Toe thumb people of the world, unite!
Did you know there is a phenomenon commonly called "toe thumbs"? Neither did I before I met my wife, Kari. Apparently one in every thousand people out there, mostly girls, have thumbs that resemble the big toe of a foot. Some have two toe thumbs, others have just one. I find all this fascinating. Especially because most people out there with toe thumbs, don't know they're part of a large group of people.
With Kari I didn't really take much notice in the beginning, except thinking her thumbs were a bit short and stubby. She's a pretty confident person, and she openly joked about her funny thumbs, but she also always hid them when I took a picture.
Kari told me she had met three other girls with the same kind of thumbs, and that was surprising and uplifting to know there are other toe thumb people out there. This was obviously something I had to look up on the internet. And not surprisingly I found plenty of other people wondering about this phenomenon. Here is what I've found:
The medical term for toe thumbs, is Brachydactyly, type D (BDD for short). Brachydactyly is greek for "shortness of fingers or toes". It is an inheritable syndrome, and type D relates specifically to excessively shortened tubular bones in the thumbs. It also goes under a number of other names, some less flattering than others:
While googling around, I also found a facebook group, a flickr group and long forum thread with people discussing the phenomenon. Don't you just love internet?! Sadly some people are not happy with their thumbs, and only interested in finding out if they can be remedied somehow. But on the bright side, most people seem really happy to find out they're not alone, exclaiming things like "My brothers and sisters! I've been looking for you all my life!".
I especially love that some people share their stories. Like this one girl whose boyfriend called her "Turtles", because each time someone looked at her thumbs she would hide them inside her hands. Just like a turtle hiding its head inside its shell. Another person commented the same thing Kari and I have experienced for years. That her thumbs are perfect when a conversation gets awkwardly quiet. We just say "Have you seen Kari's toe thumbs?!".
I hope this entry can help some more toe thumb people find each other!
Toe thumb people of the world, Unite!
With Kari I didn't really take much notice in the beginning, except thinking her thumbs were a bit short and stubby. She's a pretty confident person, and she openly joked about her funny thumbs, but she also always hid them when I took a picture.Kari told me she had met three other girls with the same kind of thumbs, and that was surprising and uplifting to know there are other toe thumb people out there. This was obviously something I had to look up on the internet. And not surprisingly I found plenty of other people wondering about this phenomenon. Here is what I've found:
The medical term for toe thumbs, is Brachydactyly, type D (BDD for short). Brachydactyly is greek for "shortness of fingers or toes". It is an inheritable syndrome, and type D relates specifically to excessively shortened tubular bones in the thumbs. It also goes under a number of other names, some less flattering than others:
- stub thumb
- club or clubbed thumb
- potter's thumb
- hammerhead thumb
- murderer's thumb
While googling around, I also found a facebook group, a flickr group and long forum thread with people discussing the phenomenon. Don't you just love internet?! Sadly some people are not happy with their thumbs, and only interested in finding out if they can be remedied somehow. But on the bright side, most people seem really happy to find out they're not alone, exclaiming things like "My brothers and sisters! I've been looking for you all my life!".
I especially love that some people share their stories. Like this one girl whose boyfriend called her "Turtles", because each time someone looked at her thumbs she would hide them inside her hands. Just like a turtle hiding its head inside its shell. Another person commented the same thing Kari and I have experienced for years. That her thumbs are perfect when a conversation gets awkwardly quiet. We just say "Have you seen Kari's toe thumbs?!".
I hope this entry can help some more toe thumb people find each other!
Toe thumb people of the world, Unite!
114 Comments:
I'm 62 years old, both thumbs are "toe thumbs." I hate my thumbs. When my children were born, the 1st thing I did was look at their thumbs. My children do not have my thumbs. I think 2 of my grandson's have my thumbs. You can't tell for sure until they are older. My mother has toe thumbs. No other sibling of my mother or myself has toe thumbs. My mother had an Uncle with toe thumbs. Your info on toe thumbs was very helpful to me. Linda
Both of my thumbs are toe thumbs. I grew up trying to hide my thumbs. My sister used to squeeze them to make them "normal," but of course that did not work. I never new anyone else with thumbs like mine until I was an adult. I don't know of any relatives or ancesters with them. I wonder if toe thumbs are linked to any other specific syndrome or birth defect. Susan
I, too, have a set of toe thumbs. However, unlike most people, I have always been proud of them! I'm known for powerful back massages and great ideas. (i raise my thumb in the air as a light bulb when these ideas come.) Ironically, i am the champion at thumb wrestling. No one can pin them because they're so short so they stretch their thumbs over and I pin them.
