If you followed some of the news reports surrounding Bill Clinton’s denial of his affair with Monica Lewinsky in front of a grand jury, you would have come across what scientists Dr. Alan Hirsch and Charles Wolf had to say about the whole thing (via Daily Mail).
Per Dr. Hirsch, who’s a neurologist and psychiatrist, the tell-tale sign that the former president was lying had to do with how many times he touched his nose — 26 times per 60 seconds, to be exact.
“I noticed that when he was lying he kept touching his nose. During the part when he was telling the truth he never touched his nose at all. But when he was lying he touched it 26 times a minute. We have called it the Pinocchio effect. When we are lying, the heart pumps quicker, swelling the nasal tissues,” shared the doctor. This makes your snout itchy. While it’s hard to find any more scientific proof about the fact that your nose itches when you lie, body language experts like Tonya Reiman have shared similar opinions (via Business Insider). Nose temperature and itchiness aside, lying does affect your health.
