But Why – A show for curious kids
Why do we have boogers inside our nose?
2/27/2026 | 1m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
Why do we have boogers inside our nose? Asks Ellie from California.
Look, we've all been there - and by there, I mean knuckle deep in our own noses. It's well known that it is gross to pick your nose, but what are boogers doing there in the first place? Do they exist just to be picked, or is there some greater purpose to them after all?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
But Why – A show for curious kids is a local public television program presented by Vermont Public
But Why – A show for curious kids
Why do we have boogers inside our nose?
2/27/2026 | 1m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
Look, we've all been there - and by there, I mean knuckle deep in our own noses. It's well known that it is gross to pick your nose, but what are boogers doing there in the first place? Do they exist just to be picked, or is there some greater purpose to them after all?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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But Why – A show for curious kids is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMore from This Collection
Various videos of health and body facts for kids.
Why do people have different colored eyes?
Video has Closed Captions
Why do people have different colored eyes? Asks Ben from New York. (1m 52s)
Can you sneeze with your eyes open?
Video has Closed Captions
Can you sneeze with your eyes open? Asks Eli from Oklahoma. (2m 1s)
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Why is sleep important? Asks Annabelle from Canada (1m 59s)
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Why do I get carsick and how can I overcome it? Asks Meera from India. (1m 11s)
Why do ballerinas wear ballet shoes?
Video has Closed Captions
Why do ballerinas wear ballet shoes? Asks Harper from Raleigh, NC (2m 18s)
How many germs are killed by toasting bread?
Video has Closed Captions
How many germs are killed by toasting bread? Asks Malcolm from Boston. (1m 35s)
Video has Closed Captions
How do we get bruises? Asks Violet from Richmond, Virginia. (1m 18s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipOh, sorry about that.
But, you know, while I have you here, let's talk about boogers.
Why do we have boogers inside our nose?
There are lots of different kinds of boogers with various shapes, colors, and textures.
And believe it or not, they're in your nose for a pretty good reason.
Your nose is responsible for sniffing smells, but you can also think of it as a sort of filter.
Whatever is breathed in through your nose has to pass through hair and around mucous membranes in order to get inside your body.
It's like a first line of defense between you and whatever's trying to get in to make you sick.
The mucous membranes in your nose create a slimy substance to catch invaders like dirt, dust, pollen or bacteria.
When the mucus dries up and solidifies, that's a booger.
Snot can change color based on what you're breathing in.
But the color can also be a signal of what's happening inside your body.
Yellow or green could indicate you're getting a cold or fighting off some other sort of infection.
And white snot might mean you're congested.
When you blow your nose, you're clearing out all that gunk so your nose can keep filtering out more bad stuff.
So despite their gross reputation, boogers are actually great.
But don't even think about eating them.
After all, your body worked hard to filter out all that junk for a reason.
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