Thread: Blowing the nose

Chimps don't. Babies don't. Toddlers are taught, though we perfect the skill independently. If blowing the nose is so unusual in the animal kingdom, I wonder why we do it? And when did this begin?

I'm also wondering if that other uniquely human expression - crying - is related. Because the less-cinematic half of crying is the sudden production of snot.

Remember we have sinuses and nasal passages very much like our primate and monkey relatives. What we don't have the same as them is the head down posture - we're upright. That allows mucus, and the dusts and other junk that gets caught in the mucus to accumulate rather than to leak or lick or wipe away as soon as it's there. We have to make it happen.

Though they do sneeze much the same as we do.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...65177938,d.b2U

Sneezing monkey