Weird or Just Clumsy?

February 28, 2010 1:50 PM

How long should my fingers be?

I was eating a pancake earlier and bit myself on the ring finger because, relative to my other fingers, it's very long. My ring finger is substantially longer than my index finger, almost as long, in fact, as my middle finger. Upon investigation I discovered that my SO is the other way round (short ring finger, long index finger). Then we woke our ailing daughter, and she takes after me.

So who's the freak? Me or the other half? Or are these things evenly distributed? If no-one knows for sure I'll take the results of a poll as evidence.

posted by tigrefacile to Science & Nature (24 answers total)

Best answer: wiki
study
posted by sanko at 1:55 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Might I? I'd be happy to listen or read why this is random, if you want to explain. Please don't assume that I know that things are randomly distributed. Empirically this seems wrong anyway. I'm curious, albeit in a light-hearted way.
posted by tigrefacile at 1:59 PM on February 28, 2010

Hah! Looking at my hands, on my left hand, my index finger is much shorter than my ring, but on my right hand, my ring and index fingers are a very similar length.

*shrug*
posted by Lizsterr at 2:00 PM on February 28, 2010

My ring finger is longer than my index finger. But then, I'm not a werewolf.
posted by SPrintF at 2:05 PM on February 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

The real question is, why were you eating pancakes in such a way that your mouth sought out a morsel of pancake and found instead your finger?

My ring fingers are shorter than my index finger.
posted by lizzicide at 2:09 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

my ring fingers are shorter than my index fingers, but my pinkies are freakishly short.

(when i say this to friends, they argue that they aren't, then i hold up my hand and they all go "WHOA!" because, really, they're very short)
posted by nadawi at 2:12 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ring finger : index finger proportion positively correlates with in-utero exposure to testosterone. That is, longer ring fingers implies more testosterone from Mom. Note that with each male children a women carries, she'll have produce more testosterone, so subsequent children will get be exposed to more testosterone than first borns.

Very roughly, longer ring finger means "more masculine". It also (in males) positively correlates with homosexuality: the greater the ring:index proportion, the greater the chance a male is gay.
posted by orthogonality at 2:12 PM on February 28, 2010

Very roughly, longer ring finger means "more masculine". It also (in males) positively correlates with homosexuality: the greater the ring:index proportion, the greater the chance a male is gay.

So, more masculine men are more likely to be gay?

Sorry, I don't follow this logic.

I think you mean the lower the ring:index ratio the greater the chance a male is gay.

Even so, this kind of correlative conjecture seems speculative, at best. Correlation does not prove causation.
posted by dfriedman at 2:17 PM on February 28, 2010

Response by poster: I think I was using my middle finger and front incisors as a gauge. These were those little pancakes with crispy duck and crudites in and it was falling apart because I'd overfilled it (you never get enough pancakes and it was the last one) and perhaps my timing was off. It hurt but it hasn't left a mark.
posted by tigrefacile at 2:17 PM on February 28, 2010

dfriedman - people in this thread aren't pulling the idea out of thin air. there have been many, many studies about finger length. to go with what has been posted upthread, also check out biology and sexual orientation and neuroscience and sexual orientation. feel free to click on the cites and examine the studies.
posted by nadawi at 2:23 PM on February 28, 2010

Response by poster: Not to mention the whole minefield of sex, sexuality, and gender whose respective meanings and associations have spent the last few decades diverging, FWIU.
posted by tigrefacile at 2:30 PM on February 28, 2010

Best answer: My ring fingers are significantly longer than my index fingers, but I think some of that length is actually in the metacarpals more than the actual finger bones, that is, the knuckle sits higher and the finger itself is only slightly longer. Anyway, we are totally the normal ones.
posted by Nomiconic at 3:00 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

On one hand, my ring finger is longer than the index, and on the other the index is longer than the ring finger.

I don't know what it all means, but I also have freakishly short pinkies. It doesn't really cause me any problems, but the last finger on any gloves I buy usually has way too much room at the end.
posted by howrobotsaremade at 3:49 PM on February 28, 2010

howrobotsaremade - the $1 gloves in the women or kids department that stretch to your hands are really useful for this. it's the only way i can get gloves that fit. i also love the fingerless gloves that have a mitten top you can fold over. it looks a little silly because my pinky is nearly completely covered, while all my other fingers stick out, but i don't get the lots of extra material issue any more. the only actual problem i've found with short pinkies is hitting low c on the flute. i can do it, but it took a lot of practice.
posted by nadawi at 4:01 PM on February 28, 2010

Ring finger larger than index on both hands.


use a fork.
posted by The Whelk at 4:41 PM on February 28, 2010

Longer ring finger than index finger, too. Not feeling very gay today but it's nice to know that one has open possibilities.
posted by mmkhd at 5:43 PM on February 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

My ring finger and my index finger are even on both hands. Everyone's different, no freakiness involved.
posted by patheral at 6:08 PM on February 28, 2010

Hah! Looking at my hands, on my left hand, my index finger is much shorter than my ring, but on my right hand, my ring and index fingers are a very similar length

Whoa! Same with me. I'd never noticed my hands being asymmetrical in that way, but it's pretty pronounced. (Actually I think on my right my ring finger is still a smidgen longer.) The result of excessive pencil usage in early childhood? Are Lizsterr and I long-lost identical twins? Is my left hand simply expressing my masculine, gay side?
posted by hattifattener at 6:13 PM on February 28, 2010

Even so, this kind of correlative conjecture seems speculative, at best. Correlation does not prove causation.

Who said it did?

My index and ring fingers are exactly even. Ring fingers that are significantly longer than index fingers would freak me out. The big toe may be the captain of the toes, but the index finger is captain of the hand. (The middle finger is longer but ultimately unsuitable to lead, like Spock.)
posted by DU at 6:26 PM on February 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

My wife's and my fingers are almost the same length but my palms are significantly larger. She also has lovely slender fingers compared to my thicker ones.

My ring fingers on both hands are about 1/4" longer than the index which trails the middle finger by 1/2". Sadly, the pinky is an insignificant stub, shorter than the middle finger length by a full 1 1/2". By measurement.

I had no idea until now. Must seek pinky enlargement! Think there's an XTenze for fingers?
posted by trinity8-director at 7:49 PM on February 28, 2010

63mm
posted by segatakai at 7:54 PM on February 28, 2010

My ring fingers are both noticably longer than my index fingers. I am a lesbian.
posted by chairish at 11:46 PM on February 28, 2010

Dead even on my left hand, my right index finger healed crooked after a bad break, so it's disqualified.
posted by electroboy at 6:36 AM on March 1, 2010

My ring and index finger on both hands are even and are approximately .5 inch (9mm)shorter than my middle finger. My pinkies are approximately 1 inch (27mm)shorter than my ring finger.
posted by agatha_magatha at 11:31 AM on March 1, 2010