Noses

Although noses are widely thought to have been invented in 1979 by Monty Python, for the Big Nose scene in The Life of Brian, they actually date back to 490BC.
That’s when a Greek runner named Pheidippedes attached one to stop sweat dripping from his sweaty forehead into his mouth en route to proclaim a victory at the Battle of Marathon. Although he thought it a good idea at the time, he promptly collapsed and died after delivering the message. Oops. Many people blamed his use of the nose. The result was that they never really took off back then.
It was only 2,469 years later, following the success of Monty Python’s film, that they came into popular use. Now, most people have one, just like a smart phone. In fact, it’s strange to think that noses were only widely adopted 6 years after Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first call on a handheld mobile phone.
Personally, I find them very handy – probably for much the same reason as Pheidippedes. They keep sweat out of my mouth during a post-run stretch against a wall.