9 Mind-Blowing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Yourself

8. You Have Stripes

avatar12 You don't have to earn your stripes, you already have them. Every person on this planet has them, though they're invisible on the majority of people. Discovered in 1901 by Doctor Alfred Blaschko (who humbly named them the Lines of Blaschko), he noticed that people with different skin conditions were bringing up the same patterns on the skin. They didn't change, regardless of the type of skin disease, whether they were young or old, and independent of their race. So what causes them? The lines don't conform to any other structures under the skin, so they're believed to trace the migration of embryonic cells as a fetus develops: forming a "V" shape across your back, "S" shape curls around your chest, stomach and sides, and swirling around the head. It actually looks like you've got a seriously awesome Maori tattoo on your face and tiger stripes round your tummy. Forget those expensive tattooists, you're already badass.
In this post: 
faccts
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Human woman. Content Manager at What Culture. Lover of many "ologies", punk rock and cats. My god is Ilúvatar. Follow me on Twitter: @nina_cresswell