Curious About Belly Buttons

PODCAST 235: CURIOUS ABOUT BELLY BUTTONS

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, APRIL 2ND, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  OLIVIA AND HER BROTHER HAVE LOTS OF ENERGY… SOMETIMES, I WOULD SAY THAT THEY EVEN HAVE WAY TOO MUCH ENERGY.  WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER, I USED TO JOKE AROUND WITH THEM AND ASK THEM IF THERE WAS AN ON/OFF SWITCH OR MAYBE A BUTTON I COULD PRESS TO TURN THEM OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES SO I CAN GET SOME PEACE AND QUIET.  I ALSO JOKED AROUND AND TAPPED ON THEIR BELLY BUTTONS, ASKING THEM IF THAT WAS THE WAY THEY TURNED OFF.  THEN, PLAYING ALONG, OLIVIA AND NOAH WOULD PRETEND TO TURN OFF UNTIL I TAPPED THEIR BELLY BUTTONS AGAIN, AND THEY CAME BACK TO LIFE.  THAT’S NOT THE WAY BELLY BUTTONS WORK THOUGH, OR MAYBE IT IS.  AND, IF THAT’S NOT THE PURPOSE OF BELLY BUTTONS, THEN WHAT IS?  LET’S LEARN MORE.

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HI, THIS IS EIKO AND HER MOM TOMIKO FROM THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA.  EIKO LOVES YOUR PODCAST, ESPECIALLY THE ONE ABOUT DINOSAURS.  EIKO IS CURIOUS ABOUT BELLY BUTTONS, WHY DO WE HAVE THEM? 

THANKS SO MUCH, FROM EIKO”

“DEAR JACOB AND OLIVIA, WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  WE LISTEN TO IT TOGETHER AS A FAMILY.  CAN YOU GET CURIOUS ABOUT BELLY BUTTONS?  WHY DON’T THEY JUST CLOSE UP WHEN THEY HEAL RATHER THAN LEAVING AN INDENT OR FUNNY NUB?  THANK YOU, LOVE SYLVAN, AGE 6”

O:  WOW, THAT’S AN AWESOME EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION FROM EIKO AND SYLVAN.  EIKO MUST BE A HUGE FAN OF THE PODCAST, BECAUSE SHE’S LISTENED TO THE EPISODE CURIOUS ABOUT DINOSAURS, WHICH WAS EPISODE 16 OF THE PODCAST.  I WAS ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD WHEN WE RELEASED THAT EPISODE, AND A WEEK FROM TODAY I’LL TURN NINE AND A HALF.

D:  RIGHT NOW, YOU ARE 493 WEEKS OLD, AND WE’VE BEEN PODCASTING FOR 235 WEEKS, MEANING THAT BY THE END OF THIS SEASON, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO SAY THAT YOU’VE BEEN PODCASTING FOR MORE THAN HALF OF YOUR LIFE.  THAT’S CRAZINESS.  

O:  ANOTHER CRAZY THING IS THAT I’VE HAD THE SAME THOUGHT AS EIKO.  WE ALL HAVE BELLY BUTTONS, BUT I’M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THEY ARE FOR, IF ANYTHING.  ALSO, I’VE WONDERED WHAT OTHER ANIMALS ALSO HAVE BELLY BUTTONS.

D:  IT TURNS OUT THAT SOME ANIMALS DO HAVE BELLY BUTTONS, SOME DON’T, AND SOME KIND OF DO.  

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING FIVE ANIMALS DOES NOT HAVE A BELLY BUTTON:  DOGS, RABBITS, HORSES, KANGAROOS AND WHALES.  ONLY ONE OF THOSE ANIMALS DOES NOT HAVE A BELLY BUTTON, ALL OF THE OTHER FOUR DO.  CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE DOESN’T?  I’LL REPEAT THE LIST.  DOGS, RABBITS, HORSES, KANGAROOS, AND WHALES.

