Stuff Your Dad Knows

Your kids are going to try chewing their nails. And even though you parents do it too, you'll feel obliged to discourage your children from the habit. Ethan Millard and Brian Foxx have some ammunition for you: You can spread disease. You're putting unwashed fingers in your mouth! You can also damage the tissue around your nail and that can lead to a gross infection. You can also spread things like warts across your fingers. It's also socially damaging. People get grossed out by it. They also chat about some other interesting features of nails including that the health and features of the nail can indicate illness in other parts of the body. In fact, white stripes across the nail bed may indicate kidney problems! Your fingernails can also show if you've been poisoned or if you are nutrient deficient. Lots of people want their nails to grow faster, but human nails grow at about 3mm per month. Your middle finger will usually grow fastest and your pinkey toe will usually grow the slowest. Stuff Your Dad Knows is