10 Fascinating Facts About Moles

Here are 10 facts about moles.

For some, moles are nothing more than blemishes while others, like Marilyn Monroe and Cindy Crawford, have made them their trademarks.

Love them or hate them, here are 10 facts about moles.

Number 10. They have a formal name. In certain circles if you have one it’s a nevus, and those with several have nevi.

Number 9. Having quite a few is common. Most people have between 10 and 40. Once a person hits the age of 40 they typically stop developing new ones, and in older years they start to fade away.

Number 8. Darker doesn’t always mean dangerous. It’s not uncommon for the color of moles to deepen throughout one’s teen years, when they’re in the sun, or during pregnancy. Color changes can be a sign of cancer, though, so having them checked is a good idea.

Number 7. They can be any size and anywhere. About 1 in 200 to 500 thousand people have large moles than cover a good portion of their body. Rarer than that is the presence of mole cells on the spinal cord and at the base of the brain, but it does occur.

Number 6. The 5-dollar bill is legit. The image of Abraham Lincoln on the 5 is often said to be an inaccurate flipped version of his portrait, landing his mole on the wrong side of his face.

Number 5. They’re inevitable. As their genetic code is passed down for generations they can’t be avoided. They can, however, be removed.

Number 4. They were once considered evidence of evil. In Medieval times, moles were seen as proof that a woman had engaged in relations with the devil. Not surprisingly, spot-reducing remedies were big back then.

Number 3. Moles can keep you young. A study of women showed that those who had several beauty marks also had younger skin cells. It came down to the length of their telomeres. The genetic data protectors found at the end of our chromosomes shorten over time, but moles and longer ones were found to be related.

Number 2. Girls have more of them. Female children are twice as likely than their male counterparts to have a birthmark mole.

Number 1. Dog moles are different. Theirs are located under their chins and are groupings of nerves that typically have hair growing from them. The area is quite sensitive and acts like a set of whiskers.