What is it with belly buttons? Many find it extremely attractive and on many women, it is also considered a beauty spot when one has a well-defined belly button. However, there are quite a few who keep their belly button dirty to the point of looking as if it is skin cancer. The belly button is so many things to humans, it could be a thing of intrigue, it could be a fetish but all said and done, it is one of the important parts of our body and our first birthmark through which we fed life. Here are 15 interesting facts about the belly button.
Almost everyone has a belly button, but due to certain factors, there are some who may not have one. Take Karolina Kurkova for instance. Her belly button was a source of mystery on the net where it was widely regarded that she didn’t have one and that turned out true. As a child, she was afflicted with a condition called umbilical hernia where an infant’s intestines can poke through the intestinal wall.
Don’t be confused with the tabloids showing Kurkova with a belly button as that is a result of clever photoshopping.
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According to biology, all mammals have a belly button but as weird as nature is, kangaroo’s and Platypuses don’t have one so do other marsupials like Koala bears. Marsupials don’t nourish the embryo from an umbilical cord but from a yolk sac in the womb.
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Since Dolphins are mammals even though they live in the sea, they, of course, do have belly buttons.
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Technically, the belly button is the first scar as it is formed from the umbilical cord which is cut at birth and then tied. As you know the umbilical cord is your lifeline in the womb through which a baby receives nutrients.
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Every person’s belly button is unique and even contains different species of bacteria that usually live in every belly button even though you may not realize it. Believe it or not but, research has found over 2,400 species of bacteria living in the navel.
There are so many different species of bacteria in our belly button that every person has a different composition. About 2,400 different species of bacteria have been discovered living in the navel. Get this!! One person was discovered with bacteria in his belly button that was common to that found in soil in Japan. The person had never even visited Japan. In fact research in 2012 had found over 1000 new species of bacteria living in our belly buttons.
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Most belly buttons in babies start as what is called an outie when the belly button protrudes outwards. This slowly changes into an innie as people age and becomes an adult. As we grow older, our belly buttons recede more inwards. Only 10% of people may have an outie when they are adults.
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When a woman is pregnant, her innie belly button can become an outie but once they have given birth, the belly button reverts back to its normal condition of an innie.
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According to studies, an outie is said to be less attractive than an innie. When the belly button is T shaped or vertical and slightly hooded then that is considered a desirable or sensual navel. Photographic analysis of 142 participants aged 16-62 derived at what was an aesthetically pleasing belly button.
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Find that hard to believe?? But it’s true; breast augmentation is done through a belly button also to hide scarring. The technique is called the TUBA technique where a saline implant is inserted through an incision in the belly button. This avoids scarring on the breast.
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Think before getting your belly button pierced because this is one thing that takes a long time to heal. And when we say a long time, that doesn’t mean days but almost 6 months to a year. If you don’t take care of it, you could also get infected.
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Belly button lint or navel fluff is a mixture of cloth fibre, hair, dirt and dead skin cells accumulated in a belly button. If the navel isn’t cleaned regularly, the lint can increase. Men tend to have more fluff than women because of more hair in the area.
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As weird as it seems, some people actually have a hobby of collecting navel lint like Graham Barker from Australia who has even made it to the Guinness book of world records in 2000 for his unusual and gross navel lint collection as the largest in the world. Who in his right mind would want to collect navel fluff? Artist Rachel Betty Case has even made a collection of bears from navel fluff. Even grosser.
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In eastern Yoga, the belly button is considered the site of a powerful chakra but navel-gazing as a method of meditation was also used in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It sounds weird but it is true. It was also used by Greek monks on Mount Athos to gain better insight into the divine.
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The belly button is considered an erogenous zone. According to a leading psychologist Leon Seltzer “From a heterosexual man’s point of view, seeing the exposed navel and surrounding area can be very attractive. It accentuates a woman’s waistline, her curves, and brings out the beauty and fertility of a woman’s body.” There is no argument to this as many men do get turned on by a woman’s belly button.
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During the sixties, women were actually banned from displaying their belly button on television. Remember Barbara Eden in the TV sitcom “I dream of Jeannie?” Well, she had to wear a harem dress that also covered her navel on instruction of the production bosses.
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What belly button shape reveals about your personality
Here is a big bonus. Although science doesn’t really prove any link between a belly button and personality, there are theories claiming so and it doesn’t hurt to read what your belly button says about you in the same stride as the many fun tests online. So here’s what it says
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