# What in hell does this \*MEAN\*??! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359 "2002-07-29T11:53:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/41 "2002-07-31T10:45:02Z")
Wouldn’t you have to be pulling the skin off your fingers for a long, long time? I mean, the prints go through every layer of skin, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/42 "2002-07-31T11:46:00Z")
FWIW Bill Bryson tells a story of a man who lost two of his fingers in an accident, and tried to move to America, but was refused on the grounds that he didn’t supply a full set of fingerprints. I assumed the prints were mainly on the surface - does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/43 "2002-07-31T20:35:18Z")
Yes, you can substantially alter/remove your prints, but it does leave very identifiable traces. 'Way back when, burning your fingertips off with acid was popular among those who had reason to care. HOWEVER the trend died out quickly when it was noted that the scar patterns left by the acid tended to be unique. And you can usually (never heard of a case where you couldn’t, but I’m willing to accept the possibility) get to the OP (original prints, in this case) by skinning the fingers and examining them from the inside. To completely eradicate your fingerprints, you have to skin them all the way to muscle, and sometimes even then they’ll grow back. I suppose this is a roundabout way of saying that your fingerprints aren’t just on the surface, and obliterating them is a little tricky. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/44 "2002-07-31T21:58:01Z")
_Ooooogy…_ Surely one could simply wear gloves instead of mutilating oneself so? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/45 "2002-07-31T23:41:34Z")
I’ve read of people with OCD who washed their hands so much their finger prints (at least on the surface) were obliterated. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/46 "2002-07-31T23:42:17Z")
I suppose. Ask a question…Hehe. Yes, gloves would be easiest. But in **Se7en** (doesn’t it just irritate the hell out of you that I refuse to write it without the number?), the killer does that repeatedly in order to leave no prints _anywhere_- including when they search his apartment. In other words, he wouldn’t want to have to wear gloves in his own home…so this was just easiest. I feel so morbid now. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/47 "2002-08-01T05:44:39Z")
Just use a glass bottle and get it over with - plus, it recycles easier 😃 What I wonder about (along with George Carlin) is the phrase “Now, then.” Are we talking NOW or THEN? And has technology of today gotten so good that we no longer have to be admonished not to “Fold, Spindle or Mutilate”?? (oops, wait, that’s getting back to the bottle/murder/forensics thing again…) ---
**Author:** ![Justhink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@Justhink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justhink)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/48 "2002-08-01T15:23:03Z")
“What in hell does this _MEAN_??!” Welcome to my life every second. What does it mean when I no longer ask that question =) Right now I’m trying to figure what the hell a ‘conservative’ is; being that I hear the word a good 100 times a day on television. I don’t think there is such a thing! =) What’s up with that?! Is everyone just stupid or is it me? -Justhink ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/49 "2002-08-01T16:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*But suppose that the person being offed is an enemy of **majinborg**? > > If Data is truely programmed in a ‘variety of techniques’ does that mean that he is bi? And who programmed him? \*\* If Dr. Noonian Sung programmed him, I don’t think he is very good at it. Did you SEE Dr. Sung and where he lived? Hello… ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/50 "2002-08-01T17:01:01Z")
How about “go on”, meaning “continue”. Go on where? Go on a skateboard? Go on a trip? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359/51 "2002-08-04T21:56:49Z")
I think this thread is a good place for this, since when I asked my mom her opinion on this, her reply was simply " Are you trying to make me go insane?" Which did not answer the question. _Suppose_ a person can read minds. Do you need to be physically present for them to read your mind, or could they do it if they were talking to you over the phone? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-hell-does-this-mean/121359.md?page=2)