Former Best Group Weblog competitor Jezebel posted a photograph from Bangkok featuring a mother cleaning her daughter’s ear with a Q-tip, although I have no idea what this has to do with the recession hitting the Thai economy.
My first thought upon seeing the photo was along the lines of “I wish my mom was here to clean my ears for me again. Good times!” but a look at the comments made me realize how different this pastime was for non-Asians.
Apparently we’re the one of the few populations who likes to clean our ears with a scooped pick because — aside from the fact that it FEELS SO GOOD — we’ve got a unique type of ear wax: it’s dry, yellow, flaky and scoopable; just as my childhood doctor used to say, like potato chips!
Non-Asians have a goopy ear wax, which is just weird. I mean, wouldn’t you rather have potato chips congregating in your ear canal than ooze?
I’m kidding; it’s not weird. But I’m sad that much of America is missing out on what I consider the most comforting and satisfying feeling in the world: laying your head down on your mother’s lap while she gently scratches the inside of your ear. Mmm.
What next?
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12 Comments to “Our Earwax is Flakier Than Yours”
jeesuh wrote:
I hear ya Moye! I miss the days when my mom or grandmom would clean my ears for me. *sigh*
Posted on 17-Jun-09 at 2:55 pm | Permalink
tiennguyen wrote:
So true!
I never had the ear pick you there though, mine was metal and was more shaped like a golf club at the end. Does anyone know where I can get one??
Posted on 17-Jun-09 at 4:12 pm | Permalink
TongguMomma wrote:
I am laughing because I'm a Caucasian mom to a Chinese-American daughter… and she LOVES for me to clean her ears. And yes, it's been a learning curve.
Posted on 17-Jun-09 at 5:10 pm | Permalink
suzieleung wrote:
ah! i so agree! it is so comforting… my mom used to do that, too!
–suzie http://www.absolutelyfobulous.com
Posted on 17-Jun-09 at 11:01 pm | Permalink
LindaChan wrote:
You know, every time I go to my (non-Chinese) doctor, she comments how dry my ear wax is. Now I know there's nothing wrong w/ my ears. Thanks Moye! Oh and my mom used to clean me and my sister's ears out with the golf-club shaped picker too. I didn't like it though..it felt like being tickled inside my ear.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 9:11 am | Permalink
moye wrote:
That's hilarious
I've always wondered–does your daughter have the dry ear wax too?
I just have to convince my fiance (who's Caucasian) that it'll be the best thing for our future children. And they'll love it, too.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 9:33 am | Permalink
TongguMomma wrote:
Moye ~ Yes, she does! I have the goopy, brownish kind, but hers is the
yellowish, dry, flaky kind. She calls it her “mash potato ear stuff.” Heh.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 12:52 pm | Permalink
Kristina wrote:
I knew I couldn't have been the only kid whose mom did this! And yes, q-tips don't work for me. Use the pick! Thank you for posting.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 2:44 pm | Permalink
oldersis wrote:
thanks for the post–gave me a hearty laugh. i didn't know about our ehtnic earwax and chinese tradition of cleaning. i just thought it was my weird family!
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 5:59 pm | Permalink
Facebook User wrote:
Awesome to see we all share this love for ear-cleaning! But it's funny that we all thought it was something only our family or culture did.
Posted on 18-Jun-09 at 10:19 pm | Permalink
telsing wrote:
A friend encountered a guy on the street in India who would do this for you for a fee…. and tried it cuz he's very brave and likes to live dangerously-lol.
I'm caucasian and my Chinese daughter has such a prolific amount of wax that we've been having her pediatrician and ent remove it the past few years. Often the chunks appear to be the size of lady bugs! Whatever, she's never had an ear infection in her five years, nothing can get past that wax-lol. I'll have to consider cleaning her ears, i don't want to miss out on the mother daughter bonding
Posted on 21-Jun-09 at 6:28 pm | Permalink
Facebook User wrote:
you definitely should! just make sure you've got steady hands. she's going to love you for it, cause it feels so good!
Posted on 21-Jun-09 at 9:10 pm | Permalink
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