

If I were to write a guide on the etiquette of nose blowing in busses at the end of the 20th century, I would probably mention, among other things, loud trumpeting, red handkerchiefs, soggy toilet paper, and used tissues tucked into shirt sleeves.

Image: "Blowing her nose" by oddharmonic is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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