Researcher’s joke that picking your nose and eating it may be good for you backfires as media take it seriously
It was wrongly reported that scientists found bogies 'strengthen immune system'
IT was reported that research has revealed eating bogies may be good for your health.
Scientists at a number of prestigious universities including Harvard and MIT now say parents should not actively discourage their kids from picking their noses, many media outlets told readers.
They claimed ingesting bogies can be good for teeth, as well as overall health as they are packed with a “rich reservoir of good bacteria”.
According to the reports, not only can snot keep bacteria from sticking to teeth – it may also help the immune system fight back against respiratory infections, stomach ulcers and HIV.
But it was all a joke, made by a lecturer and then somehow taken seriously.
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Scott Napper, a professor in biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan joked to students that boogers actually taste sweet, "almost sugary as if they were little candies".
After the story blew up, he told debunkers : "It went from a joke I made in class one day and the media picked up on it. There's not truth to any of that."
So as sad as it might be for your little ones to hear, there is no known medical benefit in eating those bogies. However, that new may not be enough to stop them.
- This story has been corrected since publication.
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