# What Colour Is Your Belly Button Fluff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 16, 2002, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054 "2002-12-16T11:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/1 "2002-12-16T11:00:27Z")
I’m only asking because mine always appears to be blue and yet i don’t own any blue t-shirts/shirts. Similarly my housemates is (according to him) generally black - yet he is very much a light-coloured clothes wearer. So i’m wondering if this is just something that varies depending on the individual - anyone out there get any interesting colours (even if its just because you wear that particular colour a lot)? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/2 "2002-12-16T11:20:40Z")
According to [this Australian study,](http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/lint/results.htm) there’s still a lot of doubt as to why belly-button lint (or BBL) may be a different colour to what you normally wear. > [@](#): > > About 37% of people with BBL said that the colour of their BBL was related to the colour of their clothing. About half of these people had blue BBL. Most people wear various shades of blue. But we really can’t explain why some people consistently have BBL in a colour that is not present in their clothing. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/3 "2002-12-16T11:30:13Z")
Yeah - i’d read something along those lines before, but - like i say - i don’t actually own any blue stuff - i’m very much a black wearer and my smart shirts are generally either black or white. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/4 "2002-12-16T11:34:11Z")
I tend to have lint th’ colour of my clothes, myself. (Actually, I also thought it was interesting having a BBL thread here, same time as in the Cecil’s Columns forum. Carry on.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/5 "2002-12-16T13:39:08Z")
I have no belly button lint. I felt somewhat left out being unable to contribute to Dr Karl’s research. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/6 "2002-12-16T15:02:22Z")
**Narrad** - You aren’t someone with the dreaded “outy” are you - do they get belly button fluff at all? ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/7 "2002-12-16T15:06:41Z")
Mine is always blue-gray, weird how that color comes off my white t-shirt. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/8 "2002-12-16T15:35:07Z")
Belly button lint - varies from white to greyish-blue. This despite the fact that the primary source of the lint has to be a white undershirt. Ass crack lint - almost always a darker shade or blue. More understandable given the boxers are darker in color. Side note - This quarter’s belly button lint production numbers (by volume) are up an impressive 48%, due mostly to a return to lower ambient humidity conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/9 "2002-12-16T15:53:13Z")
Mine is almost always the same colour as my sweater–even if I’m wearing a differently-coloured undershirt. I wonder how the lint migrates. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/10 "2002-12-16T15:53:13Z")
Mine is almost always the same colour as my sweater–even if I’m wearing a differently-coloured undershirt. I wonder how the lint migrates. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/11 "2002-12-16T15:54:57Z")
[sub]Guess it migrates the same way as a double-post[/sub] ☹ ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/12 "2002-12-16T16:48:58Z")
I’m happy to reveal that “Ass crack lint” is not something i’ve ever found myself having to deal with! ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/13 "2002-12-16T17:09:18Z")
Glarius- Don’t be too certain that you do not have ass crack lint. Ass crack lint is certainly not the easily harvestable commodity that belly button lint is, but most people harbor it just the same. Generally ass crack lint is only noticeable in the shower as a small blue speck that gets flushed out as you rinse your backsides. Spotting ACL can be difficult due to its volume being reduced to almost nothing by both the compression forces of its native environment as well as the water from the shower. The wearing of flannel boxers and/or dark corduroy pants will assist you in determining if you can count yourself among the proud IBACLP (International Brotherhood of Ass Crack Lint Producers). ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/14 "2002-12-16T19:30:23Z")
I am a member of the Ass Crack Lint brotherhood. My ACL seems to always be blue, no matter what color clothes I am wearing, which seems to be a phenomenon of belly button lint as well. I seem to notice this with the lint trap in the clothes dryer, too. When I empty it the lint always has a bluish color, unless I’ve just dried some red towels or something. I also seem to get much larger quantities of ass crack lint than belly button lint. It is often washed away in the shower, but during the day when I go to the bathroom I will generally do an extra wipe with some clean tissue to clear out any buildup of ACL. I am thinking of saving up my ACL and knitting a sweater out of it. Should take at least a month of collecting. Also, let us not forget to include toe crack lint in our discussions here. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/15 "2002-12-16T19:36:36Z")
You people are demented. That is all. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/16 "2002-12-16T23:35:37Z")
Here is a guy with a lot of photos of naval fluff & other science info behind this. [http://www.feargod.net/fluff.html](http://www.feargod.net/fluff.html) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/17 "2002-12-17T00:06:59Z")
BBL- greyish blue ACL- black ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/18 "2002-12-17T01:07:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by garius \* > \*\ ***Narrad** - You aren’t someone with the dreaded “outy” are you - do they get belly button fluff at all? \*\* Ick, no way! I have a perfect innie navel. 🙂 Actually, I think the reason is that I’m about as hairy as the average frog. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-colour-is-your-belly-button-fluff/143054/19 "2002-12-17T10:21:31Z")
Yeah you guys were right, now that i know what to look for i did indeed notice ACL in the shower this morning. And like my BBL it was also blue. At least i colour-coordinate. Guess i’m just naturally stylish 🙂