Goosebumps

Apparently there is actually a valid reason—aside from watching your favorite Hollywood heartthrob undress for the camera—for goosebumps to appear on your skin.  Fortunately, for those of us just weird enough to wonder about such things, somebody had the great foresight to spend some money and effort in the study of goosebumps.

Goosebumpology?

Goosebumponomy?

Are you imagining a Goosebumpologist spraying down scantily clad volunteers with spray bottles of water and exposing them to a rush of cold air?

We have bumps!

Perhaps not.

According to an article in Scientific American written by George A. Bubenik, goosebumps are a physiological occurrence inherited from our animal ancestors.  The bumps are typically associated with a rush of chill air and are created by the contraction of miniscule muscles attached to each hair.  The contraction of the muscles forces the attached hairs to stand upright.

According to Mr. Bubenik, in animals with thick coats this standing hair is a good thing because the standing hair increases the layer of air that serves as insulation.   We humans, on the other hand, don’t really get much of value from the action of goosebumps…though we did end up with the nice scientific study I am quoting.

Cats use the same muscles to raise their hair when they feel threatened.  This makes them appear bigger and frankly scares the crap out of me.  And, just so you know, my forty pounds of cat appear bigger because they are verging on obese.

Circling back to us and our naked actor friends—we are also able to achieve goosebumps with emotional triggers.  Maybe you got goosebumps when you accepted your Nobel Peace Prize for the study to determine which direction of spinning makes lab rats dizzier, or the last time you heard the national anthem.   Profound emotions can obviously overwhelm our senses.  At the bottom of the muscle reaction that creates goosebumps we find our old friend adrenaline.  Strong emotions send a cascade of adrenaline throughout or body and triggers the muscles attached to our hairs.  Ultimately, the reason we get goosebumps is just because we can.

The more you know…

--Mitchell Hegman