Buzz
Belly buttons are more than just a small spot on your body—they’re a curious mix of things: Lint collectors. Bacteria hosts. Symbols of beauty. Emblems of life and birth. From the odd to the alluring, and even the spiritual, there’s so much to explore about belly buttons in history, culture, science, and religion. Let’s dive in.
1. THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY SCARS.
The small mark in the center of your belly is where your umbilical cord once linked you to your mother’s placenta. After the cord is cut, a tiny, withered portion of it stays behind. Over time, it falls off—usually in the first week of a baby’s life—and what’s left is a scar. Of course, 'belly button' sounds much cuter than 'belly scar.'
2. DOCTORS CAN'T DETERMINE A BABY'S BELLY BUTTON SHAPE…
Whether a belly button is an innie or an outie is completely unrelated to how a doctor cuts or clamps the umbilical cord. It all depends on the gap between the skin and the abdominal wall, which decides how much skin—and scar tissue—is left behind. 'You can't control whether babies have an innie or outie,' Dr. Dan Polk, a neonatologist at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune. 'It has to do with how much baby skin leads onto the umbilical cord from the baby's body. Less skin makes an innie; more skin makes an outie.' About 90 percent of people have innies, with the rest having outies. In some cases, an outie results from an umbilical hernia, where part of the intestine pushes through the umbilical opening in the abdominal wall. This condition generally heals on its own by the time a child reaches age 2, though more severe cases may need surgery.
3. … BUT A COSMETIC SURGEON CAN TRANSFORM AN OUTIE INTO AN INNIE.
For those who prefer an innie, cosmetic surgery offers a solution—though it's a significant step. Umbilicoplasty is a procedure that alters the size or shape of the belly button, usually by removing excess skin or tightening abdominal skin. A 1971 article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin called belly button makeover the 'latest trend in cosmetic surgery.' The article featured a Japanese doctor who had performed over 3000 navel surgeries in the '60s and '70s for around $80 to $150 per procedure. (Today, the cost is roughly $2000 in the U.S.)
The Ottawa Citizen reported that the technique may have originated in the early 1900s, typically as part of tummy tuck surgeries that displaced the belly button. Even when there's no medical reason, people can now opt for umbilicoplasty to achieve the 'perfect' shape. 'What has been preferred from Greek, Roman, and Western civilizations to the present is an oval belly button that is somewhat vertically oriented,' New York City cosmetic surgeon Bruce Nadler told the paper in 2002, when the surgeries started gaining popularity. In contrast, Nadler explained that horizontal belly buttons are considered more desirable in Asian cultures because they symbolize good luck.
4. MOST MAMMALS HAVE ONE.
Dogs, chimpanzees, lions, and armadillos all have belly buttons, though they aren't always easy to spot. For one, most mammalian mothers chew off the umbilical cord attached to their newborns, leaving a flat scar that's much harder to detect than a human belly button. Gorillas and chimpanzees are an intriguing case for navel enthusiasts because they possess what some scientists refer to as an 'in-betweeny'—a belly button that resembles a human’s but isn't quite an innie or an outie.
However, there are some notable exceptions to the mammalian belly button rule. Platypuses, which lay eggs, don’t have umbilical cords and therefore don’t have belly buttons. Similarly, marsupials like kangaroos and koalas typically lose their umbilical cords while still in their mother’s pouch, so a scar never forms.
5. THE FEAR OF BELLY BUTTONS IS CALLED OMPHALOPHOBIA.
Some individuals experience anxiety, fear, or disgust when their belly button is touched or when someone else’s bare stomach is visible. This condition is called omphalophobia, derived from the Greek word 'omphalo' for navel. The fear is thought to be connected to the navel's link with umbilical cords and the womb, or perhaps stems from the irrational childhood fear that a belly button could unravel, causing one’s organs to spill out. The phobia gained increased national attention after TV personality Khloé Kardashian revealed her own fear of belly buttons.
6. IF YOU POKE IT, YOU MIGHT SUDDENLY FEEL THE URGE TO PEE.
When you touch your belly button (and all the weird sensations that come with it), you might experience a tingling feeling. That’s because you're stimulating the fibers inside your abdomen, which send signals to your spinal cord. As Dr. Christopher Hollingsworth from NYC Surgical Associates explained to BuzzFeed, 'Because your spinal cord at that level also relays signals from your bladder and urethra, it feels almost the same. You interpret this as discomfort in your bladder.'