D:  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN WHY HUMANS HAVE BELLY BUTTONS.  AND IF YOU HAVE OMPHALOPHOBIA, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST.  OMPHALOPHOBIA IS THE FEAR OF TOUCHING OR EVEN SEEING A BELLY BUTTON.  PEOPLE WITH THIS FEAR CAN’T STAND TO SEE OR TOUCH ANY BELLY BUTTON, INCLUDING THEIR OWN.  FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BELLY BUTTONS, LET’S GET STARTED.      

O:  WHEN BABIES GROW INSIDE THEIR MOTHERS, THEY ARE UNABLE TO EAT FOOD, OR TO EVEN BREATHE AIR.  THAT’S WHY THERE IS A CORD THAT CONNECTS FROM THE BABY’S BELLY THAT CARRIES NUTRIENTS FROM MOMMY TO BABY, AND ALSO CARRIES WASTE FROM BABY TO MOMMY.  

D:  THAT CORD IS CALLED AN UMBILICAL CORD.  IT’S A SOFT AND BENDABLE TUBE, AND IT HELPS TO KEEP THE BABY ALIVE AND WELL AS IT’S GROWING INSIDE THE MOMMY’S BELLY, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED A WOMB.  

O:  AFTER A BABY IS BORN, THE BABY WILL BE ABLE TO GET IT’S OWN NUTRIENTS FROM MILK, AND ALSO GET RID OF IT’S OWN WASTE, BY FILLING UP DIAPER AFTER DIAPER AFTER DIAPER.    

D:  THAT MEANS THAT THE UMBILICAL CORD THAT IS STILL ATTACHED TO THE BABY AFTER IT’S BORN IS NO LONGER NECESSARY.  THAT’S WHY A DOCTOR CUTS THE UMBILICAL CORD, ONLY LEAVING A LITTLE STUMP BEHIND.

O:  AFTER A FEW WEEKS, THE STUMP FALLS OFF, LEAVING A CUTE LITTLE BELLY BUTTON BEHIND.  LONG STORY SHORT, A BELLY BUTTON IS BASICALLY A SCAR THAT IS LEFT BEHIND AFTER THE UMBILICAL CORD IS CUT OFF.  

D:  EVERY PERSON LISTENING TO THIS PODCAST HAS A BELLY BUTTON, BUT THEY DON’T NECESSARILY ALL LOOK THE SAME.

O:  ONE OF THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES YOU MIGHT FIND WITH BELLY BUTTONS IS THAT SOME OF THEM ARE INNIES AND SOME ARE OUTIES.

D:  IF YOU HAVE AN INNIE, THAT JUST MEANS THAT YOUR BELLY BUTTON GOES INWARD, AND IF YOU HAVE AN OUTIE, IT MEANS THAT YOUR BELLY BUTTON STICKS OUT.  

O:  CHANCES ARE THAT YOU HAVE AN INNIE, BECAUSE ABOUT 90% OF HUMANS HAVE INNIES.  THERE ISN’T A GOOD REASON WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE INNIES WHILE OTHERS HAVE OUTIES.  FOR THE MOST PART, IT’S TOTALLY RANDOM.  ALSO, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE AN INNIE THAT TURNS INTO AN OUTIE.  IT CAN HAPPEN OCCASIONALLY TO A PREGNANT WOMAN DURING PREGNANCY.      

D:  IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER MUCH WHETHER YOUR BELLY BUTTON IS AN INNIE OR AN OUTIE BECAUSE ALL BELLY BUTTONS SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE.

O:  AND THAT PURPOSE IS COLLECTING LINT.

D:  NOT REALLY, ALTHOUGH MY BELLY BUTTON DOES THAT PRETTY WELL.  AFTER YOU’RE BORN, YOUR BELLY BUTTON IS PRETTY USELESS.

O:  YOU MAY HAVE HEARD BELLY BUTTONS REFERRED TO BY A DIFFERENT NAME.  A BELLY BUTTON CAN ALSO BE CALLED A NAVEL.  

