Is your B.O. a natural defense mechanism against predators?S
Why do armpits smell so much more than the rest of the body? We
were told it was because they were warm, moist, and hard to
wash. But it turns out the real reason is because they squirt
out bacteria food. And they may do for the exact same reason
that skunks squirt out stink.  Top image: Chris Korhonen/Flickr.
Hello and welcome to another episode of Your Disgusting Body,
where we teach you to feel shame, using science. I'd grown up
under the delusion that armpits were just grosser than the rest
of the body because they are little nursery areas for bacteria,
the way ponds are nursery areas for mosquitoes. Armpits just
happened to have the right environment. That isn't the case.
Actually, armpits are grosser than the rest of the body because
they are little nursery areas for bacteria they way ponds are
nursery areas for ducks. Not only are they the right environment
— but if the animals settle there, humans regularly give them
food.  Most of the bod