Beyond the Button: 15 Fascinating Facts About Belly Buttons

Discover the surprising science, myths, and unique facts that make belly buttons more than just a scar

We all think of the hole in our tummy, which we call “belly button” or sometimes “navel”, and decide that it is a normal occurrence on every human or mammal as far as the umbilical cord was cut when we were born.

So far, that is true and we do not find the belly button fascinating enough to wonder about it. However, there are certain facts about the belly button that is interesting to learn about.

Here are some of them:

• The belly button is our first scar.

Technically, the cutting of the umbilical cord at a child’s birth is the first wound he or she has, which eventually heals up forming the belly button. Therefore, that small pit in your tummy is your first scar. I bet we have never thought of it this way.

• The belly button is home to a startling number of diversified bacteria.

Out of curiosity, a team of researchers decided to explore the microbiome of the belly button and discovered over 2000 species of bacteria resident in the belly buttons of 60 volunteers.