My friends think they're cute, at least that's what they tell me. Hey, Megan Fox (lead woman roll in the newer Transformers movie) has them too!
I throughly enjoyed your blog exploring the more technical side of these terminal members of my hand. Thanks Ramon.
-Kristin
I too have a toe thumb!I've been hiding all my life. I don not have any relatives immediate or distant that share this unique trademark. I sometimes wonder if my mother may have taken so medicine while she was pg with me to cause this. Any thoughts? Also, Anne Heche, actress, has 2 toe thumbs.
i have these and never once have i considered hiding them. i draw for a living, so they are certainly not a hinderance! the only thing i can't do is make a good señor wences-style thumb puppet. sigh.
www.thumbtastic.blogspot.com
I have toe thumbs and my dad has toe thumbs and I have 2 sisters with both toe thumbs and one sister with only one toe thumb. We have learned how to love our toe thumbs.
I have toe thumbs, my cousin has them, my great grandfather had them and guess what my new roommate has them its so cool! I read on some forums people saying its a turn off. .. well i have guy friends that love them and show them to everyone when I am around. its so cool to talk about! :)
One of my brothers and I have clubbed thumbs and one of my sisters has only one. It is said that they are considered royal. My Granny says that we are related to Sir Robert the Bruce (see Braveheart) so maybe it is true. Who knows.
Also, I have four kids and my brother has four kids and none of our children have our thumbs. It is the first thing we check after they are born and we have been disappointed all eight times. I would love to have a child with my thumbs!
Came across your blog mention of toe thumbs after a nurse yesterday commented on mine. I grew up thinking everyone else's thumbs looked funny and weak - like an extra finger in the wrong place. I can crack walnuts with mine ;-) Anyway - only once in my life did I see someone with matching thumbs, but was afraid to stop her and say "So glad to see someone else with normal thumbs!" Too young back then, I guess; pushing 60 now, and wouldn't hesitate to speak up these days. Thanks, Ramon!
I have a matched set of Hammerheads.
As a youngster I would practive "Thumb Fu" to ward off hecklers. I also passed around a rumor I could do pushups with them. I could win thumb wrestling matches just from intimidation. Plus the women love them ;)
I have no idea why it took me this long to explore an explanation for my thumbs... I am 36 and Yes I have toe thumbs... there I said it! I'm fine with it though. Before today I never knew it was an actual medical anomaly. I always joked and told people I had toe grafts or that they were genetically advanced for thumb wrestling. If you can't have the thumbs you love, love the thumbs you have. Its funny, I read one of the other comments and they mentioned that they were an artist, So am I (http://chmbrown.com/) My niece has my thumbs and she loves art as well and my brother and I say its the mark of an artist.
Chris
Cool to find Kari's pictures on the first google image site as I looked for brachydyctyly. A former colleague told me once there was a name for my toe-like thumbs, I never new before I was 25 there was a name for this and it was some genetic mistake. They don't feel like a mistake, I've always been extremely handy and able to make miniature art and crack walnuts as well! I've only met another toe-tumb once. Now I'm pregnant I was wondering if I could give them to my child as well and if there's a connection with other genetic stuff, like dwarfs, but I don't think so. I've never been ashamed of it, having these weird thumbs always made me feel special!
Eva, the Netherlands
I am a double toe thumber!! I have always been embarrassed by them. I also "hide" them when getting my photo taken! Mine seem to be very sensitive on the ends and my nail beds. Does anyone else notice sensitivity? I am happy to have found this blog! Thank you!
I have toe thumbs as well! I've never been ashamed by them or anything though. I think that "regular" thumbs look weird. Like a tall but fat finger.
I'm an artist too. Figured I would mention it since several other people did. :) I'm curious if any famous artists had toe thumbs.
I only know of one other person with toe thumbs, and she's my cousin. I'm 18 and she's 16...I think?
