WHERE DOES BELLY-BUTTON LINT COME FROM?

AN AUSTRIAN CHEMIST SOLVED THE MYSTERY OF WHERE BELLY-BUTTON LINT COMES FROM:

And now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: A chemist from Austria named Georg Steinhauser has finally solved the mystery . . . of where BELLY-BUTTON LINT comes from.

No, I'm not kidding. For some reason, Georg felt inspired to spend THREE YEARS collecting and studying 503 pieces of his own belly-button lint. So what did he learn?

According to Georg, the hairs around the belly button have a series of scales that act as barbed hooks which snag dead skin, fat, sweat, dust and clothing fibers . . . and pull them into the belly button.

Therefore, according to Georg, "navel lint seems to be a phenomenon that primarily affects male adults" . . . and men with hair on their abdomen probably have, "cleaner and more hygienic belly buttons than those who do not."

(--I know . . . this is groundbreaking stuff. But I think the question that's on all of our minds is . . . "IT TOOK THIS DUDE THREE YEARS TO FIGURE THAT OUT???") (Chicago Tribune)