Lint (material) facts for kids
Lint is a small collection of tiny fibers and other bits that often gather on clothes. You might find it stuck to your favorite sweater or at the bottom of your pockets. It's usually made up of tiny pieces that break off from fabrics.
What is Lint?
Lint is a common sight. It forms when small pieces of fabric, dust, and other tiny materials come together. These bits often collect on your clothes or inside your pockets.
Pocket Lint
Pocket lint is the fluffy stuff you find at the very bottom of your pockets. It's often a mix of tiny fabric pieces, dust, and even small bits of paper. These small pieces break off from your clothes as you wear them. They then collect in the corners of your pockets. Sometimes, people also use "pocket lint" to mean any random small items found in a pocket.
Belly Button Lint
Belly button lint, also called navel lint or belly button fluff, is a collection of fluffy fibers found in your belly button. Many people notice a small lump of fluff in their belly button at the start or end of the day. For many years, people wondered why this happens.
In 2001, Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki from the University of Sydney in Australia studied this mystery. He did a survey to find out more. Here is what he discovered:
- Belly button lint is mostly tiny fibers from your clothes. It also contains some dead skin cells and body hair.
- Most people think this lint comes from shirts. However, Dr. Kruszelnicki found it usually comes from a person's underwear. The fibers move to the belly button because of friction between body hair and underwear.
- Women tend to have less belly button lint. This is because their body hairs are often finer and shorter. Older men often have more lint because their body hair is thicker and more plentiful.
- The color of belly button lint is usually blue-gray. This color is likely an average of all the clothing colors a person wears.
- Belly button lint is completely harmless. It does not need to be removed for health reasons.
Dr. Kruszelnicki won the Ig Nobel Prize in 2002 for his research. The Ig Nobel Prize is given for "achievements that cannot or should not be repeated." Another scientist, Georg Steinhauser from Austria, has also studied belly button lint.
Images for kids
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Close-up of dryer lint.
See also
In Spanish: Pelusa (material) para niños
