My Navel

Panic was setting in yesterday; with not a single fibre in my navel the day before, I was checking for lint buildups frequently throughout the day, and cupboard was still looking bare. With my mind circling the dark drain of depression I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see fluff again.

Luckily by around 8pm yesterday evening there was a tiny wisp of fluff beginning to gather. I pondered on the efficacy of whipping it out there and then just incase a stray draft whisked it away to the dusty corners of my house, but I managed to leave it be until bed-time.

Upon extraction I was sorely disappointed as the day’s production of belly button fluff was tiny indeed; a wee wisp of lint graced my finger-tip. I stashed this little piece of fluff in the jar and went to bed content, if not happy. The volume was low, but there was something to show for my day.

Arriving at work this morning, I discover that my close-up lenses still haven’t arrived, so no good pictures of the lint for you. Instead I present a picture taken with my normal, unmodified 18-55mm lens.

No a great image, but the best I can do with the equipment I have at my desk.

I was talking to a colleague who has bough similar close-up lenses and unfortunately he says they are crap. Oh well, we will see when they arrive. I might have to buy an extension tube instead.

Anyway, enough of yesterday’s rubbish bit of fluff, I want to share the most wondrous thing. There is a chap called Graham Barker that has been collecting his since 1984. He holds a world record for the biggest collection of belly button fluff. I have no intention of challenging this man, he has a 24 year head start for one thing, but project harvest is only intended to run for a year.

Behold: Graham Barker’s Collection

I am both awestruck and inspired by this.

It is very interesting that its colour fades over the years. I would be interested to know how the collection is stored, is it kept in the dark?  Could it be bacterial activity? What does it smell like?

So many questions. I might drop him an email at some point to see if he has any pointers.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized.