Monday, December 25, 2006

First Post - Goose Bump Mutant

Am I a mutant, or am I just crazy? That is the question of the day.

I just spent the last 30 minutes or so googling for the words autonomic system, goose bumps, and piloerection. (OK, I didn't exactly come up with that last word on my own, but had to google for the scientific term for goosebumps. Oh, and it doesn't have the sexual connotation you were thinking.) Why did I do this, and why do I now feel compelled to write about it in my first blog post ever? The reason is simple. I discovered that I have an ability apparently not documented anywhere among the 25 billion or so web pages indexed by google. As far as I know, I am the first human ever (according to my very scientific 30 minute search through googleland) who can create goose bumps all over his body at will.

Yes, I know everyone gets goosebumps from time to time. Stand outside long enough in the rain when you really have to pee, and I can almost guarantee that you will have the autonomic response. What are these words, "autonomic" and "piloerection," that I speak of? According to Wikipedia...

Goose bumps (
AE), also called goose pimples, goose flesh (BE), chicken skin (Hawaiian Pidgin), or cutis anserina, are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions like fear or awe. The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex. It occurs not only in humans but also in many other mammals; a prominent example are porcupines which raise their quills when threatened.

Did you just have a Discovery Channel moment like I did? Anyway, the point of all of this is that I am able to control this supposedly autonomic nervous system response in the same way that someone could claim to be able to turn on or off their perspiration at will, or dilate their pupils when they feel like it, or even blush when they aren't embarrassed. I did learn that some autonomic responses are less autonomous than others, for example, being able to hold one's breath, or controlling when you urinate, but I haven't been able to find any evidence of anyone else ever saying that they are able to have goose bumps whenever they feel like it.


Does this mean that I now have legal grounds to apply to Xavier's school for gifted mutants? Are there any other goose bump mutants out there? I feel lost, alone, alienated! Help!

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