WEIRD SCIENCE

A round-up of the strangest science stories from around the world.

- Tim Friede

FINGERS PRUNE THE SAME WAY

As anyone who has spent too long in a swimming pool or bath will know, getting wet makes your fingers all wrinkled. A new study has found that every time this happens, your fingers end up with exactly the same “pruney" patterns.

Professor Guy German, from Binghamton University in the US, and one of his students got three people to place one of their hands in water for half an hour. Afterwards, photos were taken of each finger. The process was then repeated the next day. This simple study — which you could easily try at home — allowed German to compare the photos and see quite clearly that the fingers looked identical after each separate dunk.

German said this was because the wrinkles that form on your wet fingers will always follow the pattern of blood vessels beneath the skin.