The orangutan's hand

[scrambler]

Comparison of a human hand and an orangutan hand:

 

 

 

"Take a look at that Orangutan's hand. It has obnoxiously long fingers. It'd be even more obvious from a different angle, but their fingers are just horrendously huge. It evolved that way so that they could swing around in the trees better. Longer fingers wrap around a branch more effectively. And, of course, their thumbs are very, very tiny, because they would just get in the way during swinging."

 

"This brings up of one of the traits you probably take for granted every day -- the precision grip. Specifically speaking, the human precision grip is the ability to touch the tip of your thumb to the tips of your fingers at the midpont of your hand (that's about 1 inch directly outward from the center of your palm). It allows you to write with a pencil, eat with a fork, play Operation, and a whole range of other fine motor tasks."

 

"Orangutans can't do this (nor can any other primate), because their fingers are too long, and their thumbs are too short. They can sort of do it, but not with nearly enough force for it to be effective. It's a very recently evolved trait in our lineage. In fact, many believe that this ability, along with (or perhaps in concert with) increased intelligence, is one of the reasons why we are so successful as a species."

-- source

[catbirdseat]

The human needs a manicure.