Goosebumps are a universal physical phenomenon induced by thrills and chills. The hair-raising experience is a result of adrenaline stimulating minuscule muscles that pull at the roots of our arm hairs — in turn, making us bristle with bumps. This happens when we’re cold, when we’re emotional and, according to a pre-print paper released in PeerJ, when some people just feel like it.
The ability to create goosebumps at will is called “voluntary piloerection.” It is very rarely documented: There are only three single-individual case studies published about people with this talent, and scientists don’t have a clue how to explain it.
Did you know?
