# Repeat Fingerprints?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeat-fingerprints/166558>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 4, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeat-fingerprints/166558 "2003-04-04T21:37:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![moejuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@moejuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejuck)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeat-fingerprints/166558/1 "2003-04-04T21:37:28Z")

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I know that everyones fingerprints are supposed to be one of a kind. Up until last year, I also believed that no two snowflakes were alike. Then I read in one of Cecil’s columns that this had been disproved by someone. This makes me curious as to the possibility that eventually a fingerprint will be repeated. Is this even possible? It seems to me that we could never say with 100% accuracy that it is not.

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeat-fingerprints/166558/2 "2003-04-04T21:44:36Z")

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[Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980821.html) addressed that very question in a subsequent article.

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**Author:** ![Skarlett244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Skarlett244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skarlett244)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeat-fingerprints/166558/3 "2003-04-05T01:50:15Z")

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Because of partial and smeared prints, I think it just takes 8 or 10 “markers” like counts of lines between intersections to convict you.