7. THEY CAN LEAK URINE.
Similarly, a rare condition can cause urine to leak from the belly button. During early pregnancy, a tube called the urachus connects the fetus's bladder and belly button, allowing urine to drain. It usually shrinks and turns into a scar on the bladder at birth or shortly after, but that’s not always the case. Some people may never realize that part or all of their urachus is still present because it becomes problematic only when the tube fails to close. In such cases, urine can travel through the urachus and leak out of the navel. Surgery is typically required to fix this condition.
8. THEY GROW SPECIAL FLUFF-CATCHING HAIRS.
Have you ever wondered why bits of lint keep collecting in your belly button, even after you’ve done your best to keep it clean? The culprit is a special kind of hair that grows in navels. These hairs have tiny barbs that stick out and rub against your clothing, causing fibers to rub off. They are arranged in concentric circles, acting as a funnel that draws fluff into your belly button. Those who shave their stomachs or have little body hair generally don’t deal with much lint.
9. THEY HARBOR THOUSANDS OF TYPES OF BACTERIA.
In addition to lint, your belly button is home to a variety of dead skin cells, fat molecules, and thousands of bacteria. A 2012 study from the aptly named Belly Button Biodiversity project identified 2368 types of bacteria in the navels of 66 participants. But don't worry—these microbes actually help protect you from harmful pathogens. 'We know that without these microbes, our immune systems won’t function properly,' said Dr. Rob Dunn, the project's leader, in a statement. 'In fact, this collection of microbes must maintain a specific composition—must form a certain microbial ecosystem—in order for our immune system to work as it should.'
10. THEY USED TO BE BANNED ON TV.
In Western culture, belly buttons were historically viewed as 'a feminine sexual center,' as stated in the Online Etymology Dictionary. Because of this, they were considered too indecent to show on television, according to the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, set by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1951. Barbara Eden, who portrayed the lead character in *I Dream of Jeannie*, recalled how NBC executives held numerous meetings over whether she should show her belly button on the show during the '60s. Her producer, George Schlatter, remarked that he'd never seen so many suits discussing someone's body, Eden shared with *TODAY* show. Though Eden’s genie costume never revealed her navel, other shows began challenging the norm around that time. The belly button ban technically remained until 1983, but it wasn't strictly enforced. Yvette Mimieux of *Dr. Kildare* became the first actress to expose her navel on television in 1964, with others following shortly after.
11. THEY HAVE SPARKED A LONGSTANDING THEOLOGICAL DEBATE.
Among Christians, the question of whether Adam and Eve had belly buttons mirrors the classic “chicken or egg” dilemma. One argument suggests that since Adam and Eve were not born in the natural way from a mother, they wouldn’t have had umbilical cords or belly buttons. However, others argue that navels have existed since the beginning of time. Both Raphael and Michelangelo depicted Adam and Eve with belly buttons in their art (including the Sistine Chapel ceiling), which led a 17th-century doctor and philosopher to criticize these as 'vulgar errors,' as mentioned in the book *Umbilicus and Umbilical Cord* by Mohamed Fahmy. Some artists avoided the issue entirely by hiding the couple's midsections with foliage, arms, or long hair.
Centuries later, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee refused to distribute a booklet called *Races of Man* to World War II soldiers because it showed Adam and Eve with belly buttons. The committee decided that such an image 'would be misleading to gullible American soldiers.'
12. THEY ARE HONORED IN CERTAIN CULTURES.
Consider the Middle Eastern belly dancing or the midriff-baring clothing of India. In many parts of the world, the belly button holds cultural and even spiritual meaning. Some Hindus believe that a lotus flower emerged from the navel of the god Vishnu, with Brahma—the creator of the universe—at its center. In Japan, the belly button is seen as the point where life begins. During the Middle Jōmon period (2500-1500 BCE), Japanese artists often highlighted navels on human-like figurines. Today, Shibukawa, a town in central Japan, hosts an annual belly button festival. 'The belly button is traditionally believed to be located in the center of the body and is considered the most important part,' explained festival organizer Kazuo Yamada to *Reuters*. 'Our town, Shibukawa, is also called the belly button of Japan, and that’s how the festival began.'
