Fun Fingerprint Facts

I confess. I’m a fingerprint geek! Because it’s Friday, I’m going to share some of my favorite fingerprint facts with you.

The scientific name for fingerprints is "dermatoglyph." It comes from two ancient Greek words that basically translate to skin carving.

Fingerprints are fully formed by the 16th week of fetal development, a full 5 months before we take our first breath outside the womb. Your fingerprints were complete before your gender was even determined, which happens closer to 18 weeks.

There are 4 types of fingerprint patterns: The whorl, the loop, the simple arch and the tented arch. Some systems count 3 types, lumping the two types of arches together. The loop is the most common type of fingerprint, the simple arch is the least common.

Identical twins may have 100% identical DNA but they do not share the same fingerprints. That’s because fingerprint patterns are affected by the environment in the womb.

Fingerprints And Forensics

Fingerprints were not used for identification purposes until the late 1800s. The first fingerprint identification system was developed by Francis Galton who was the cousin of Charles Darwin. He came up with system after collecting more than 8000 sets of prints. Prior to the adoption of fingerprinting as the standard for identification, law enforcement relied upon photographs combined with measurements of body parts. That included measuring the length of the middle finger.

These days, palm prints and prints from the soles of feet are also used for identification when fingerprints are unavailable or are not clear.

Animals With Fingerprints

Chimpanzees and gorillas have fingerprints which may not be much of a surprise. After all, they are the nearest relative to humans. Koalas also have them. No one knows exactly why Koalas developed fingerprints.

Hand of a Koala. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Canva

Fingerprints And Health

It’s almost impossible to get rid of your fingerprints. There are some people born with specific genetic conditions that cause them to have no ridge patterns on their hands or feet. Chemotherapy, as well as certain skin conditions, can cause temporary loss of fingerprints. However, they will come back over time in the exact same pattern.

I once read the hands of a client who had cut off half of the upper phalange of her index finger. When the wound healed over, her fingerprint grew back, folded over the top of what was now her new, shorter fingertip. It was mind-blowing!

What do you like to geek out over? Share it with me in the comments.