# Can you straighten your third finger while keeping your pinky bent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392 "2005-04-15T00:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/1 "2005-04-15T00:42:01Z")
The title says it all, but: Hold your hand out, palm facing you. Now bend the ring finger & pinky toward your palm. Now straighten just the ring finger without holding the pinky finger down. Can you do it? I can’t do it at all. Those two fingers are attached, it seems, inside the skin. As a matter of fact, my middle finger bends a little too. My boyfriend has no problem with straightening each finger individually. How about you guys? On a related note, my fingers are all slanted very slightly to the outside of my hand. That is, fingers are all tilted to the pinky, so left hand goes left and right hand goes right. It’s barely noticeable until I point it out, and the reasoning has always been that I was holding my hands in a funny way in the womb during development, and so they formed a little strangely. Does anyone else have anything a little odd like this? ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/2 "2005-04-15T00:44:02Z")
I can do it. I’ve also been playing piano for39 years, which may help. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/3 "2005-04-15T00:49:33Z")
I just tried it, and while the ring finger is the hardest one to make behave independantly, it’s doable for me on all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/4 "2005-04-15T00:49:38Z")
I can do it on my left hand. I used to play violin and once in a while I get a hankering to play my hubby’s Jackson and pretend I’m a rockstar. I can even play a few opening rhythm licks to some Metallica songs. Yeah I am a big fat loser. So what. My right hand, on the other hand…(heh.) ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/5 "2005-04-15T00:51:01Z")
OH and on the tilting: my middle fingers tilt toward the pinky on that hand. I don’t think it is all that unusual, although your cheiromancer might think it a little odd, or ominous. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/6 "2005-04-15T00:51:31Z")
I can do it, too. Also, my fingers slant inwards, towards my thumb. When I hold my hands out straight, my ring finger rests slightly on top of my middle finger. Oh, and I can bend my fingers backwards until they almost touch my wrist. They used to be even more flexible, but have stiffened a bit as I’ve gotten older. I even once managed to bend my thumb far enough back to touch my forearm, but it hurt like hell and I never tried it a second time. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/7 "2005-04-15T00:51:45Z")
What’s a cheiromancer? ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/8 "2005-04-15T00:58:24Z")
Left hand - yes, right hand - no. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/9 "2005-04-15T01:03:39Z")
Cheiromaner = palm reader. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/10 "2005-04-15T01:06:16Z")
Damn I messed that one up. Cheiromaner just sounds funny. Like maybe a single man. :o And I just looked it up and it’s actually spelled \*\* Chiromancer. \*\* I dunno where I got that “e” from. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/11 "2005-04-15T01:18:10Z")
I can do that, but I absolutely cannot move my big toe and my second toe independently. Even if I grab them with my hands. They’re connected, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/12 "2005-04-15T01:22:02Z")
I can do it on both hands, but it causes some slight pain to make it happen. It’s easier on my left hand than my right (I’m right-handed). I can also bend just the first knuckle on all my fingers - first and middle easier and farther down - than the others. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/13 "2005-04-15T01:31:45Z")
I can do it on both hands. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/14 "2005-04-15T01:35:45Z")
Yep, both hands. I feel a bit of a strain, but I can do it easily. My fingers are pretty straight except for my index fingers. The left curves left, and the right curves right (although it is straighter than the left). ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/15 "2005-04-15T01:37:16Z")
I can only do it with my left hand. I broke the three end fingers on my right hand at the knuckle, 29 years ago, and the finger next to my pinky won’t stand up straight by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/16 "2005-04-15T01:43:53Z")
I can do it with my left, but not my right. (Somehow I would have thought the opposite, being right handed.) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/17 "2005-04-15T01:48:55Z")
Both hands, no great trouble. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/18 "2005-04-15T01:55:15Z")
I can do both hands easy. It’s a lost cause at doing anything with my toes though, I can only move my big toe independantly. The others doesn’t even wiggle a bit. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/19 "2005-04-15T02:22:57Z")
Left hand: easily; right hand: difficult, quite a strain, and my little finger won’t stay completely bent. I can move my big toes outward and downward and pick up stuff with them. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392/20 "2005-04-15T03:17:36Z")
I can do it very easily with both hands. My fingers on both hands are tilted slightly to the inside, toward each other. I can wiggle my big toes and little toes independently but the other ones are connected and wiggle as a weird three-toe unit. My index and middle toes, on either foot, are also connected more closely than normal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-straighten-your-third-finger-while-keeping-your-pinky-bent/299392.md?page=2)