# Need answers \[bellybutton lint\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537 "2014-03-25T17:16:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![wreckinball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wreckinball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wreckinball)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/1 "2014-03-25T17:16:25Z")

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WTF is bellybutton “lint” and where/what does it do/come from??? 😕😕

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**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/2 "2014-03-25T17:23:50Z")

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Over the course of the day, your shirt is abraded against your skin and small fibers from the fabric are pulled off and begin to accumulate. The hairs around your bellybutton happen to do a good job of funneling these bits of fluff into the bellybutton. Shaving the hairs around your navel will reduce lint collection.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/3 "2014-03-25T17:44:33Z")

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Title edited to indicate subject. Please use descriptive thread titles.

Colibri  
General Questions Moderator

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/4 "2014-03-25T17:45:54Z")

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Here’s an experiment: Wear a t-shirt with stripes of different colors. Then check to see if the bellybutton lint accumulated when you wear the shirt ends up having corresponding concentric rings.🙂

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**Author:** ![Srsly\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Srsly\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Srsly_Dad)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/5 "2014-03-25T17:52:13Z")

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> [@Inner\_Stickler](#):
>
> Over the course of the day, your shirt is abraded against your skin and small fibers from the fabric are pulled off and begin to accumulate. The hairs around your bellybutton happen to do a good job of funneling these bits of fluff into the bellybutton. Shaving the hairs around your navel will reduce lint collection.

Absolutely, but the environment you describe is an classic “innie”, which I am.

Have you actually tried the shaving experiment?

Also just curious about “outies”, do they collect any lint?

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answers-bellybutton-lint/684537/6 "2014-03-25T18:22:00Z")

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[Cecil speaks, 1973](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/69/where-does-belly-button-lint-come-from)