How Many Fingers and Knuckles on the Human Hand?

A couple of common questions I get are "Do we have ten fingers or eight fingers and two thumbs?" and "Does a hand have 4 knuckles or 14 knuckles?"

In each case, both answers are considered correct.

Technically it is a bit more accurate to say that there are 8 fingers and 2 thumbs.

The word "knuckle" uses the same distinction in its definition, so each hand has EITHER:
4 fingers and 4 knuckles, OR
5 fingers and 14 knuckles.

A Phone in the Palm of Your Hand

Check out this awesome new telephone design by Sunman Kwon. A wrist strap turns your hand and fingers into the input buttons.


More...

A Good Handshake Opens Doors

Here's a great conceptual design by Naomi Thellier de Poncheville called the "Hand-le" - It's a doorknob shaped like a human hand. I'll install them here myself if they ever hit the mass market. Seems like it would be a problem for anyone who was left-handed, but other than that it looks great. Click here to see it for yourself.

Painted Hands

You may have recently seen pictures of hands painted to look like various animals. Most blogs posts and websites I've seen that reprinted these painted hands give no credit or mention the artist. I finally found out that the original artist was Guido Daniele.

You've got to see his painted hands to believe it:
Leopard - Cat - Dog - Cat #2 - Elephant

Work Disruptions Continue

It's amazing how quickly noise sensitivity developed from the renovations happening to our home. The outer stucco and walls had to be completely removed, and about the only way to do that is with a circular saw, hammer and crowbar. The noise and vibration inside have been rather intense this week - Even when it's quiet while the workers take a break, it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'm so glad for the meditation training I've done - Can't even imagine how I could have continued working during this noise otherwise. (Surprisingly, my hands are still very steady while the construction goes on, with no tremors or finger twitches.) It will certainly be nice when the renovation work is all finished.

Hand Transplants - Bionic Hand Improvements

David Gow set another milestone in hand transplants with his latest refinements to his bionic hand design - Now the fingers bend just like on a real hand. (David Gow is the same person mentioned in my "Hand Transplant Options" article of November 2000.)

BBC News: Milestone for unique bionic hand

The thumb and fingers can move and grip just like a human hand and are controlled by the patient's mind and muscles.

It was invented by David Gow and was designed and built by Touch Bionics, which is based in Livingston.

The technology has been tested by a number of people, including US soldiers who lost limbs in the Iraq war.

Mr Gow, who is the director of rehabilitation engineering services at NHS Lothian, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's the first hand to come to the market that's actually had bending fingers just like your own hand."

It is hoped that this bionic hand design will be available on the health service within 2-5 years.

Itching Palms and Money

There's an old superstition that when your palms itch it means money. An itching left palm means money to be paid out, while an itching right palm is money coming in. To stop the left palm from itching, the superstition says to rub the palm on a piece of wood.

There may be something to this old tale, since itching palms often show new internal energy moving through the hands. The left hand is the passive or receptive, and the right is the active. When the left palm itches, look for new energy or services coming into your life - Of course this will probably cost you some money. The right palm itching means energy or services going out - Work you might get paid for.

Touching or rubbing wood is a very old method for transferring or releasing unwanted energy buildup (thus expressions like "touch wood"), so if your left palm itches, try rubbing it on the corner of a table - If you don't get a splinter, perhaps you'll save some money!

My Dad's Hands

Dad's 70 birthday was yesterday - We had tons of fun celebrating this milestone.

Take a close look at the picture and you'll see how my fascination with the hands all started.

Dad's 70th Birthday

My dad was the one who sparked my lifetime fascination with the hands. He'll be 70 years old tomorrow. It will also be my 16th wedding anniversary.

Happy Birthday Dad!
Happy Anniversary Frances!

Handy Information

Found a neat little collection of "handy" info today. I haven't checked it all for accuracy, but it's still a good read. It's posted in Avoid Smoking, Death only comes sooner. Here's an excerpt:

"Each hand contains (plus or minus... everyone is different, and everyone counts these things differently...)
29 major and minor bones (many people have a few more).
29 major joints.
At least 123 named ligaments.

White children are four times more likely than black children to be born with webbed fingers.

Almost 90 per cent of women and 80 per cent of men in the age group 75-79 years have x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis in their hands"

I was taught that there were 27 bones in the hand, but it's still a fascinating page to read through.

Fathers Day

My fascination with the hands comes from my Dad, so Fathers Day is always a meaningful day for me. (My dad has no hands, having lost them in an accident when he was 17.)

Fathers Day reminds me of how I got started studying the hands, and the fun it's been along the way. It also reminds me that times when I'm not staying motivated about work or study, then I'm probably not following my real interests and need to shift my attention to another hand-related subject for awhile.

Now with a 4 year old daughter of my own, Fathers Day has even more meaning!

Schwarzenegger's Thumbs

California governor Schwarzenegger is here in Vancouver today. When you see his hands, one of the first things you notice is the very flexible thumbs. In hand analysis and palmistry, the flexibility of the thumbs shows how fixed or flexible the personality is, including the morals and ethics. Extremely flexible thumbs show a changeable and chameleon-like personality - Someone who adapts easily to any new group or set of circumstances. Moral and ethical views can be just a changeable.

So what do Schwarzenegger's thumbs say about his real motives and interests? - Just look at who his current associates and friends are. When he's spending his time with philanthropists and thinkers, there's almost no limit to the improvements he can make in countless lives. When he's spending most of his time with people of questionable character, the opposite is true.

Today he's once again spending time with politicians and the media...

More Info on Osteoporosis

Another common hand analysis question I receive is what to do when the fingernails show vertical splitting that could indicate calcium deficiency or possible osteoporosis. As with any health condition, consult a professional for a proper diagnosis. Two of the best sources I've ever found for osteoporosis information are EndocrineWeb.com and MayoClinic.com

Hands in Motion

Here's a neat little video titled "Human Hands are Amazing". I love to watch the creative process in action!

Common Questions (unfortunately)

I've answered literally thousands of email questions about the hands. Topics on everything from palmistry and metaphysics, to hand anatomy and surgery. I receive more email questions than I can possibly answer, so priority goes to academical and health-related subjects.

Some questions are tougher than others, and some are just plain bizarre - Here's a sample of some of my more common ones that are impossible to answer. (Remember that these are sent to me with no additional information, no way of seeing their hand image, and I make it clear that I do not make predictions for future events.)

- In which year will I get married?
- Will I have a happy married life?
- Will I fall pregnant?
- Will I get remarried?
- Will I live a long time?
- How many children will I have?
- Will my new grandchild be born perfect?

And then some of them are even more strange or unusual (also sent in with no additional information):

- Will I ever be with the person I am dreaming about?
- Can I win money in a Casino or any other gaming areas?
- I would like to know if I am going to do my PHD successfully.
- Is this weird?
- Identify two atmospheric layers that contain air as warm as 25 degrees Celsius.

No wonder it takes me so long to get through my email.