In 1926, illusionist Howard Thurston was granted a United States Patent for a “Nostril Expander,” which was marketed as Thurston’s Perfect Breather. It consisted of two oval loops of wire, which could be inserted into the nostrils to hold them open during sleep, to prevent snoring. It seems to be the work of his co-inventor, Loyd Scruggs of St. Louis, Missouri, but Thurston attached his name and promoted the product in interviews and on his advertising cards: $1; $2 for silver wire; $5 for gold. None of them worked.
