Posted on 12/10/2024 5:03:56 AM PST by Red Badger
One doesn’t cause the other, but there seems to be an association for some people.
Image credit: logika600 / Shutterstock.com
Anew study has pointed to a strange correlation with a person’s drinking habits: the ratio of their fourth digit (sometimes called the ring finger) to the second digit. Specifically, scientists found a relationship between having a ring finger that is longer than the second digit and high alcohol consumption.
The ratio of our finger lengths is something that’s set before birth, in part influenced by the hormones we are exposed to in the womb. People exposed to more estrogen tend to have second digits longer than their ring fingers, while those exposed to more testosterone can have ring fingers longer than their second digits. There are also people whose ring finger and second digits are the same length.
This latest study looked at 258 student participants – 169 of them female – to see what their finger ratios were and how much alcohol they consumed. The results showed there was a correlation between higher alcohol consumption and longer ring fingers relative to second digits, pointing towards the potential influence of hormones as a contributor to the likelihood of imbibing as a student.
“A pattern like this suggests an involvement of sex hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen,” said Professor John Manning, of Swansea University’s Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) research team in a statement. “Digit ratio (2D:4D: the relative lengths of the 2nd [index] and 4th [ring] fingers) is thought to be an index of early testosterone (long 4th digit) and oestrogen (long 2nd digit).”
“It is known that alcohol-dependent patients have very long 4th digits relative to their 2nd digits, suggesting high testosterone relative to oestrogen exposure before birth. As expected, the associations were stronger for men than women.”
It’s worth pointing out that the association can’t establish cause and effect, so having a certain finger ratio doesn’t dictate a person’s outcome – but it’s hoped that identifying the connection could shine a light on factors underlying alcohol use.
“Alcohol consumption is a major social and economic problem,” said Manning. “Therefore, it is important to understand why alcohol use shows considerable differences across individuals.”
The study is published in the American Journal Of Human Biology.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.24187
That happened to a baseball player a few years back. He was walking down a city street with a teammate and one of those store signs was hanging above the sidewalk and he jumped up to slap it when his ring caught on the sign’s metal frame and it stripped the meat right off his finger bone.
It’s called ‘degloving’. I don’t recall whatever happend to him, but I assume that the flesh could be put back on if done quickly and stiched..................
Same length on right hand. Ring finger longer on left hand.
LOL!
I’m way better at reading and writing.
I’m OK at math, but I think it’s because of my music background — which is math based in many ways.
What if your index toe is longer than your big toe and center toe, on just one foot?
Apparently some cases of ring avulsion (degloving) can be surgically repaired, depending on severity and promptness of treatment. In Rod’s case, they just amputated what was left of the finger, pretty much only the bone.
Apply for a study grant.
That’s gotta be worth at least $100k..................
I defy the study too. Maybe there’s some correlation between people who defy the study AND being outspoken conservatives.
But I'm really good at the piano.
My ring fingers are way longer than index fingers and even more so on my right hand. But am definitely a girlie girl …. Into ballet instead of sports when a kid. Excelled in sailboat racing when adult, but terrible on the tennis team.
The extra testosterone did managed to kick in when I turned 70 and caused all these long hairs to pop out on my chin (ugh!!!)
And here I thought it was my Irish ancestry.
The French side did not help.
French + Irish?
You are doomed!............
I was great at piano until I quit drinking and my ring fingers shrank - now when I play a song it sounds like a broken record.
You made me look.
Here we go.
This is what passes for “proof” on the internet. A “study” that bears out the beliefs of the administrators.
Btw, the pictured “hands” are the same but photoshopped.
More internet “proof.”
It’s just a diagram................
Me, too.
I can’t stand the smell of alcohol. Other people are welcome to enjoy it; I’m not a party-pooper. I just don’t partake.
“And once again I defy the study!”
Me too. My ring finger is quite a bit longer than my pointer. Had to think about it, it’s been over 2 months since I had any alcohol.
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