# Do you have a tan line under your wedding ring? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444 "2012-12-18T19:14:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/1 "2012-12-18T19:14:59Z")
It’s a staple of detectives stories: the sharp-eyed detective spots a tan line on the left ring finger of a corpse (say) and is able to surmise that he/she was having an affair and was killed during a lover’s tryst. However, when I take off my ring, I can’t spot any kind of tan line at all. Is it just me, or is this one of those things that sounds good when Sherlock Holmes does it, but isn’t true to life? ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/2 "2012-12-18T19:44:18Z")
I wear six different rings - in the summer, I have tan lines under all of them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/3 "2012-12-18T19:46:54Z")
I’ve got a tan line I can see when I wiggle my ring around. If I take it off, I’ve got a _dent_. The detective’s comment that puzzles me is “They’ve got rings, but they don’t match” when used to determine if the couple is married to each other. I don’t know anyone who has matching rings, but most of my make friends have plain bands and most of my female friends have a grandma ring (or other family jewelry). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/4 "2012-12-18T19:50:51Z")
Not at the moment, but then again, it’s mid-December in the Midwest. I don’t think I’ve been outside, in the sunshine, without gloves on, for more than 2 hours in the past month. I don’t tan a lot in the summer, but during those months, I do have a tan-line under my wedding ring. I also imagine that a very sharp-eyed investigator might note smooth skin, and a lack of hair on the back of my ring finger, where the ring normally sits. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/5 "2012-12-18T19:52:57Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > The detective’s comment that puzzles me is “They’ve got rings, but they don’t match” when used to determine if the couple is married to each other. I don’t know anyone who has matching rings, but most of my make friends have plain bands and most of my female friends have a grandma ring (or other family jewelry). I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that particular one (though I don’t read a great deal of detective fiction). I’m a male, and while my wedding ring isn’t a plain band, it’s of a radically different design from my wife’s ring, even though both of them were custom-designed and made by the same goldsmith. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/6 "2012-12-18T19:53:00Z")
Most of my time spent outside in summer is gardening, and I wear gloves for gardening, so no, I don’t have a tan line under my wedding ring. I do, however, have a ring finger callous on that hand that would tip off a very observant observer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/7 "2012-12-18T20:19:03Z")
Nope, but the texture of the skin is different under the rings, and I have a callous just beneath it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/8 "2012-12-18T20:39:25Z")
My wedding ring freely slides up and down my finger by more than the width of the ring, so no, I don’t get a tan line. I just slid it up to see if I could spot any sign I wear a ring, and it looks like the skin on the palm side of my ring finger is a little shinier than on the other fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/9 "2012-12-18T21:23:49Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > (…)the texture of the skin is different under the rings, and I have a callous just beneath it. This, plus a tan line. We don’t have matching wedding rings but my parents do. Maybe a generational thing? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/10 "2012-12-18T21:27:15Z")
No tan line after 14+ years of wearing it, but then, I don’t get really tan. Especially on my hands- I typically only get a little color in a circular area on the back of my hand, but nothing ever on my knuckles or my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/11 "2012-12-18T21:44:40Z")
Probably. Mine hasn’t been off in almost 24 years. ---
**Author:** ![bot3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@bot3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bot3)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/12 "2012-12-18T22:05:31Z")
40 years of marriage and only wore the ring my first year. Never cheated, never unfaithful. Just that jewelery if very uncomfortable for me. Plus if you’re remotely involved with machines or mechanical devices you know its unsafe to wear rings or watches or similar. My Missus never complained and never felt insecure in my faithfulness. She wears hers’ but truth be told I just as soon she didn’t. Again I prefers no jewelry on women either. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/13 "2012-12-18T22:19:08Z")
I have a year-round tan line (I live in south Florida) and a dent on my ring finger. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/14 "2012-12-18T22:38:47Z")
No tan _line_, but I believe in the summer it is less tanned than other fingers. Also, I just looked, and my skin is shinier beneath the ring than any other fingers. > [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > The detective’s comment that puzzles me is “They’ve got rings, but they don’t match” when used to determine if the couple is married to each other. I don’t know anyone who has matching rings, […] My wife an my wedding rings matched, although she lost hers several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/15 "2012-12-18T22:48:45Z")
No tan right now, but definately during the summer when I’m riding my motorcycle almost every day. But always a very observable indentation. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/16 "2012-12-19T03:13:37Z")
No, but I’m single and don’t wear one. I do, however, have a very noticeable tan line under my watch band. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/17 "2012-12-19T07:55:54Z")
\*\*Do you have a tan line under your wedding ring? \*\* After 42 years, most definitely. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/18 "2012-12-19T11:57:51Z")
I’m redheaded, I don’t tan. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/19 "2012-12-19T14:58:03Z")
I don’t wear a ring, but, like **D/a,** I have a tan line under my watch band. I also wear a small rock as a pendant necklace, and in the summer I get an un-tan spot on my upper chest. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444/20 "2012-12-19T15:04:55Z")
No tan line, but I’m fair complexioned and don’t tan much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tan-line-under-your-wedding-ring/644444.md?page=2)