I think I know the answer to this but If Dopers will indulge me with their thoughts.
So I am driving toward a “tee” intersection, I’m on the street that would not turn if going straight. I see a Police car with it’s light’s flashing, as I get closer I see some Street Department workers doing something to a traffic control. I’m intending to make a left turn. I see a Police officer watching the SD workers and for all the world it appears as if he has his right hand under his right armpit, I make a double take, it looks the same. I am going into the left turn I am making and I don’t have very much time to look, so could just be a weird angle of view.
As I saw it, the Officer had a short sleeve shirt, his right elbow looked to be tight to his side and as the title suggests it looked as if his right hand was tucked under his right armpit.
I think that the Police Officer was wearing a vest and he had his hand inside the vest arm hole.
Since I doubt they let people with phocomelia (very short limbs, but often normally formed hands and feet, so sometimes it looks like their hands come right out of their shoulders) become police officers, he probably just had his arms folded, so you saw his left hand in his right armpit. He may have moved while you drove around, so that the next time you saw his left arm, it was by his left side, and it created a sort of optical illusion.
I can easily imagine someone (a bit more flexible than I) putting his hand into the same-side armpit and bringing the elbow in to touch his side. You’re making it sound like that’s physically impossible and I don’t see why it would be.
Now if you want to give us some relevant details about exactly how his hand/finger/thumb were positioned and oriented, we may get a better idea of what you’re asking, and what you’re so excited about.
(Note: we do not need more irrelevant details about where you were driving or what other people were doing.)
It was just that brief a glance, so, no can’t add details I didn’t see. Did get the impression the back of the hand was facing out, but not at all sure.
I will try to focus my posts a bit better in the future, I learn best with feedback, so thank you for your critique.
I was just trying to get an idea if what I think I saw was even possible, might a’ been something else entirely. For instance I can’t even get my hand inside the arm hole of a sleeveless vest in a way similar to what I have described. The closest I can get is to hook my thumbs behind the straps of a pair of bib overalls with the back of my hand facing out to each side.
Usually your forearm plus hand is longer than your upper arm minus shoulder. I can do it by bend my hand in a really weird way that hurts when I put my arm down, but not otherwise. I do know people who are flexible enough that this wouldn’t hurt, though.
Now, doing it in an armhole is a completely different story.
