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We're all born with boobs, yes both men and women and yes, they're wonderful things. But, how much do you actually know about them?
Breasts play an important role in reproductive anatomy (breastfeeding, for those who choose to do it) and our sexual anatomy too, since they’re often sexually sensitive.
We're all reminded to look after our boobs, keeping tabs on their shape and any changes, giving ourselves regular breast exams and seeking medical help if we ever have concerns (never be out off about getting checked out, even if it feels inadequate.)
There’s so much we often don't know about this body part that might surprise you so we've rounded up 21 need-to-know boob facts...
- Yes, boobs can cause an orgasm. Why? Because women’s brains process vagina and nipple stimulation in exactly the same way. Bonus.
- Statistically left boobs are bigger - why? We’re not 100% sure. In a survey, 65% of women stated that their right breast one was smaller.
- Breast Health Foundation state that 80% of women wear the wrong bra size. How do you find the right one? Book to be measured at a proper lingerie shop (there should never be any wonky wires or slack in the back of a good bra). Not only does wearing the wrong bra size make an outfit look bad, it can have all sorts of health repercussions including back, neck and shoulder pain.
- Annie Hawkins-Turner from America has the largest natural boobs in the world. She wears a UK 48V. She has been diagnosed with breast hypertrophy which is what caused her breasts to grow so big. She has been advised to have a reduction but refused, stating: “I don’t want to mess with nature. As my breasts grew, the muscles in my back developed and supported them."
- Men have technically have breasts because all foetuses are female during their first weeks of development.
- The biggest bra available on the highstreet is size L and the smallest is AAA. If these don't fit, it is possible to get your bras tailored.
- Breast milk is technically not a food or a liquid - it’s a tissue. It’s filled with hormones, microorganisms, bioactive molecules, proteins, fats and many substances even scientists aren’t familiar with... yet.
- In the UK public nudity is legal which means you could go to the shops topless, you just have to prove you’re not doing it to cause harm or offence to anyone.
- Think your boobs are bigger and perhaps more perky during your period? You’re probably right. During a menstrual cycle boobs can change up to a whole cup size and breasts are actually most symmetrical between days 14 and 16 of the monthly cycle. Confused as to why? It’s all due to hormones being released during ovulation.
- The reason breasts get “saggier” as we get older is because connective tissue in breasts are replaced by fat over time. Unfortunately breasts contain no muscle which means you can’t even tone them up. The only option is to try and beef up your pectoral muscles but we’re not convinced that’ll reverse much.
- There’s a 50% chance you’ll get your breast shape from women on either your maternal or paternal side otherwise it’s just chance.
- Jogger’s nipple is a real thing, people. Yes, if you don’t wear a sports bra and go out running, your nipples can rub against the material of your top causing burning pain.
- “Bras” have been around for, well, what seems forever. Roman women used to support their breasts by wrapping them in cloth but the first bra as we know it today (cups, straps, separation etc) was introduced on the 3rd November 1914. That was the day that the US Patent and Trademark office granted Mary Phelps Jacobs a patent to create her “brassieres”.
- Vogue had actually began talking about brassieres in 1907 but it wasn’t until 1911 that the phrase was officially printed in the Oxford English Dictionary.
- If you really want to know more about bras you can actually get a degree in them. Hong Kong's Polytechnic University offers the course and it’s called Intimate Textiles and Accessories.
- Humans are the only species to have permanently enlarged breasts. Other mammal’s boobs simply fill with breast milk when they have offspring to feed. After lactating, their breasts will dramatically reduce in size.
- The average breast weighs 1.1lbs (Half a kilogram) and contains around 4-5% of the body's total fat.
- Smoking can cause your breasts to sag because the chemicals found in a cigarette breaks down the body’s elastin. Stub it out.
- There are eight types of nipples. Here’s a run through... Normal means that the nipple protrudes just a few millimeters from the areola (the pigmented skin that surrounds the nipple). Flat nipples are as they sound but when someone is aroused or there is a temperature change, they will rise somewhat. Puffy has the same appearance as flat nipples but the areola is risen above the breast. Inverted means the nipple is dimpled and there are three degrees of this from slight dimpling to totally inverted making breastfeeding impossible. The last nipple type is Unilateral” which means one nipple is inverted and the other is not.
- There are humans who have as many as eight nipples. Nipples greater than two are formally known as Supernumerary Nipples and 1 in 18 people have them. They tend to appear on the “milk line” which starts at your arm pit but they can appear as far away as the foot. Mark Wahlberg, Tilda Swinton and Lily Allen all have three nipples.
- Boobs will continue to grow on average for about two to four years after a girl gets her first period.
This article was originally published on GLAMOUR UK
