• Question: why do our fingers get all wrinkley in bath

    Asked by #harambeftw to Stephanie, LauraAnne, Katy, Helen, Emilia, Dan, Andrew on 7 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Helen Hanstock

      Helen Hanstock answered on 7 Nov 2016:

      Nice question!

      A study was done on this a few years ago by some scientists who concluded that wrinkly fingers actually do have a purpose! They help us to get better grip on objects in the water because the wrinkles help to channel the water away. Just like how car tyres have grooves to channel the water and give better grip in the wet!

      If you think back to hundreds of thousands of years ago when our ancestors were evolving, then being able to gather food from streams or wet environments or keep good grip with the soles of our feet in the rain would have been an advantage and so those wrinkly fingers and toes you see in the bath actually evolved for a reason!

    • Photo: LauraAnne Furlong

      LauraAnne Furlong answered on 9 Nov 2016:

      That’s a very interesting reason why it happens Helen, didn’t know that!

Comments