Seven-Fingered Hand

Here's a "what if" question for you to think about:

What if we had seven fingers on each hand?

Would we have two finger-opposing thumbs on each hand? If we did, would we have a better "grasp" on things?

We could name our fingers after the days of the week, and if we didn't like something, we could flip that person a "Wednesday."

If you were clumsy, you could say, "Sorry, I'm all weekends."

How would seven fingers on each hand affect sports? How would we catch balls? Would we be more surehanded? Can't you just see some players, after a good play, saying: "Gimme seven, gimme fourteen."

That raises an interesting point: maybe our number system would be Base 14 instead of Base 10.

Would more people be in the jewelry business? What kind of piano music would be written? What would hand tools look like? What would computer keyboards look like?

Question: What if we had seven fingers on each hand? How would that change things? What would be possible? How would your profession or business change? What new things would come into existence?

Comments

[Katie Konrath]

Well, top of my head, it would definitely open up a new market for scissors!

[Tomas]

To be honest...the first thing that comes to my mind is how it would affect...sex. I'm sure I don't have to go into further detail and that everybody have it visualized allready.

That aside I think that the term "slight of hand" would become more complex. More rappers would probably spell out their name with rings.

Personally I think we'd have more use of an opposable pinkey instead of another thumb. Today we don't need extra strenght in our hand as much as extra agility.

The biggest impact I think it would have on science. We are "crippled" by the fact that we teach childrens to count only to 10 on their fingers. More complex numbers at an early age must surely develop more mathematical minds and thus more advanced science.

But the most fun would definatly be the sex!

[Jenny]

One could play a video game control with just one hand if we had two thumbs on one. That opens up the other for doing whatever it wants, like taking a drink. ;)

I wonder how we would write? Maybe thumbs gripping on the pen or pencil? But then those other five fingers in the way...

[Fitz]

The real question is would animators STILL insist upon giving their charaters only 4 fingers because it's easier to draw...

[Kris Bordessa]

There would be more demand for yarn as knitters worked to create 7 fingered mittens to keep all of those digits warm.

Wrapping a package and tying it with a bow would be much easier. The extra fingers would prevent children having to lend a one to "hold this knot" during the Christmas season.

You could twiddle your thumbs and drive at the same time.

It *might* eliminate carpal tunnel, if a person could type with one hand only and alternate hands as one got tired.

[tan choon boon]

The entire glove industry would have to rebuild their tooling. The cost of rubber would go up 'cos of the 40% surge in fingers per hand. Rubber producing countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil would laugh all the way to the bank.

[Roger von Oech]

Katie: "scissors" -- at least the handle part. How might a stronger grip have an impact on the shape(s) of the cutting parts? Interesting to think about.

Tomas: "Sex" -- yes! the possibilities. I like your "rapper ring name-spelled-out" idea.

Jenny: Maybe pens and pencils wouldn't have to be straight. Perhaps a curvier design?

Fitz: Maybe the new convention for animators would be "six-fingered" characters!

Kris: I like your "carpal tunnel" suggestion. Perhaps instead of keyboards, we had "key spheres" which we would squeeze to input information.

Tan: The glove industry would indeed be a winner!

[Jack]

As someone in retail, I'd love it! I could fit more stock in my hands and put more things in the shelves faster! However sad you might think that is, that would rock for me!

[debra]

Jewelers could join hands or fingers with the glove industry! Another digit for rings!
Hunt and peck keyboarding would change. Finger crocheting would evolve, and all of the medical journals would have to adapt! Opposable thumbs would have new meaning!

[Lewis Green]

We would be fabulous shortstops and great receivers.

[Karl Boggs]

Brass instruments could have 5 valves, violins could have 6 strings, clarinets, flutes and recorders would get really complex....

It would take 40% longer to lick your fingers.

Sing language may become more challenging.

Hand shadow puppets could do more things. Manicurists would be in high demand....

