Last night my husband reached a breaking point in what had apparently always been a lingering question in his mind …

“Where does belly-button lint come from?”

He was pretty freaked out, like there was a conspiracy against him.

I’ve never really pondered the subject, but seeing how my belly button is significantly smaller than his, I imagine I generate a far smaller amount.

I promised him I’d do some research, and here are my findings (a few bullet points pulled from Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki’s 2001 study, as listed on Wikipedia):

• Navel lint consists primarily of stray fibres from one’s clothing, mixed with some dead skin cells and strands of body hair.
• Contrary to expectations, navel lint appears to migrate upwards from underwear rather than downwards from shirts or tops.
• The existence of navel lint is entirely harmless, and requires no corrective action.

Um, I don’t know why anyone would think it was harmful. And, what type of corrective action would you take? Lint screen?

Anyway, here’s another funny site: Belly Button Lint: The Hole Story.

And here’s something completely disgusting.