Why Do Our Fingers Get Pruney?

via gizmodo.com

For many years, most people assumed that our fingers and toes took on the texture of raisins from absorbing water—the longer you soaked in the tub, the more wrinkly your extremities. These rogue theorists instead suggest the grooves in wet fingers push out water when pressed to surfaces, allowing for better contact (and thus, better grip). To their point, previous research shows people with severed nerves in their fingers don't prune up in water—showing that wet, wrinkly hands and feet are a product of the nervous system.