[Alina Popescu]

I guess if this were to happen over night, the plastic surgery will have more clients. One more thing to obsess about, along with with nose dimension, wrinkles and bra size :)

Oh, and hand shaped ashtrays (they used to be really popular in Romania) would be so much more efficient :P

[leke]

Well i guess the extra thumb would come in handy. I sliced through my thumb nail a couple of nights ago at work and now can't use my right hand for a while.

[Maximilian]

I would think, that by having two thumbs we would begin to try handling to things in one hand (think of cooking, plugging, plumbing etc)

[Phil]

The order of the letters on our keyboards would be completely different. Maybe the keyboards on our mobile phones would be different too. Phones such as the Blackberry would be bigger (assuming our fingers would still be the same size, making our hands bigger) and anything with handles would be different (bicycles, cars...). We would definitively have a base 14 numeric system since the arabic numeral system is based on the fact that we have 10 fingers and it was easier that way (even the romans had a different symbol for 1, 5 and 10). Hand made products would also be different, and this would change the fashion industry. So many changes.

[Jose]

what if you wanted to give someone a thumbs up, or a thumbs down? and how would you punch the table in a meeting? and if you wanted to show someone "the finger", which would it be? it would certainly enhance foreplay! and guitar playing! nah, 5 fingers feel just right, all round.

[p_almonius]

haiku's inventor
must have had seven fingers
on his middle hand

[Ady]

Well.. I just can't imagine having seven fingers.. our hands would be huge!!! We would have a very different world.. I mean.. it's just two more fingers.. but that's a really big deal!!!

[Nate D.]

You'll give people a HIGH 7!

[E Bayley]

Coffee cups would have to have larger handles to accommodate and extra finger and thumb. Wine glass stems would be longer.
Can openers would be totally different and the way we used utensils would change.
Steering wheels may become just curved bars so you didn't become "tangled up".
Golf clubs and tennis racquets and the likes may be shaped differently which may well change the way the sports are played.
Shot-put, discus, netball and cricket would be better with greater ball control.
Making origami and solving the Rubiks Cube would be much easier!!
Braiding your hair would be easier - although more fingers in the mix may not be such a good thing!

[Melissa M]

It would change the way we type!
Players of sports such as Basketball, AFL Football and Netball would have more control/grip on the ball but may be more susceptible to hand injuries such as sprained fingers.
Scissors would needs to have wider handles

[olivia harris]

You could give a person a high 7 instead of a high 5, meaning whatever the person did to deserves a high 5 was even better in your eyes and you could give a high 7.

Sports people would benefit tremendously...baseballers wouldnt even need to wear a mit as they would have such a wide palm to plam surface naturally.

You would need specially made gloves for winter.

You could create amazing music on the piano and type super fast on the computer.

[Victor Andrzejewski]

There would be benefits with having 7 fingers but there would also be issues.

pros:sports players would benefit by having better grip when catching a ball, being able to give someone a high 7 (though i dont see any problem with the good old fashion high 5), typing would be faster on computer and piano music would just be something else, something beautiful.

cons:like it has been mentioned before gloves would have to be re-made/designed, hand injuries would become more frequent and trying to write with a biro/pen would be different a)grip would be harder to obtain or b)because your hand is larger it may become a pain and constantly be in the way.

[Cheryl E]

There would be definite benefits to having 7 fingers. Lets see...

You could play a musical instrument quite easily, imagine playing the piano, the say peoples fingers fly across the keys, well they would really fly across the keys.

Doing the chanel 7 "7" like on the tv (no more 5 fingers and then 2 fingers) you just hold up your hand and you have the 7.

If you had a skin rash and you were itchy you would have so many more fingers to stop that itchy feeling.

The cons of it would be gloves, you need extra material. Bowling might be a little hard to do, not enough holes. Which finger would say is your ring finger? Longer handles for cricket bats not enough hand room. Jewellery would have to be larger. Boxing gloves would have to be modified to suit a larger hand.

[Cosmetic surgeon Los Angeles]

If we have 7 fingers, I think , more people will be creative, there are aswell lots of things that we can do in this world. If we have extra fingers, its going to be very helpful on doing such things, for surgeons, painter, cook,farmers, etc.