Mystery of the Belly Button Fluff Solved by Science

Cancer may still be a mystery, but after years of research, science has finally solved the mystery of the belly button fluff:

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’. [...]

"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."

And the secret to a navel fluff-less belly button?

Dr Steinhauser established that shaving one’s belly will result in a fluff-free navel – but only until the hairs grow back.

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Photo: Graham Barker’s Navel Fluff Collection, see also: 25 Strangest Collections on the Web