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The last time a listener sent us a toe picture, I felt a bit sick. I’m not queasy but I am intrigued by this from Lorelei from Brooklyn, NY:
My thumbs look like big toes.
I had no idea there was something amiss until I was 14, when my friends loudly pointed out the freakishness. I’m the only one in my family with them, and I’ve met only one other person with little thumbs.
After years of hating them, I’ve come to accept them. However, recently my stepsister (rudely) mentioned that she’s always found my thumbs creepy and was glad we aren’t related by blood. Apparently, she was horrified at the possibility of her future kids having them. This had never occurred to me! If I do have children, how likely is it that they will have my thumbs? And how many people have these squat little nubbins? Surely I’m not alone!
Toe thumbs!
Lorelei, you’re definitely not alone; Megan Fox has them; these people on Facebook have them; readers, raise your hands proudly if YOU have them too! Indeed, there are enough people with Brachydactyly type D (BDD) that there are several nicknames for the condition, eg ‘club thumb’, ‘Dutch thumb’ (?), ‘potter’s thumb’, ‘hammer thumb’, ‘murderer’s thumb’… OK, the nicknames could be more complimentary, but they’re still nicer than your stepsister.
Geneticists, are Lorelei’s future offspring likely to have murderers’ magic thumbs? Should she be searching for knitting patterns for mittens with short thumbs?
Here’s a little more toe thumb reading matter for you, Lorelei.
Answer Me This! Podcast 
June 30, 2014 at 6:10 pm |
Thank you for all the helpful information! I’m pleased that both thumbs are in the murderer’s category, at least the weirdness is even. I’m also going to start waving my thumbs around and threatening death to anyone who crosses me.
June 21, 2014 at 3:32 pm |
I have these! I reckon I got them from my dad (who also gifted me his red complexion, extreme shortsightedness and propensity for nose bleeds – I’m quite the catch) but he maintains his thumbs are normal.
I am very much looking forward to telling my sister that I have murderer’s thumb, and she should think twice before taking the piss out of my stumpy digits again.
P.S. I recommend using the extra space in the thumb of gloves for storage of small valuables or snacks (e.g. a wasabi pea).