Turn your head and cough.

Over the past few days I’ve managed to go through 4 boxes of Kleenex.  I think that’s a new record but I can’t find any listing in Guinness.  It also got me wondering… just how much mucus does a person produce?  Inquiring minds want to know.

The net is filled with a lot of bunk, but fortunately there are some great sites for information.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

For checking up on that latest story you were e-mailed head to the Urban Legends Reference Pages.  It’s a great place to find out if there really was a hook on his hand or if Richard Gere really did what you heard he did.

And, for some real-life info, the page that got me thinking of this: The Straight Dope.  People have been writing to Cecil for years asking all kinds of tough questions… including “How does my nose produce so much snot so fast when I have a cold?” 

So, The Straight Dope says 14 grams of drippings per day and http://www.curingnasalcongestion.com (a site with lots of ads and no credentials, hmmm) says 1 to 2 quarts per day.  I’m still no closer to a definitive answer… but I do have the cure.

It turns out my problem may be that I’m resenting something.  According to healingyou.com:

Resentment is stored in the mucus membranes of the body. The flower essence for resentment is Willow. Dependent upon where the symptoms manifest in the body, a person can begin to zone into what their specific issues may be that may need healing.

Now, where was my patchouli incense?