# No gotta da fingerprints no more **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012 "2015-09-20T22:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/1 "2015-09-20T22:05:04Z")
OK, I am 88 now, but a few years ago I was supposed to give a thumbprint for some security reason I no loner can remember. The technician seemed totally bewildered. He looked at all my fingers under strong light,and at an angle, and sure enough, all were gone. It is pretty difficult to find people my age, but two of my friends, one younger and the other older looked at their fingers when i explained, and sure enough, they had none either. Will the handful of people here who are in their mid-70s or older take a gander at their fingertips, and let me know what you find. Or don’t find. Those with older relatives can ask them about this, although it may make them suspicious. Too bad I’m too old to start a life of crime now. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/2 "2015-09-20T22:20:47Z")
72 & still have finger prints and they seem good nuff to keep me law abiding. A few lines now. There are extra straight lines, some short on my fingers & hands. I do wash them a lot due to critters. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/3 "2015-09-20T22:29:22Z")
Well, I’m still way on the south side of 70, so won’t give you my personal findings. But, I did do a bit of a literature search on the subject of fingerprints and aging. Alas, there does not seem to be any simple relationship between the two, and especially nothing to suggest that fingerprints disappear as one ages. The best single source was from this very recent (and seemingly more than comprehensive) review article which I can’t link to: _Fingerprint composition and aging: A literature review_. Cadd S, Islam M, Manson P, Bleay S. Science & Justice 2015; 55(4): 219-38. I took the following quote from the above paper: “. . . it may be possible to distinguish fingerprints from donors of different ages. Some research has explored this possibility through the use of calibration curves to estimate a donor age range [17,18] , although larger studies are required to support these conclusions with statistically significant results.” In other words, there is no simple relationship between fingerprints and age. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/4 "2015-09-20T22:36:39Z")
When I look with my reading glasses I cannot see any prints. When I add a magnifying glass, I can barely see some lines, but that’s all. I’m 78. My wife, who is 77, is similar. Whether prints can be made from them, I am not sure. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/5 "2015-09-21T03:15:09Z")
Someone should tell those young whippersnappers at Apple that Touch ID will have a problem… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/6 "2015-09-21T07:41:51Z")
I’ll be 70 next week, and my prints are still there, but weak. There are also vertical furrows among the prints. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/7 "2015-09-21T11:10:38Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > Too bad I’m too old to start a life of crime now. It’s never too late! I think you should knock off a casino. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/8 "2015-09-21T13:52:58Z")
[quote=“jasg, post:5, topic:732012”] Someone should tell those young whippersnappers at Apple that Touch ID will have a problem…[/QUOTE Funny. That’s what got me thinking about the matter. I was looking at some Samsung models that have it too. I assume i would never be able to turn it on. That might be a blessing, of course. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/9 "2015-09-21T14:28:30Z")
Nothing to add to the thread, but … I hadn’t seen a post from \*\*Geoff \*\* in a long time and was fearing the worst. I’m real glad to hear from you again. I hope all is going well for you. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/10 "2015-09-21T14:31:25Z")
> **[Can You Lose Your Fingerprints?](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lose-your-fingerprints/)** > > A Singaporean cancer patient was detained by U.S. customs because his cancer treatment had made his fingerprints disappear. A forensic expert explains other ways people can lose--intentionally and unintentionally--one of their unique identifiers > [@](#): > > What are some other ways that fingerprints can disappear? > The most prominent of those problems involve bricklayers—who wear down ridges on their prints handling heavy, rough materials frequently—or people who work with lime [calcium oxide], because it’s really basic and dissolves the top layers of the skin. The fingerprints tend to grow back over time. And, surprisingly, secretaries, because they deal with paper all day. The constant handling of paper tends to wear down the ridge detail. > > Also,\*\* the elasticity of skin decreases with age, so a lot of senior citizens have prints that are difficult to capture. The ridges get thicker; the height between the top of the ridge and the bottom of the furrow gets narrow, so there’s less prominence.\*\* So if there’s any pressure at all [on the scanner], the print just tends to smear. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/11 "2015-09-21T14:35:52Z")
Since the OP is asking about personal experiences, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/12 "2015-09-21T15:41:08Z")
So you are the one committing all those crimes where they find no fingerprints! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-gotta-da-fingerprints-no-more/732012/13 "2015-09-21T17:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy;18703645 I hadn’t seen a post from \*\*Geoff \*\* in a long time and was fearing the worst. I’m real glad to hear from you again. I hope all is going well for you.[/QUOTE] Good to see you are still here, We decided to move from Arizona to the Denver area as we have two kids here who can help us if needed, and no family in AZ. I dread going back to winter, as that is wy we moved to the desert. Forty years of shoveling snow was enough. Now I’ll let my son do it. It took us three months to sell our house, and another two to find a house here, so most of that time my computer was packed up. Don’t worry, **Guy** when I croak I’ll let you all know (if they let me take my laptop with me, and they have wifi Up/Down there).