I think I've found one of next year's IgNobel candidates

[semillama]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4883791/Revealed-The-secrets-of-belly-button-fluff.html


Revealed: The secrets of belly button fluff
In what must be the ultimate exercise in navel-gazing, an Austrian scientist has solved the mystery of belly button fluff.


By Patrick Sawer
Last Updated: 3:03PM GMT 01 Mar 2009

After three years of research, Georg Steinhauser, a chemist, has discovered a type of body hair that traps stray pieces of lint and draws them into the navel.

Dr Steinhauser made his discovery after studying 503 pieces of fluff from his own belly button.

Chemical analysis revealed the pieces of fluff were not made up of only cotton from clothing. Wrapped up in the lint were also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust.

Dr Steinhauser's observations showed that 'small pieces of fluff first form in the hair and then end up in the navel at the end of the day'.

[gtar100]

1. Some are content merely to gaze, while others have a drive for thorough analysis.

But really, this has been a deeper mystery for a fat man to solve than a thin man. And however insignificant it may be, our desire to know everything is that much closer to fulfillment as we have witnessed the sum total of human knowledge increased ever so slightly.