Why Are Our Fingers of Different Lengths?
There is no known reason why our fingers should be of different lengths to-day; in fact, it is thought by some people that the hand would be stronger if the fingers were all of the same length. Certainly, however, the hands would not then be so beautiful, and it might not be so useful. The human hand to-day is perhaps the most versatile thing in the world. You can do more things with the hand than with any other thing in the world. The probability is that the shape of the hand to-day and the length of the fingers are the result of the different things the human being has called upon the hand to do during man’s development up to the present time.
We must go back to the time, however, when man walked on fours, for that is probably the real explanation. Originally man’s fingers were of different lengths because all four-footed animals had the same peculiarities. The shape and length of the toes and their arrangement were the ideal arrangement for giving the proper balance and support to the body, and in moving about and in climbing produced the best toe hold.