Ten things you never knew about... hands

Yesterday was National Handwriting Day, so today, while our hands recover from all that writing, here are some facts about hands. 1. A human hand has 27 bones, plus two more forming the wrist joint. 2. Our fingers have no muscles. Their tendons are controlled by muscles in the palm and forearm. 3. “Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.” (Chinese proverb). 4. “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.” (Sir Isaac Newton). 5. If you bend your fingers and thumb to form a cavity in the palm, that cavity is called the “Diogenes cup” after the Greek philosopher who was said to have used his hand for drinking from. 6. The old word for a kiss on the hand is “baisemain”. 7. Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, had six fingers on her right hand. 8. Divination by looking at the fingernails is called onychomancy. 9. The index finger has also been called the demonstrator, forefinger, insignitur, lickpot, teacher finger or weft finger. 10. The little finger is the ear finger; the thumb is the pollex.