I have two toe thumbs, i did not know that it was a real thing until i looked it up on the internet one day while i was bored. My friend called them toe thumbs and the name went around to the rest of my thumbs. I am in highschool and it is not fun to live with them. My friends laugh at them, and it really hurts my feelings. I often hide them within my hands. I try to act like it doesn't hurt my feelings, but it does. My thumbs are a part of me, and when peole laugh it is like they are laughing at me, instead of just a part of me. -Em
I have 1 toe thumb, and as a previous blogger stated, I would do everything to hide it. I was ashamed and didnt even know why. It's different and for whatever reason seemed to "stick out like a sore thumb" haha! demanding it own attention. Looking back, I wish I had the confidence to say "Yeah, it's different, it's mine and I embrace it."
I too also wonder if my Mom while pregnant with me, had been exposed to some kind of harmful chemical resulting in this situation.
Bella
I have two to thumbs. I always knew of at least one other person who had them--my mother's cousin--so I always thought it was a genetic thing, but didn't know the specific name for it. I've never been bothered by them, even when people would point them out. One thing I do, though, is check out other people's thumbs to see if they also have toe thumbs. To date, I know six other people who have them. I secretly hope that when I have children, one of them has toe thumbs!
My brother said hospital folks at his work call them "thoes". I was Thumbelina as a child. I've never seen anyone else's toe thumbs till now! My mom used to tell me to say they are a sign of intelligence when someone makes fun of them. She took DES while pregnant with me.....
Also my toe thumb nails make killer staple removers!!
What is DES? What is the medicine your mother took while pregnant with you?
I am 13 and I have toe thumbs, I never really thought about hiding them, or anything, they're just a part of me and who I am, I like them because they make me unique! There's a guy in one of my classes that makes me show them to him every day! I always wanted to look them up and now I finally did! I'm happy to see that there's more of us out there!!! We should unite!!!
-Lexee
My beautiful daughter has toe-thumbs, but we lovingly call them
"tumbs".
Her other fingers are long and slender.
Did you know that actress Kali Rocha has tumbs, too?
awesome to se more people with this cool finger.
until today i belived it was a genetic thing just in my family or somthing, but ofcourse all toe thumb's could be connected. my dad has two, my cousin has one, and
i have to of them. i always felt special, but somthimes a bit ashamed when people point i out,but i ussually answers that it makes me an awesome bassgitar player. i can really hammer on:P
weird to see other tumbs like mine, like you all stole my identity or somthing.
by the way, i read some more and i would really like to hear some response to the project gutenberg.
(and yes, it is hand reading)
it describes the caracteristichs of different fingers and espessially thumbs. i found the desciption of personality to be quite right! scary.
might be a bit nerdy but i guess all of us have more than usual interest in hands.
enjoy, i did.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20480/20480-h/20480-h.htm
and yes, we should unite!
i have toe thumbs as well!!! they usually dont even get noticed unless i mention them, im ok with them :). i had a friend in high school tell me they were like that because i sucked on them too much when i was a baby!! i also didnt know this had an actual name and i am glad to see there is alot more other ppl out there with them. my mom, uncle and was told my greatgrandma had them too!!
OMG! That is too funny...I am the gal who posted the "turtle story" way back when on the Angeleno page!
Incredibly enough what I left out of that story was, I went on in life to become a Sign Language Interpreter for the Deaf. I had to use my hands all the time and they were in the public eye! You should see the Sign for turtle...it happens to be one of my favorite signs.
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/t/turtle.htm
Thums up everyon!
Love & Light,
Tee
woops I meant to say " I had to use my hands all the time and they (my thumbs that is) were in the public eye!"
Also of course I meant to say...
Thumbs up everyone!!! ;-)
Love & Light,
Tee
Hey Tee!
I found your story adorable, and I've told it to so many people (in addition to sharing it with the entire world through my blog that is). You becoming an interpreter for the deaf makes it even more fantastic.
I just had my wife do the turtle and had plenty of laughs with it.
Thanks for sharing!
Ramón
I knew others out there had the same condition. But I had no idea it was so common. I have always thought toe thumbs were a good thing. Instant conversation starter, potential toe replacement (or thumb replacement) How many can say they are born with their own inter-changeable body parts? Oh yeah - 1-1000. lol
Oh my goodness, I thought i was the only one with Toe Thumbs!!!! I also have two of them, and i have no other relatives with them, though i have a sneaking suspicion that my daughter has them aswell, hard to tell, all of her fingers are short and fat!! wow, I am just amazed that this is not such an uncommon thing after all!!
