ISN’T talking or discussing about politics a very timely thing to do? We feel like we are intelligent if we engage into one, and as if our lives depended on it. Maybe in the Philippines, it is, but it shouldn’t be.
But there are still stories worth talking about, or at least given a chance for the public to know that it is not just about politics. These stories can be absurd, or oftentimes irrelevant, and yet without it we may not be able to appreciate bigger things in life.
So, today, maybe let’s talk about non-trivial things, say - “kugmo.” If you are reading this while taking any food or drinks, a sincere apology.
“Kugmo” is a Bisaya word for a semi-fluid mucus of in the nose, its common slang is “booger.”
Our nose, according to science, have hair inside it in order to filter dusts that may contain harmful bacteria and viruses. With the help of mucus membranes, these harmful elements can be flushed out of our body, and that explains why we don’t easily contracted with illnesses, or at least have a time for our body to cope.
But not all mucus ended up in liquid state, we know it in Bisaya as “sip-on,” some of it becomes semi-liquid with gummy texture, which is the “kugmo.”
It can be quite a bizarre, and a bit outrageous, when a doctor in Austria believed that picking our noses and eating the “kugmo” may be beneficial to health.
Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, who is based in Innsbuck and a lung specialist, said that people who pick their noses with their fingers were healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies.
“And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system. Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine,” he was quoted saying this in 2005 via Ananova.com.
However, a 2006 study which was not disclosed by Business Insider debunked the claim that there are health benefits in “kugmo,” in fact, it can be dangerous since the mucus already trapped bacteria that can be harmful, and once it will be digested, it can be released to our body and cause health risks.
Beyond science, are social commentaries. Humans as we are, we have transcended to become creative beings, and in a form of sarcasm and dark humor, we allude people we find unbearable with different names - and “kugmohon” is no different.
In life, there are people who are “kugmohon,” who literally have no time to clean their noses. There are also figurative descriptors: “Naw’g kugmo (muscus face),” or an expression “Kugmo kang dako (you big mucus),” which is an alternative to less scandalous and profane.
That is why in politics - so much of its discourses and talks about it - can be just a bunch of toxic “kugmo” that we should not pick, and definitely not eat. And since, it’s part of our body system, we should clean it often, and be aware how not to infect it against us.
(nefluczon@gmail.com)