How do fingernails grow?

[Nefarious Chipmunk]

Okay, today I was at the gas station and I couldn't get the handle thig away from the pump. It was totally stuck, and I had already paid so I couldn't move to a different pump. Anyway I was trying to pry the stupid thing out and it pull my nail away from my finger. Hurt a lot, to say the least. It got me thinking. If it hurts so much when you pull you nail away from your finger how do nails grow. They obviously get longer, but don't they grow from the cuticle. SO the nail must move as it grows. How come that doesn't hurt then? How does that work?

[Celyn]

This would be the person to ask:

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,409599,00.html

It seems to have taken him a long time to decide that fingernails a metre long can be inconvenient.

[RealityChuck]

The nail does generally grow out from the cuticle. I have noticed, however, that when you pull off a nail, the skin underneath hardens into a nail.