Belinda
I am so excited to see that I am not the only one! My boyfriend calls them stubs-have never heard the term toe thumbs and I don't really like that. I too have always hidden them in pictures. (A hard feat when you are holding a diploma I recently realized.)
I always thought that this was just a birth defect (although I guess it still could be) because I also have underdeveloped ears and double jointed fingers. Anyone else the same? My mom had to take some medicine so I wasn't born early that I think caused my barely-noticeable ear problem and I figured, could of caused the thumb issue as well. I have tried to look up a name for my ears (they are sealed at the top) and have failed but never thought to look up my thumbs. Interested to see that there is a name for them.
For research's sake: I am very creative, short, and have very small hands...heard some others on another site have small hands too. Don't you just love the internet-yay for not being alone!
Hey Stubs. Glad you found my blog. My wife also has one ear that is sealed at the top. What medicine did your mother take?
So apparently Megan Fox has toe thumbs too ahahah check out reddit.com for megan fox toe thumb
I'm glad you wrote this. I had no idea there were groups and if it werent for the revelation of megan foxes toe thumbs i would probably still feel like i was alone with my stubs.
Actually this is nothing more than a normal hereditary trait. You've heard of dominant and recessive traits .. ie brown eyes are dominant, blue eyes are recessive ? Well, believe it or not, club thumb is a DOMINANT trait and normal thumbs are a RECESSIVE trait !
This trait is known as Brachydactyly type D or "BDD".
It's no different than having attached earlobes as opposed to hanging earlobes or a bigger 2nd toe as opposed to a toe shorter than the big toe. It all has to do with something called Alleles.
In genetics you have usually 4 combinations of Alleles...for example... A a so if one parent is AA and the other is aa their offspring can be AA Aa Aa or aa. AA is dominant for the trait and called HOMOZYGOUS, Aa is also dominant but called HETEROZYGOUS and aa is recessive HOMOZYGOUS.
There is almost always going to be at least one offspring that has the recessive trait and the rest will all show the dominant trait.
I am a 36-year-old mother of four. I have toe thumbs and 3 of my 4 children have them, too. I have met about half a dozen non-related people in my life who also have them. My best friend in high school had them. But I never heard that 1 in 1000 people have them until I read this web site. I,too, have always thought they were fun and a good conversation piece. Some people are double jointed, some can make funny noises with body parts, some can do funny tongue tricks, but I have toe thumbs! I've even tried to convince people that I had a surgery when I was young and the doctors had to use my big toes to replace my thumbs. Some people totally buy into it, but others figure me out when they ask how I still have all of my toes.
I have 2 toe thumbs, and my daughter has 1...does that mean she can only come to half of the meetings??? ;-}
I had no idea that my thumbs were so common. I've always called them hammer head thumbs. I never hid my thumbs, I didn't see any reason to. My mom has always teased me asking me how I can do anything with them, and I just tell her the same way you do. It's all I've ever known. LOl You all are right, it's a great convo starter and I'm good natured about it. It normally starts a convo about what other kind of "freaky" things everyone else has, a 3rd nipple, being double jointed, etc. I, too, had noticed that Megan Fox has these thumbs and I about peed my pants when I saw her thumbs in Transformers!!! My mom's birth mother has these thumbs, so I've been told. I know they are inherited, but I don't know that I have noticed them on anyone else.
I don't have any issues using them with anything, except with crocheting or knitting. A thinner, longer thumb sure would come in handy! I had no idea there were groups for it! I'm gonna go a searching now!
Thank you so much for the information. I have only seen 3 other people with the same thumbs that I have. I think my thumbs are awesome... however, I do not have any known family members with these thumbs. Mine just were hidden, I guess. Thanks again!!!
Lauren Meyers
My husband is 47 and has 2 toe thumbs. I have always thought they were cute. His mom and sister also have 2. We have 3 children and 8 grandchildren none of which have them. My husband and his mother's toes (all of them) are short and stumpy. He is not artistic, but his mother somewhat is. Thanks for the posting's it's great to know there are others.
only one of my toes is a toe thumb! my friend just showed me this site, im hella stoked, this is sick, my thumbs look ridiculous bcause one is normal and the other is not. It is a great convo topic
My daughter just sent me this link. I knew there were others out there because anyone that knows about my thumbs are quick to tell me they saw someone else with them! I always told people it meant a higher intelligence! None of my children have them but I have a cousin with one. She was a thumb sucker and I always thought that was why that thumb wasn't a toe thumb!
