7 Disgusting Belly Button Facts

4. Belly Button Lint

You’re more likely to gather navel dust bunnies if you are a hairy, overweight, old man with a seriously cavernous innie, due to the abdominal hair essentially pulling fibres into the navel. Apparently, lint is an amalgamation of clothing fibres, hair, and dead skin cells.

5. World Record Belly Button Lint Collection

Having collected navel lint since 1984, Graham Barker was officially recognised for the largest collection of belly button lint by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000. Graham cites that he found himself under-occupied in a youth hostel in Brisbane in the early 80s when his attention drifted to his belly button.

There it was… fluff! Graham became curious about how much navel fluff one person could generate (enough to stuff a cushion, maybe?), and the only way to find for sure was to collect it and see. He now has three jars of amalgamated clothing fibres, hair, and dead skin cells.

6. Navel-Gazing As Meditation

Navel-gazing is the contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation. Some consider the navel to be a powerful chakra of the body and is actually used of the practice of yoga of Hinduism. Omphaloskepsis is the technical term for getting lost in the abyss of your bacterial ridden abdominal amazon.

7. Belly Button Cheese

Just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Yes, you can harvest that festering forest of microbial activity that is your navel and add the bacteria to new home of dairy. There, left in favourable conditions, your flora will go forth and multiply creating a delectable cheese. But it doesn’t stop there. Bacteria to induce fermentation can be harvested from many places on the body. Anyone for armpit parmesan, or toe jam taleggio? What about vagina yoghurt?

So, who still loves a belly button now?