Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Mini-digits

So the second truth about me that I'm revealing is that I have very short fingers.

Hand

I discovered this when I was in high school and for about the next ten years I would often compare the size of my hands to people I met. And there was only once that I found someone other than a family member who had shorter fingers. She was a girlfriend and a foot shorter than myself. The two family members are my mother and my sister who are about six inches shorter than me.

So I must be a freak of nature. Well not really. I'm talking about the distance from the skin in between the fingers up to the tips. I have what can be best described as bear claws or webbed hands. The skin between my digits rides higher up than normal, but that doesn't mean I look like a duck. When you compare from the base of the hand to the tips of the fingers, the difference is not as dramatic.

Has this been a handicap at all? Well, I'm not good at the piano or basketball but I am better than average at skill sports like darts and pitching. I can't say I've ever felt at a disadvantage. You would think it would make me a great swimmer, but since my arms are shorter than average (not noticably) they must offset.

So that's it. Nothing big, but still true.

Update: There's one thing that the post by Jonas reminded me of. I have a heck of a time finding gloves that fit. The fingers are always to short. Sometimes I can squeeze myself (and stretch out) womens size gloves, but it's pretty rare. Although the fingers are the right length, my palms are way to big for them. So when I find a pair that fit well like my current winter gloves, I repair them as often as possible to get as much use out of them as possible.

And I just checked out my wingspan. It's 68 1/4". An 1 1/2" short of my height. And I my proper shoe size is 9 1/2. So although we are the same height (which I find hard to believe) I seem to be the physical polar opposite of JP.

8 comments:

Blork said...

They don't seem all that short to me. A bit short, but not freaky short. I used to work with a guy a few years ago who had freaky short fingers. It was as if all the tips had been snipped off at the first knuckle. and not only were they short -- they were thick. Very bizarre.

Unknown said...

Well, I don't consider them freaky short. But I do still find it odd that I rarely find people with shorter digits.

Hashi said...

Yeah, short fingers is a curse in our family. I've yet to find someone that is not younger than me that has smaller hands. It always makes interesting conversation when there's nothing else to say.

The hinderances I've found have been that I can't grip a basketball, football, etc., have a hard time opening jars with wide opening, often use 2 hands with large jars, and (this kills me) have a difficult time getting change from a vending machine if the money fell towards the back.

I often have to wear kids gloves or women's small. Most of the gloves I own are way to big for my hands though and the fingers are filled with a lot of empty space. I love the stretchy knit ones because they fit my hands exactly.

Other than that, not really a problem. Like other things if you've never lived with anything else you don't know the difference.

Oh, and I just measured. My middle finger is exactly 2.75 inches (7 centimeters) from base to tip.

Unknown said...

Hi, I think I have shorter fingers than you. I might be shorter but not by a lot. On top of that, I have a shortened fifth digit.

Anonymous said...

I am the oldest in my family and i put it down to being short that my hands are really small.I have trouble opening bottles and grabbing things.My hands are smaller than my 14 year old neice.I suppose being 4'10 is alot to do with it.

Unknown said...

so how long are they exactly from the knuckle to the tip.

AnimeAngel79 said...

OMG. Seeing your hand is like seeing my own faced at me, and I'm a 5'3 girl. -wince- Not that it's a bad thing! It was just so shocking to see someone else's hand facing me that looked so much like my own. (and I've always been told mine are just bizarre) I have always noticed how different my hands are from others. My hands were even a little smaller than my own nieces and nephew when they were younger (they are now 19-17) I even have my ring finger that was stunted in growing, so it's shorter than the other one. (stunted one happens to be my wedding ring finger. Go figure -sigh- )Any who, after reading what you had put down, it helped me see and realize I'm not really alone. Even my arms are shorter than average. My Mother who is 5'1 can reach the higher shelf where I cannot. And we have a 2 inch difference. I too have an issue with gloves. I always end up getting children's gloves (including the stretchy ones) because they are the only ones that fit comfortably. Nothing like ending up with cotton candy gloves for a 30 yr old LOL.
I did have to really study my hands to see that. . . yes in fact they are webbed. The skin between my fingers always seemed a bit uncomfortable, as if there was too much skin for to small a space and it was tight and sometimes painful. Never really gave it much thought until I read your blog. Amazing what you learn about yourself in a single night. ;)

Unknown said...

Hey, im 5'3' and i have short fingers and toes too.