mr. nobody

What’s that little groove between your nose and upper lip called? Does it actually serve a purpose? I’ve always been curious about this, and then I came across a passage in Mr. Nobody that made me want to dig deeper:

I can remember a long time ago. Long before my birth. I was waiting with those who were not yet born. When we're not born yet, we know everything. Everything that will happen. When it's your turn, the Angels of Oblivion place a finger on your mouth. "Shh..." It leaves a mark on the upper lip. It means that you have forgotten everything. But the angels missed me.

Its proper name is the philtrum, a word that comes from Greek and means “love potion.” The ancient Greeks believed it was an erogenous area, and maybe they were onto something.

Now, back to the movie Mr. Nobody, does everyone have a philtrum? Are there anyone that's lacking one and if so what are they missing? Turns out everyone has a philtrum, but some people may appear to “lack” a philtrum or have a very smooth one. This usually isn’t because the structure is missing entirely but because it’s less pronounced. In rare cases a poorly defined or absent philtrum can be a feature of a genetic or developmental conditions.