Thumbs: They're the new fingers

Charles Darwin never counted on the proliferation of mobile phones...

By Will Sturgeon, 25 March 2002 09:15

NEWS The prolific use of mobile phones in modern society is threatening to change the way humans evolve - with our opposable thumbs becoming even more important to the way we live. In under 25s the thumb has overtaken the other digits to become the most commonly used - largely due to the exercise it gets operating mobile phones or playing on handheld devices such as the Nintendo Gameboy. The findings are the work of Dr Sadie Plant who studied the effects of handheld devices in nine cities worldwide. The survey concluded that older generations still favour the traditional index finger.

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