Goosebumps

Nude protester in San Francisco with goosebumps from the cold (January 2013).

Goose bumps, also spelled goosebumps and also called goose flesh and goose pimples, are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which may involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions such as fear, nostalgia, pleasure, euphoria, awe, admiration and sexual arousal.

Goose bumps are created when tiny muscles at the base of each hair, known as arrector pili muscles, contract and pull the hair erect. The reflex is started by the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for many fight-or-flight responses.

The phrase "goose bumps" derives from the phenomenon's association with goose skin. Goose feathers grow from stores in the epidermis which resemble human hair follicles. When a goose's feathers are plucked, its skin has protrusions where the feathers were, and these bumps are what the human phenomenon resembles.

Erotic look/feel

A cold water splash will make goose bumps appear in short time. (Drawing from Cuisant Noviciat

)

Goose bumps on a bare bottom can have a particular erotic charm. To make goose bumps appear, the person can be simply undressed and made to walk around naked for a while, either indoors or outdoors, in chilly enough temperatures (see also air bath). Or they can be made to swim in cold water, or can be splashed with cold water or given a cold shower or bath.

Another method is to make their bottom wet, or to make them wear wet swimming trunks, a wet swimming costume, or wet underwear for a while.