i want to get the SD on this…
thanks!
Chief’s Domain - http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi
I can SWEAR that Cecil took this one on already…
Yer pal,
Satan
And that would be the link. Thank you, Undead Dude…
Just read Cecil’s answer on this - I’m interested because it’s a habit of mine too.
I see no date on Cecil’s answer, which surprises me – I mean, I know Cecil is brilliant and knows everything, but if his response is, say, 10 years old, there is quite possibly new info on the topic. A few years ago, I read of a study that indicated knuckle cracking helps avoid arthritis. My mother had arthritis in her fingers; no signs of it in mine.
Sycorax:
Well, you have to consider that you and your mom, while I’m sure are very nice people, don’t mean much in terms of a scientific study because a sample size of two people doesn’t lend much credibility.
I’m pretty sure that in the last ten years, much work on knuckle cracking have been by-passed foolishly in lieu of AIDS and Cancer research, and the like.
Damn researchers need to know their priorities!
By the way, after rereading thism is seems I went from sarcastic humor into some asshole territory, which was not my intent, but I’m too lazy to make it any nicer…
Cecil says it is Cheif.
Note, I consider myself lucky that I can no longer hear people doing that. ALong with gum smacking.
Sycorax, I thought I had a clever way to answer your question. But it didn’t really work. 
I noticed that you can find columns under www.straightdope.com/columns/yymmdd.html
With a little unix scripting, I scanned through backwards for every week and looked for the pattern “knuckle”. All I found was that Cecil liked to use the term “knuckle-head” in '95. Darn. I guess that means that the article is fairly old. I found articles this way all the way back to 940506, so mebbe it is older than that.
well, I don’t know how reliable a source he is, but Bill Nye the Science Guy says cracking your knuckles is bad. Why crack them anyway? A lot of people I know say they do it because it makes their fingers feel better, but when I asked, none of them remember their fingers ever hurting before they started cracking them. hmm… maybe just a coincidence, but it sounds awful, and in my opinion is unneccessary. that is why I don’t like it. Plus, if there is any evidence against it, I would just rather avoid it than be sorry 30 years from now. 
tipi
I didn’t mean to imply that my experience proved anything - I was really questioning Cecil’s response when we didn’t know how old it was. I agree there are higher priorities for scientists, but I know that while AIDS research is going on,independent researchers and universities are getting grant money for all kinds of dumb-ass studies. As for why we crack our knuckles - no the fingers don’t hurt before I crack them; I don’t recall how I got into it, but they feel “looser” afterward. It’s a habit, I guess; why do people bite their fingernails. Oh, BTW, I don’t do it in the presence of others - I’m sure it can be annoying (not to mention quite unlady-like).
I crack my knuckles and if I don’t they can actually hurt, but mostly I crack them because I have a very uncomfortable sensation if I don’t.
I asked my doctor about it and he said that it’s not bad for you. All it is, is cracking air bubbles. Some people build up more than others and you are merely relieving pressure.
MaryAnn
Sometimes life is so great you just gotta muss up your hair and quack like a duck!
If I don’t crack my knuckles my fingers and toes feel tight. When they start feeling tight, I crack them. I try to avoid doing it in public, though I’ve never met anyone very offended by it. By the way, I get a lot of decibel action off my big toe. I bet you squeamish ones can hear it now…here goes…