Something I’m thankful for:
Not having clubbed thumbs.
I know, it’s petty. But this morning in yoga, the woman next to me had clubbed thumbs and although (presumably) she’s had 40+ years to adjust to them, she definitely took pains to keep them hidden as much as possible throughout her practice. When our hands were extended toward the ceiling, she would bend her thumb and hide it behind her other four fingers.
And no, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t doing that because she could feel my curious eyes burning holes in them. I was discreet.
It got me to thinking though. I have only ever seen a handful of people with clubbed thumbs or toes. How rare is this trait? According to a website I found, apparently 0.4% of Caucasian Americans are estimated to have it. While that fact might not be all that interesting, the website I mentioned was somewhat intriguing.
Some guy actually dedicated his entire blog to the topic. I say “dedicated” because it looks like his last post was in November 2008. And I should be more careful in my use of the word “entire” because he really only has about five posts. (Perhaps when it came to typing, he found he was all thumbs and abandoned the effort?)
Anyway, what I found most fascinating was the number of comments people posted in which they had ONLY JUST REALIZED that their thumbs were different than other people’s. Or – even crazier – were people who had only one clubbed thumb and didn’t notice that it was different than their other thumb. What?!
I’m sorry, but if it looked like my big toe had made a prison break and ended up welded to my hand, I think I would notice. And even if I didn’t, you could bet that one of my mean third grade classmates would’ve announced it during a game of 7-Up (“Heads down, thumbs up!”).
That said, this morning when we were all facing the floor, dripping sweat in our downward dogs, she’s the only person in the room whose didn’t seem to struggle with traction. So maybe instead of being thankful, I should be envious?
Nah.
pithypants 
One Response to “Club Sandwiches? Yes. Club Thumbs? No thanks.”