Ah, Dr. Pimple Popper, my old sparring partner. What kind of gross stuff are you going to regale me with today? A pimple the size of a baby you say?
Bring it on.
I feel like ‘Dr. Pimple Popper’ has been getting a lot of notoriety in the last couple of years.
She’s got her own TV show on TLC, her social media accounts have been “popping” off (thank you, thank you) and she’s been all but hailed as the queen of pimple popping.
Her story is an odd one.
She set up an Instagram account many moons ago so that she could give people a little window into her world as a dermatologist.
At first, it didn’t get a lot of attention.
Until she posted her first blackhead removal video.
Then, as these things usually do, her page took off like a freaking rocket.
Obviously confused, Dr. Sandra Lee did some research and found a whole subculture of people who liked pimple popping videos.
And it’s because people apparently get “satisfaction” from watching pimples being popped.
Whether it’s because it’s a problem being solved, or because they’re just there to test their stomachs, this phenomenon has been getting a whole lot of attention.
Strange attention, but attention nonetheless.
What she found on the internet was disturbing.
She described a culture of people who would pop pimples in their garages, with dirty hands and no medical training or equipment.
She decided to keep her page going and show people how to do things safely.
Dr. Lee is convinced that she’s going to convert others as well.
She said to The Washington Post :
“I think it’s going to capture the interest of more than just ‘popaholics’; it will convert people into ‘popaholicism’ because I think it shows a more well-rounded picture of what goes on.”
Well, it looks like we have a potential cult on our hands.
If in a couple of years we see people on the news wearing white robes, praying to Sandra Lee and popping random people’s pimples on the street.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
You know what? I can’t let this go.
I need to know why people are so obsessed with popping pimples. Why can’t they help but watch these videos that most people would find repulsive?
Why do their brains work that way?
So I did some research.
And stumbled upon an article citing Heather Berlin, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
She thinks she has an explanation for this strange, strange phenomenon that’s been going on.
She says it all has to do with our prehistoric brains.
She begins by saying that we want to remove bumps on our skin because in our minds they could be parasites or something.
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Sure, I can buy that.
She also explains why some people like watching others do it.
Because apparently, it stimulates a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.
It’s the reward center of the brain and gives people a little hit of dopamine whenever they see a pimple popped.
As for the people that find it gross…
A different part of the brain, called the insular cortex, is activated in that case.
So why is it nice for some people and gross for others? Well, she has no idea.
Well, satisfaction nutters, it’s time for the pimple to end all pimples.
Crikey! Look at the size of that thing!
From what I’ve heard, it’s the size of a human baby. And, after many years of research, I have concluded that babies are in fact “pretty big”.
Pretty big for lipomas, at least.
And that’s what this thing is: one huge honkin’ lipoma.
So big that people are wondering whether it’s a lipoma or another organ. And at this point, I don’t even know.
Are you ready?
Click on the video below and begin your 13-minute journey into the world of pimple popping.
Remember, this video is one that could change you for the rest of your life. You have been warned.
What did you think?
Was it easy for you to watch? Or did you cringe the entire way through like I did?
Let us know below in the comments!
