What My Brain Says: Old Man Hanky Blow

I noticed the other day that times have changed. Clearly several things have changed in our world, but I never realized that some changes are as fundamental as how we blow our nose. I watched a man blow his nose the other day. You know how it is-- you're not paying attention and you just happen to be looking at someone, and though you probably shouldn't continue to watch, you do, because you're not thinking, and probably the other person doesn't realize you're being rude, because they're intent on the same action you are...
Anyway, I watched a guy blow his nose and he blew it in a way that I would never blow. We were at a restaurant, and he took the (cloth) napkin to his nose, blew, and then took his pointers and dug around. I watched his actions in fascination. First off because I would never consider blowing my nose in a cloth napkin, and second, because there was something familiar about it that I just couldn't place.


I discussed the phenomenon with my husband later. "Oh," he said, "That's the Old Man Hanky Blow."

Of course! I had seen that blow before, in older men, especially those that lived on farms or in rural areas. But WHY? How has our world changed that we don't all still use this technique? Perhaps the change is the soft facial tissues we use now. The lotion in them makes every blow so comfortable that we don't feel we have to dig to get every last bit out in one blow.

I turned to Google for more information. Surprisingly, there's a lot of literature on the subject. ECONOMIST.COM explains in their article, "Beautiful Blowhards" that handkerchiefs suggest different things in different countries. The article states that in Sri Lanka and Japan, the handkerchief denotes a well educated person, while in America, it has become a symbol of low hygiene. In that case, I suppose America views the Old Man Hanky Blow as a symbol of low hygiene as well. Perhaps in Sri Lanka and Japan, it has become a fashionable pastime.

On a related note, have you ever noticed that no matter what device you use, the downward spray goes free? No more! Steve, with strangenewproducts.com explains a revolutionary solution: the Nose Pouch!