D:  CHECK THIS OUT - THERE IS ALSO A FRUIT THAT USES THE SAME NAME.  YOU MAY HAVE EVEN EATEN ONE BEFORE.  THERE ARE ORANGES CALLED NAVEL ORANGES.  THEY HAVE A CIRCLE ON THEIR SKIN THAT LOOKS A BIT LIKE AN OUTIE BELLY BUTTON.  HERE’S THE CRAZY PART.  THAT CIRCLE ON A NAVEL ORANGE IS ACTUALLY CAUSED BY A BABY ORANGE GROWING INSIDE OF THE FULLY GROWN ORANGE.  

O:  THIS NEXT BELLY BUTTON FACT MAY SEEM GROSS, BUT IT’S PERFECTLY NORMAL.  BELLY BUTTONS HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF THE DIRTIEST PLACES ON OUR BODY.  2,400 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BACTERIA CAN BE FOUND IN OUR BELLY BUTTONS.  THAT’S OKAY THOUGH, BECAUSE THE BACTERIA FOUND IN OUR BELLY BUTTONS ARE IMPORTANT FOR OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS.  

D:  ALRIGHT OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING FIVE ANIMALS DON’T HAVE A BELLY BUTTON… DOGS, RABBITS, HORSES, KANGAROOS, OR WHALES?

O:  KANGAROOS DON’T HAVE A BELLY BUTTON.  THAT’S BECAUSE KANGAROOS ARE MARSUPIALS, SO THEY DEVELOP IN THEIR MOTHER’S POUCH, UNLIKE OTHER ANIMALS THAT DEVELOP INSIDE THEIR MOTHER’S BELLY.  BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT KANGAROOS DEVELOP AS BABIES, THEY WOULD NEVER NEED AN UMBILICAL CORD FOR SURVIVAL.  

D:  THAT MEANS THAT DOGS, RABBITS, HORSES, AND WHALES ALL HAVE BELLY BUTTONS, BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL ATTACHED TO THEIR MOMMIES AND RELIED ON AN UMBILICAL CORD FOR NUTRITION AS THEY WERE DEVELOPING.  ALL MAMMALS HAVE A BELLY BUTTON BESIDES THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS, WHICH IS AN EGG LAYING MAMMAL.  WHEN ANIMALS ARE BORN, THERE IS NO DOCTOR THERE TO CUT THE UMBILICAL CORD.  WHAT MOST OF THEM DO IS BITE OFF THEIR OWN UMBILICAL CORD, OR THE MOMMY DOES IT FOR THEM.      

O:  YOU’RE PROBABLY WONDERING HOW BIG A WHALE BELLY BUTTON WOULD BE, BECAUSE WHALES ARE ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.  THE BLUE WHALE IS THE LARGEST LIVING ANIMAL, WEIGHING UP TO 400,000 POUNDS AND STRETCHING CLOSE TO 100 FEET LONG.  WELL, THE BELLY BUTTON OF A BLUE WHALE IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS A SALAD PLATE.  THAT’S INSANE.

D:  SO, NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOUR PET DOG OR CAT HAS A BELLY BUTTON, THAT DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE BELLY BUTTON ON YOUR PET DOG OR CAT WOULD BE EASY TO FIND.

O:  THAT’S BECAUSE THEIR BELLY BUTTONS ARE SMALLER, THEY HEAL BETTER MAKING THEM LESS VISIBLE, AND THEY ARE PROBABLY COVERED IN LOTS OF HAIR AND FUR.  

D:  ANIMALS THAT DON’T HAVE BELLY BUTTONS INCLUDE ANIMALS THAT ARE HATCHED FROM EGGS.  THAT MEANS THAT BIRDS, FISH, AND REPTILES DON’T HAVE BELLY BUTTONS.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  235 - BELLY BUTTONS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB EIKO AND SYLVAN FOR THE EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION THAT HAD ALL OF US UMBILICURIOUS.  BEFORE WE WRAP THIS EPISODE UP AND PUT A BOW ON IT, WE HAVE SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE TO THANK.

O:  WE WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, APRAMEYA R. AND AMARA AND ISAAC G.

D:  WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST.  WE HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING ALL OF THE EXTRA CONTENT YOU GET AS A PATREON SUPPORTER.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT HONEY FOR LISTENERS IN ENGLAND, NEW ZEALAND, AND VIRGINIA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.