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It seems as if sooner or later everything changes, and that may be the case with the century-old idea that 98.6 is the “normal” human body temperature.

New research at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and the University of Maryland in Baltimore suggests that normal temperature may actually vary from individual to individual. The researchers took more than 700 temperature readings from about 150 healthy adults over a three day period and found no meaningful link of 98.6 to human body temperature.

According to the findings, normal temperatures for individuals ranged from 96 to 99.9 degrees, and the average was 98.2 degrees. The researchers say that a temperature of 98.9 in the early morning and a temperature of 99.9 overall should now be considered as the upper limit of the normal oral temperature range in healthy young adults.

The 98.6 degree mark is credited to the 19th century scientist Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich, who reportedly used awkward thermometers pressed against the subjects’ armpits to get more than 1 million temperature readings. Today’s researchers say that their “measuring” instruments are far more reliable than the method used by Wunderlich.

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