Thursday, March 19, 2009

unlocked: the mystery of bellybutton lint

It was groundbreaking science.

In case you are out-of-touch with the news that truly matters, you ought to know that earlier this month, an Austrian scientist announced that he had discovered the secret of belly button lint. Yes. Finally.

Dr. Georg Steinhauser, an Austrian chemist, carefully studied 503 lint samples that he retrieved from his own belly button. In addition, he interviewed many members of his family and friends.

Based on his research, Steinhauser has discovered that a particular kind of hair surrounds the belly button. These hairs have a scale-like structure that pull fibers from clothing. The hair then draws the fibers down into the navel. Once in the navel, the fibers mix with dead skin, fat and sweat to form the linty balls that we eventually extract.

Since belly hair plays a large part in the formulation of the lint-ball, Steinhauser has concluded that men have more problems with navel lint than women.

So, in the end, what can one do about the problem of belly button lint? According to Steinhauser, keep your belly button shaved and washed.

http://bit.ly/Zh8x1
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http://bit.ly/74kcA
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