You may be surprised by what's living in your navel

nbc ^ | Cari Nierenberg

[BenLurkin]

But according to new research, which asked 66 men and women to swab their navels with a sterile Q-tip, the skin in study participants' belly buttons also contained an average of 67 different species of bacteria.

He says the belly button is a fun habitat filled with living organisms that we don't know much about. It's less exposed and gets washed less often than other areas of skin, so the bacterial community in the umbilicus is less disturbed.

Only about 8 bacterial types occurred in more than 70% of all the people screened.

Those common kinds included species such as Staphylococci, which Dunn says is like your skin's standing army defending it from bad germs. Other frequent microbes were a species of Bacillus, a type that gives stinky feet their odor and may be protecting the body from fungi, and Micrococcus, a hardy bacteria found deep in the navel that can survive without oxygen.

Two samples contained an extremely rare type of archaea, a single-cell organism never previously found on human skin. One of these samples came from a man who self-reported that he had not bathed or showered for several years -- yikes!

[BenLurkin]

And all these we thought Buddha was wasting his time contemplating his navel.

[ColdOne]

How funny....I haven’t heard “ contemplating his navel” in years!!! LOL!

[Olog-hai]

The word Omphaloskepsis was actually coined to describe such contemplation.

[353FMG]

Undergo a couple of laparoscopic surgeries and you won’t have a navel left.

[Psalm 73]

I’ve got several tiny gnomes residing in there right now - normally not a problem - but they aren’t getting along too well with the Gummy Bears inside my brain......

[left that other site]

Only one chakra is located in the navel.

Al Gore’s favorite chakra is located a few degrees south of that one.

[Joe 6-pack]

"...Staphylococci, which Dunn says is like your skin's standing army..."

Hence the term Navel Infantry ;-)

[bgill]

But what about those belly buttons that are outties?

[xrmusn]

DO YOU BELONG TO THE STOMACH CLUB?

IF NOT

TURN IN YOUR BELLY BUTTON.

[Gay State Conservative]

When I was a kid I was assigned to write a report on the Naval Academy.When finished I brought it to my mother for checking (my father was on a business trip).When my mother realized that I repeatedly spelled it “Navel” she broke out laughing and didn't stop for 10 minutes.That's my one memory about navels.

[FlJoePa]

But what if I’m saving up to knit a sweater?

Maybe the reason everyone is sick all the time (as opposed to 30 years ago) is because we’re too clean.

[upchuck]

If you’re an outtie, never mind :)

[berdie]

Is this a case of TMI?

[mass55th]

"Undergo a couple of laparoscopic surgeries and you won’t have a navel left."

I had 3 regular abdominal surgeries over an 18 month period, so there's not much left.

[Bernard Marx]

I saw him once, sneaking a drink while I took a shower. He glared at me with hard, glittery eyes, flipped me the Bird and ran back inside. That was years ago and I haven’t seen him since. Frankly, I don’t want to.

[Daffynition]

Figures there's be someone with the Guinness on *button lint*. Heh.

[Daffynition]

What doesn't kill ya will make you stronger...

[djf]

Most people don’t realize that the number of bacteria living in and on the human body VASTLY exceed the number of human cells that make up “you”.