Why do our fingers wrinkle when wet?

 


Why do our fingers wrinkle when
wet?

Did you ever wonder why do
our fingers wrinkle when wet? A
series of laboratory tests have
shown that wrinkles evolved, to
help you grip wet objects!

According to the tests results
fingers wrinkle when wet, to
allow a better grip on wet
objects, like the car tires in the
rain.

“In this study, we show that
submerged objects are handled
more quickly with wrinkled
fingers than with unwrinkled
fingers, whereas wrinkles make
no difference to manipulating dry objects.” The wrinkles that
occur in skin after prolonged
exposure to water are
sometimes referred to as
pruney fingers or water aging.
This is a temporary skin condition where the skin on the
palms of the hand or feet
becomes wrinkly. This wrinkling
response may have imparted an
evolutionary benefit by providing
improved traction in wet conditions.

In the recent past the common
explanation was based on water
absorption in the keratin-laden
epithelial skin when immersed in
water, causing the skin to
expand and resulting in a larger surface area, forcing it to
wrinkle. Usually the tips of the
fingers and toes are the first to
wrinkle because of a thicker
layer of keratin and an absence
of hairs which secrete the protective oil called sebum.