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Why The Nose Heats Up When We Lie
Feeling the heat? Why a hot nose is the tell-tale sign of a liar
- Scientists from the University of Granada used thermal imaging to prove anxiety makes the nose heat up
- The academics claim the technique can also detect sexual desire and arousal in men and woman
PUBLISHED:12:38 EST, 23 November 2012| UPDATED:20:43 EST, 23 November 2012
Feeling the heat: Anxiety caused by telling lies makes the tip of the nose grow warm, the scientists claim
Contrary to what you may say to your children, telling a lie doesn’t, of course, make your nose grow like Pinocchio’s. But it does make it hotter.
Scientists claim that a rise in anxiety produced by lying will increase the temperature of the tip of your nose.
And if you’re worried that your fib will be uncovered, they also suggest a way of cooling the nose down – making ‘a great mental effort’.
The scientists, from the University of Granada, discovered the phenomenon by using thermal imaging cameras to monitor volunteers.
They have called it ‘The Pinocchio Effect’, in honour of the 19th century Italian tale of the wooden puppet whose nose grew when he failed to tell the truth.
In their doctoral thesis, released yesterday, Emilio Gómez Milán and Elvira Salazar López suggest that the temperature of the nose increases or decreases according to mood, as does the orbital muscle area in the inner corner of the eyes.
