Manners don’t just apply to the dinner table

The first steps to achieving a more polite society require only minute changes to common activities. Take, for example, three everyday actions which, in themselves, are as easy as pie, but when performed incorrectly, begin to stink up social order.

Eating: We all love it. From doughnuts to fruit salads to greasy cheeseburgers, eating is a thing the masses quite enjoy.

And frankly, there is nothing shameful about putting that French fry in your mouth, chomping it down and delivering it Jimmy John-style to an empty belly.

However, we reach an impasse when "eating" becomes "eating while walking." While you expect to see numerous patrons digging into that oh-so-delicious Big Mac inside the golden arches, the experience is hardly as desirable on the sidewalk.

 With fat jiggling, grease falling on the shirt pocket and a sloppy mouth reaching for any amount of oxygen that might pass the processed meat, the consumer is anything but a polite sight.

Sleeping: Often followed by the above action, it's another thing we crave and need. After a grueling day of 8 a.m. class, biology lectures and writing a paper or two, an afternoon cat nap is always in order.

After snuggling up in your super soft comforter in your stretchy pants with that teddy bear you absolutely did not bring to college after mommy dropped you off, the snoozing can commence.

The unacceptable addition to sleeping is that same action while in class. My question is, what are the benefits?

Besides being absolutely rude to both the professor who is there to educate you and to your parents who are probably paying for your "boring science class," you are not achieving much by catching up on those extra hours while detailed notes are being put up on the board.

So to be polite, please. Get a room.

The next routine may be frowned upon in its origins. However, picking your nose is unfortunately something that's just got to be done. But, there is a polite way of doing so. Facial tissue bridges that gap between rude and polite. In times of the ever-prominent sniffles and those pesky bears that hide in the far left corner of the cave, Kleenex comes to the rescue.

It may come as a surprise a centimeter of cushy paper marks the difference between a civilized person and a barbarian with a chunky finger digging for half liquid nuggets of mucus gold.

With the examples of eating, sleeping and picking your nose in the correct manner, we can now conclude that being polite is rather simple. Don't slobber on yourself in travel, get your good ole' eight hours and fix your issue with a tissue.