{"id":8233,"date":"2026-09-08T20:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8233"},"modified":"2026-09-08T20:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:00:14","slug":"japans-20-year-ig-nobel-winning-streak-continues-thanks-to-people-blowing-their-noses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=8233","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s 20-year Ig Nobel winning streak continues thanks to people blowing their noses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-744608 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/OOK85_kahunkitu20150314132420_TP_V4.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"478\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span>Learn the scientifically proven technique for blowing your nose efficiently.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Science has tackled many a mystery for the advancement of human knowledge and understanding, from black holes to gene editing, but there are some researchers out there who turn their focus to the more mundane and humorous things in life and ask themselves, \u201cWhat is going on here?\u201d To laud the value of the efforts of those people, the <strong>Ig Nobel Prizes<\/strong> came into being, celebrating achievements that first make you laugh, and then make you think.<\/p>\n<p>This year, in the <strong>36th installment<\/strong>, and the first time being held in Switzerland, the <strong>Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine<\/strong> went to the late <strong>Dr. Tokuji Unno<\/strong>, Professor Emeritus at Asahikawa Medical University, and <strong>Dr. Hiroshi Yajima<\/strong> for their 1977 study: <strong>How to Blow the Nose<\/strong>. This marks the 20th consecutive year that a Japanese researcher has won one of the Ig Nobel Prizes.<\/p>\n<p>\u25bc Here Dr. Miki Takahara of Asahikawa Medical University accepts the award on behalf of Dr. Unno who passed away in 2022, but you can also enjoy the entire award ceremony itself.<\/p>\n\n<p>While nose blowing seems like an everyday occurrence, Unno and Yajima wondered whether people were actually blowing their noses properly. So, with pneumotachometers (airflow meters) and eardrum pressure transducers, they hooked up 15 volunteers to dissect the aerodynamics of the common honk.<\/p>\n<p>Their mechanical breakdown of the human nose blow revealed crucial data for nasal hygiene enthusiasts everywhere:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u25cf The One-Side Policy<\/strong><br \/>\nNasal passages are rarely created equal, and blowing both barrels at once causes airflow to take the path of least resistance. To clear the clogged side, you must block the clear side to build up a high-velocity airstream.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u25cf The Power Blow<\/strong><br \/>\nA commonly held thought was that blowing hard is bad for the ears, but the airflow inside the nose and middle ear infections are separate issues. Higher flow velocity increases the discharge efficiency of built-up mucus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u25cf The Long Blow<\/strong><br \/>\nThe average blow lasts 1.23 seconds and ejects 1.34 liters of air, which is about a third of your vital lung capacity. To maximize clearance right down into the bronchia, take a moderate breath in and execute a sustained, steady blow rather than a short, hyper-pressurized burst.<\/p>\n<p>\u25bc Modest blows are not going to clear those sinuses efficiently.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-744609 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/kuchikomi997_TP_V4.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Ig Nobels are a humorous reminder that even the most mundane of daily habits are governed by fascinating physics. The next time you reach for a tissue, you can press one nostril, and blow long and proud with scientific confidence.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asahikawa-med.ac.jp\/newstopics\/single\/post_886.html\">Asahikawa Medical University<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zZPMCPUW9GY\">YouTube\/Nitere News<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MnhgxxzVi-w\">YouTube\/Niconico News<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstage.jst.go.jp\/article\/jibiinkoka1947\/80\/1\/80_1_11\/_article\">J-Stage<\/a><br \/>\nTop image: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pakutaso.com\/20150306075post-5279.html\">Pakutaso<\/a><br \/>\nInsert image: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pakutaso.com\/20191153317post-21660.html\">Pakutaso<\/a><br \/>\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RocketNews24En\">Follow us on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RocketNews24En\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn the scientifically proven technique for blowing your nose efficiently. Science has tackled many a mystery for the advancement of human knowledge and understanding, from black holes to gene editing,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8233\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}