We use our fingers everyday and it is almost impossible to imagine life without them. We use them to pick up objects, touch, scratch, tickle, send messages, pay the bills, express ourselves and SO much more!
Take a look at your hand, your fingers actually say a lot about you. Here are five scientific facts about fingers you (probably) didn’t know.
Giving The Finger
Our fingers actually say a lot about us. Men, for example, tend to have longer ring fingers than women. The length of this digit is thought to be an indicator of testosterone exposure in the womb.
There is, however, also a great difference between ethnic groups in this regard. English, Polish, and Spanish has quite feminized fingers, while Germans, Hungarians, Finns, and Indians are generally more masculinized.
At men, the ring finger tends to be longer than the index, reflecting higher levels of testosterone before birth. At women, the index finger is generally dominant, reflecting higher estrogen levels. If the index is longer than the ring finger, then this is a more feminine-type hand; if the ring finger is longer, that it is a masculine hand.
The Finger of Success
Is it really true that we can compare the length of our fingers and predict our own future success? Some scientists seem to think so.
Researchers at Cambridge University have found that finger length may be related to the success of London stockbrokers. Traders with longer ring fingers made the most money – up to six times more than those whose ring fingers were relatively short. Professor John Manning, who wrote “The Finger Book”, said the ratio was a “living fossil” of the early period of pregnancy – a measure of past exposure to testosterone, and future potential.
Fingers and Sex and Sexual orientation
Scientists have observed for some time, a link between the ratio of two digits on the hand — the ring and index fingers, known as 2D and 4D, and a whole range of traits.
To work out your digit ratio, you must measure the distance from the midpoint of the lowest crease at the base of the finger on the palm side, to the very end of the tip (the fingernail does not count).
Men’s ring fingers, generally, usually are longer than their index fingers, while women’s ring and index fingers tend to be the same length. One study by scientists found that gay women tend to have shorter index fingers than ring fingers. The scientists’ theorized that exposure to androgens in the womb influences both finger length and sexual orientation. However, the effect appears to be more contradictory in gay men. Some studies have demonstrated hypermasculine finger length in gay men, while other studies show a more female-like finger pattern.
Fingers and Health
Scientists have found that boys with ring fingers that are the same length or shorter than their index fingers are at most risk of a heart attack when they reach their thirties and forties.
Long ring fingers, in relation to index fingers, are found in males who have higher levels of testosterone; which is known to protect against heart disease in men.
Other research found that the ratio of index-finger length, to ring-finger length, can serve as a guide to what age a heart attack may strike. Men, whose index fingers were relatively long, would likely experience heart attacks between the ages of 35 and 80, but in those with relatively long ring fingers, heart attacks were likely to strike between 58 to 80 years.
Dr. Manning, who conducted the study, however, stressed that a high ratio did not mean a person would definitely have a heart attack when young.
Fingers and Maths
Scientists at the University of Bath found that children with longer ring fingers than their index fingers tend to do better in math tests than literacy tests.
However, children whose second and fourth fingers are the same length perform better in literacy tests.
Now I know why maths is not my thing!
