[sci/bio] Whoa: water wrinkles not from absorption

[siderea]

(h/t Metafilter)

From The Best Facts I Learned from Books in 2015 by Kathryn Schulz: Why do your fingers and toes turn all pruney after soaking in water? I’d assumed that the answer was osmosis, until I came across the real explanation in Cynthia Barnett’s “Rain.” Since the nineteen-thirties, Barnett writes, researchers have known that people with

Comments

[fabrisse]

I already feel smarter from reading that.

Happy New Year.

[brooksmoses]

Huh! I didn't know that either. Weird, and interesting.

[cloudsinvenice]

This delights me!

[squirrelitude]

I like this idea, but I'm not sure I've noticed my feet get pruney -- perhaps the amount of callus prevents this, but that would call into question the notion raised in the quote that the wrinkling is for better grip. I assume that ancestors who went barefoot had pretty good calluses!

I *think* I've noticed something else, though. For a few days one time, the whorls on my foot deepened and became much grippier. I don't remember under what conditions this happened, although I think I was going barefoot quite a bit around then.

[shava23]

Soooooo cool!