Philosophy
This looks like something that might be "pork" added to the Obama bailout package. It could also be an Ig Noble Award candidate.
After three years of research, Georg Steinhauser, a chemist, has discovered a type of body hair that traps stray pieces of lint and draws them into the navel.
Dr Steinhauser made his discovery after studying 503 pieces of fluff from his own belly button.
Chemical analysis revealed the pieces of fluff were not made up of only cotton from clothing. Wrapped up in the lint were also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust.
Dr Steinhauser's observations showed that 'small pieces of fluff first form in the hair and then end up in the navel at the end of the day'.
Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, he said the scaly structure of the hair enhances the 'abrasion of minuscule fibres from the shirt' and directs the lint towards the belly button.
"The hair's scales act like a kind of barbed hooks," he said. "Abdominal hair often seems to grow in concentric circles around the navel."
The researcher, from Vienna University of Technology also asked friends, family and workmates about their own belly button fluff.
Dr Steinhauser established that shaving one's belly will result in a fluff-free navel - but only until the hairs grow back.
Other suggestions for keeping the navel fluff-free include wearing old clothes, as they tend to shed less lint than newer garments, which can lose up to one thousandth of their weight to the belly button over the course of a year.
A body piercing can also be used, with belly button rings particularly effective at sweeping away fibres before they lodge.
Dr Steinhauser, whose other projects have included monitoring the erosion of his wedding ring, said: "The question of the nature of navel fluff seems to concern more people than one would think at first glance."
"We hope we have been able to provide information for doctors when they are next confronted with the simple question of 'why some belly buttons collect so much lint and others do not'."
An earlier, Australian study of samples from 5,000 people concluded the typical carrier of navel fluff to be 'a slightly overweight middle-aged male with a hairy abdomen'.
Researcher Karl Kruszelnicki said: "The reason it is usually blue is that we mostly wear blue or grey trousers, often jeans, and when these rub against the body, the fibres often end up finding their way to the navel."
Not all belly button fluff is blue however. In the curious case of Australian hospital worker Graham Barker much of his fluff is red, even though he rarely wears the colour.
Mr Barker has been collecting his own navel fluff in jars every day since 1984. The achievement has won him a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's largest collection of navel lint.
Ig Nobel prizes for 2008
- The Innies/outies Ratio
The conversation turned to belly buttons yesterday and relative proportion of innies to outies in the population at large. The entire family is comprised of innies which seemed to give anecdotal evidence to the claim that most people are innies. How great...
- Why Do We Love Einstein?
Today is Einstein's birthday and as I put the finishing touches on the manuscript, Einstein's Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion, I am thinking about the question in the last chapter -- why do we love Einstein?...
- Envisioning Science
Otto Neurath argued that social progress depended on finding a visual language in which to express scientific facts and relations. We cannot expect everyone, especially working people, to acquire the technical proficiency with formal mathematics to understand...
- Colbert Takes The Marshmallow Test
As you already know from the marshmallow experiment (and all the variations done since), self-control in children turns out to be one of the best predictors of future life success. Whether the former is the cause of the latter, or whether both are effects...
- 2009 Ig Nobel Prizewinners
Tis the season of silliness of scientific research awards. "The 2009 Ig Nobel prizewinners" October 5th, 2009 PhysOrg.com The Ig Nobels are a highlight of the scientific calendar and award research that makes people laugh as well as think. The awards...
Philosophy
Cutting edge science research...navel fluff
This looks like something that might be "pork" added to the Obama bailout package. It could also be an Ig Noble Award candidate.
"Revealed: The secrets of belly button fluff"
In what must be the ultimate exercise in navel-gazing, an Austrian scientist has solved the mystery of belly button fluff.
by
Patrick Sawer
March 2009
Telegraph.co.uk
In what must be the ultimate exercise in navel-gazing, an Austrian scientist has solved the mystery of belly button fluff.
by
Patrick Sawer
March 2009
Telegraph.co.uk
After three years of research, Georg Steinhauser, a chemist, has discovered a type of body hair that traps stray pieces of lint and draws them into the navel.
Dr Steinhauser made his discovery after studying 503 pieces of fluff from his own belly button.
Chemical analysis revealed the pieces of fluff were not made up of only cotton from clothing. Wrapped up in the lint were also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust.
Dr Steinhauser's observations showed that 'small pieces of fluff first form in the hair and then end up in the navel at the end of the day'.
Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, he said the scaly structure of the hair enhances the 'abrasion of minuscule fibres from the shirt' and directs the lint towards the belly button.
"The hair's scales act like a kind of barbed hooks," he said. "Abdominal hair often seems to grow in concentric circles around the navel."
The researcher, from Vienna University of Technology also asked friends, family and workmates about their own belly button fluff.
Dr Steinhauser established that shaving one's belly will result in a fluff-free navel - but only until the hairs grow back.
Other suggestions for keeping the navel fluff-free include wearing old clothes, as they tend to shed less lint than newer garments, which can lose up to one thousandth of their weight to the belly button over the course of a year.
A body piercing can also be used, with belly button rings particularly effective at sweeping away fibres before they lodge.
Dr Steinhauser, whose other projects have included monitoring the erosion of his wedding ring, said: "The question of the nature of navel fluff seems to concern more people than one would think at first glance."
"We hope we have been able to provide information for doctors when they are next confronted with the simple question of 'why some belly buttons collect so much lint and others do not'."
An earlier, Australian study of samples from 5,000 people concluded the typical carrier of navel fluff to be 'a slightly overweight middle-aged male with a hairy abdomen'.
Researcher Karl Kruszelnicki said: "The reason it is usually blue is that we mostly wear blue or grey trousers, often jeans, and when these rub against the body, the fibres often end up finding their way to the navel."
Not all belly button fluff is blue however. In the curious case of Australian hospital worker Graham Barker much of his fluff is red, even though he rarely wears the colour.
Mr Barker has been collecting his own navel fluff in jars every day since 1984. The achievement has won him a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's largest collection of navel lint.
Ig Nobel prizes for 2008
- The Innies/outies Ratio
The conversation turned to belly buttons yesterday and relative proportion of innies to outies in the population at large. The entire family is comprised of innies which seemed to give anecdotal evidence to the claim that most people are innies. How great...
- Why Do We Love Einstein?
Today is Einstein's birthday and as I put the finishing touches on the manuscript, Einstein's Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion, I am thinking about the question in the last chapter -- why do we love Einstein?...
- Envisioning Science
Otto Neurath argued that social progress depended on finding a visual language in which to express scientific facts and relations. We cannot expect everyone, especially working people, to acquire the technical proficiency with formal mathematics to understand...
- Colbert Takes The Marshmallow Test
As you already know from the marshmallow experiment (and all the variations done since), self-control in children turns out to be one of the best predictors of future life success. Whether the former is the cause of the latter, or whether both are effects...
- 2009 Ig Nobel Prizewinners
Tis the season of silliness of scientific research awards. "The 2009 Ig Nobel prizewinners" October 5th, 2009 PhysOrg.com The Ig Nobels are a highlight of the scientific calendar and award research that makes people laugh as well as think. The awards...