# tasks that're harder with long nails? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991 "2014-01-16T19:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/1 "2014-01-16T19:31:06Z")
I was watching this “adult” video where the actress had long fingernails. They were only about 1/2" or so, but I couldn’t help thinking “ouch, that’s gotta hurt”\*. Which made me think there’s got to be a ton of other everyday activities that are much harder to do with long fingernails (so you can’t touch a flat surface with the end of your finger). I know typing (and touchscreens in particular) are annoying, but what else? I’m sure there’s a few things you’d never would be hampered by long nails until you’ve actually tried doing it (with long nails). \*because of the long fingernails, (and not some other stuff you’d find in some genres, you freaks :P) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/2 "2014-01-16T19:35:48Z")
Dialing phones, especially rotary. Digging for gold. (YOWCH!) Picking up small things. Contact lenses. Measuring out a pinch of something when cooking. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/3 "2014-01-16T19:42:34Z")
Rolling a joint ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/4 "2014-01-16T19:50:23Z")
Keeping my hands clean when cooking. If my nails are long, it’s easier for foodstuff to get trapped under them. Unfortunately, hazardous stuff (raw meat) is the stuff most likely to get trapped under my nails. Wearing gloves. Motorcycle gloves in particular, which tend to be more form-fitting than general-use winter gloves. With long nails, the ends bump up against the leather and can get pushed/pulled in uncomfortable directions for extended periods. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/5 "2014-01-16T19:59:07Z")
Playing a piano or guitar (or any instrument with a keyboard or fingerboard). ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/6 "2014-01-16T20:04:59Z")
Keyboard work. If you’re like me, you need to feel the keys to type without watching the keyboard. Massage work. Hey, I’m talking about serious massage, not that nudge-wink kind. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/7 "2014-01-16T20:11:30Z")
My longish-time GF had nails that would impress Wolverine… and typed about 80wpm, no problem. Mmm. I miss those nails. She used to… but never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/8 "2014-01-16T20:20:31Z")
An example of keyboard work that is not so obvious: the buttons on the tv remote control ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/9 "2014-01-16T20:34:10Z")
Just about every major sport I can think of would be impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/10 "2014-01-16T20:35:32Z")
Wiping your ass. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/11 "2014-01-16T21:06:49Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > An example of keyboard work that is not so obvious: the buttons on the tv remote control Similar to this - typing on a slide-out cellphone keyboard. When my thumb nails get slightly too long, it’s near impossible for me to text. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/12 "2014-01-16T21:44:41Z")
I don’t have long nails but the slightest bit of length on them makes it difficult for me to use the clasp on jewellery. A friend of mine has artificial nails (? gel - not sure what type. They’re obviously fake but not horribly long) and she can’t use her iPhone or iPad without a touch stick thingy. That alone would drive me nuts. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/13 "2014-01-16T22:02:43Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > My longish-time GF had nails that would impress Wolverine… and typed about 80wpm, no problem. Same with one of my old girlfriends. She had long nails (artificial nails, with a ton of strengthener on them), and she worked as a legal secretary. She could type at ~110wpm, even with the nails. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/14 "2014-01-16T22:07:29Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Playing a piano or guitar (or any instrument with a keyboard or fingerboard). However, many guitarists who play “fingerstyle” (such as classical and flamenco guitarists) grow their nails long on their playing hands (usually the right hand), as the nails are used for picking the strings. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/15 "2014-01-16T22:13:31Z")
Picking boogers out of your nose. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/16 "2014-01-17T01:07:06Z")
Sign language. It is incredibly distracting, as well as simply interfering with finger spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/17 "2014-01-17T01:39:08Z")
Finger painting. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/18 "2014-01-17T02:12:56Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Picking up small things. That’s easier, depending on the items: long nails are natural tweezers. Typing is one that can lead to broken nails and be difficult or painful if done incorrectly, but like dialing a phone it’s a matter of being able to use the correct part of the finger (the “front”, not the top). And looking at the stuff posted by other people, either they’re all thinking of Fu Manchu or they’re doing those tasks incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/19 "2014-01-17T04:48:03Z")
I’m really surprised to see I’m the first one to say opening a canned beverage. Whenever I have my nails done that’s the first way I ruin them. Of course, it might just be practice - the only way mine end up long is if I get really neglectful. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991/20 "2014-01-17T04:56:20Z")
Prostate exams! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasks-thatre-harder-with-long-nails/678991.md?page=2)