Get to the Bottom of Your Belly Button

Your belly button, also called your navel, is a scar from where your umbilical cord was attached when you were born. An infection can cause more tissue to grow on top of the wound and create an outie. You also might have an outie if you were born with a tiny hole in your stomach muscles and part of your intestine poked through (called an umbilical hernia).

Everyone’s born with a belly button, but some people have umbilical hernias and birth defects which can leave belly openings that need repair. A surgeon closes the holes with stitches that sometimes flatten or stretch the navel, making it almost disappear.

Apparently, people do spend time studying their belly buttons. And most prefer one that’s a small indent, not an outie. A surgeon can resize and reshape it. This kind of operation (called umbilicoplasty) is popular after a pregnancy or tummy tuck. And no, the old wives’ tale won’t work -- you can’t tape a coin over it and push it back in!

The position of your belly button MAY make you a better athlete. The navel is your center of gravity. According to some research, its position can affect your speed. The higher your belly button, the faster you can run sprints. The lower it is, the faster you may be able to swim laps.

To compare, ear lobes take 6 to 8 weeks. Before you add a little charm to your midsection, remember that piercings can get infected. Bacteria love dark, damp places, and your piercing needs air to heal. Your clothes can bother the sensitive skin, too. All the more reason to wear crop tops, right?

This gunk trap is the dirtiest part of your body, thanks to the dead skin, lint, dirt, dried sweat, soap, and lotion that get stuck in there. The Belly Button Biodiversity project found many species of bacteria that had never been seen before. It may sound gross, but a scientist has made cheese from a mix of belly-button bacteria and yeast.

You don’t have to dig around in that crater. Your daily shower should do the trick. If you notice dirt or a bad smell, you can gently clean your innie -- or outie -- with a cotton swab and a little rubbing alcohol.

A top-load washer is rougher on clothes and loosens up the fibers more than a front-loader. The result is more fluff. Worn shirts have less fuzz than brand-new threads, so there’s no reason to ditch your dear old concert T.