Disgust/Dead Skin Cells

Some people think it's funny, some people think it's quirky, and some people think I'm just exaggerating. It just disgusts me. Really. It does.

Dead skin cells, I mean.

"Most humans naturally shed up to 3 grams of dead surface skin a day, some males make an extra contribution of 0.3 g/d in the form of dust from electric shaving. Although it may seem contradictory, it has been found that frequent showering increases skin cell shedding. Other research indicates that the majority of dust in a domestic bathroom is dead shed skin cells, especially after energetic towelling. "--> http://www.vent-axia.com/sharing/dustmite.asp.

As I was saying, I loathe dead skin cells. It doesn't mean I shower less. I'm fine with people shedding dead skin cells. What I hate is when it scatters in closed places, i.e. fully-airconditioned homes, the metro, airconditioned buses. And people think it's just dust from the air, but it isn't. It's DEAD SKIN CELLS.

"Skin is alive. It's made of many thin sheets of layers of flat, stacked cells in which you'll find nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, glands, and sensory receptors. Older cells are constantly being pushed to the surface by new cells which grow from below. When the old ones reach the top, they become wider and flatter as they get rubbed and worn by all your activity. And, sooner or later, they end up popping off like tiles blown from a roof in a strong wind. In fact, every minute 30,000-40,000 dead skin cells fall from your body! In approximately a month's time, your body has made a whole new layer of skin cells! "--> http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000146.html

Crikey.

As I said, DISGUSTING. But no, I don't think it's going to kill me, and no, it hasn't made me socially paralyzed. I'd just rather ride an open-aired vehicle than the metro. And I'd rather see clean countertops and shelves than dusty ones. So no, I don't think it's creeping paranoia. But you are right. It's a blech-ugh-yech-eew-feeling. And this from a supposed tomboy.

From http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/disgust.htm

"DISGUST
--> Usage: Disgust shows a. in a curled upper lip; b. in digestive vocalizations, e.g., of repugnance; c. in narrowed (i.e., partly closed) eyes; d. in lowered brows of the frown face; e. in backward head-jerks and side-to-side head-shakes; and f. in visible protrusions of the tongue.

--> RESEARCH REPORTS:

1. Signs of disgust include guttural sounds (e.g., "ach" or "ugh"), a retracted upper lip, and mouth movements "preparatory to the act of vomiting" (Darwin 1872:256).

2. In "disgust-revulsion," the brows are slightly narrowed, the upper lip is raised, the lip corners are drawn down and back, the tongue is moved forward or protruded, the nose is drawn up and wrinkled (i.e., the procerus muscle draws down the medial angle of the brows to make transverse wrinkles across the bridge of the nose; Izard 1971:243).

3. Disgust shows most clearly in the lower face (Ekman, Friesen, and Tomkins 1971).

5. Additional signs include a wrinkled nose, raised nostrils, and lowered inner corners of the eyebrows (Ekman 1998:256)."

I can almost imagine Calvin, the perfect cartoon that embodies gagging when his mom makes him eat food that she cooked. Makes my whole disgust seem a little funnier.

In a dark, dusty, twisted kind of way.