My two thumbs are "toe thumbs", and though I'm still fairly self-conscious about them, it's not as bad as it used to be. Growing up I'd get funny looks and questions as to why they looked the way they look (which at the time I didn't know), and even the occasional ignorant comment like "that's what you get for sucking your thumbs" (I never sucked on any thumb of finger in my life).
Other than my grandmother on my dad's side, I think I'm the only one with these thumbs.
They're not the prettiest-looking, but oh well, I'd rather have them than no thumbs at all ;) Besides, I need them to draw!
im 15 years old and i have toe thumbs :p people call me, toe thumbs, megan fox's relative, stubs and TUM. i think its hilarious. i never knew i was different. [: nobody in my family has these thumbs. my ex boyfriend used to call me turtle too :D this world is really small and ironic. [:
I am a 42 year old woman who also has "toe thumbs" on both hands. I have been embarassed and ashamed all of my life. It has been a bit of a birth defect to me. I have always hidden them, as well. I have four children-none of which got them. It was the first thing I checked for. I recently had my first grandchild-a granddaughter. She is gorgeous, but has them. They are cute in infants, but not as you grow. I am grateful to see there are so many others out there, although I have met very few. I always felt like such a freak so now I at least feel like it isn't such a bad thing. Thank you.
Hi!!! Im from Ecuador, and I have two toe thumbs. I didnt know, till today, that we were so amny people!!! All my life I had to take every kind of mocks about my thumbs ... and it was really sad. Those people made me hate my thumbs... but now i feel like they are special. My girlfriend call them "turtles"... haha... she says she loves them and tells me that i should not hide them. Im trying to stop hidding them but it is hard. Im very glad to red all these comments... two thumbs up !!!
I have toe thumbs and I have always loved them. I've never hated them. In fact, I've always been sort of proud of them. Other people find them hilarious. They make me unique. I never thought of them as a deformity but i never realized how many other people have them too.
I'm 49 years old and only just now finding out there are so many others like me out there. I have one toe thumb which I inherited from my fathers side of the family. His brother has two toe thumbs. Out of 5 children I'm the only one with the toe thumb. I have hidden it all my life and I do it without thinking, just tuck it under under my palm. My sons where well into there teens before my youngest noticed my thumb. He asked if I had injured it and I said no, I was born with this. Both where shocked they never noticed it before. I have a grand-daughter who strongly resembles me and my son, and I must admit I was disappointed she didnt have my thumb. lol.
Aside from my uncle, I have never met anyone else with this, unless they hide it well, the way I did.
Now I think, Thumbs Up to everyone.
Im 32 male and have toe thumbs. This is just to funny.
1m 12 turning 13 only on one hand i have a toe thumb im okay of people looking at it but my friend always laughs at it but its okay cause 2 more other people have the same thumb as me so does my brother does it mean we are special in a way like you know we are very talented and im funny as well my friensds tell me that
1m 12 turning 13 only on one hand i have a toe thumb im okay of people looking at it but my friend always laughs at it but its okay cause 2 more other people have the same thumb as me so does my brother does it mean we are special in a way like you know we are very talented and im funny as well my friensds tell me that
I too have "hammer head thumbs" (no one has thrown that name out there yet!) As much as they are a little strange, I'd like to think of them as "unique". And can definitely attest to the fact that it serves as a great conversation starter. Sure they get some stairs here and there, but hey- it could be worse! Someone once told me that these "toe thumbs" will be more predominant in the next 10-15 years...we're not alone!
But they won't be as cool then :)
Megan Fox has them as well!
ps do you think wearing a ring on it makes it worse or better?
I have two, too! I loved reading all the comments. My story is weirdly similar to several already posted, so I'll spare you the details. :p Basically: I used to hide them... I'm artistic... I joked about my thumbs being cut off and replaced with toes... etc. I've only met a few people with short thumbs, so it's cool to read everyone's experiences.
wow...... when I was young and trying to wear Lee press on nails with not a one fitting my thumbs, never caught on to how different my thumbs were, until people would comment that they were toes..lol. Anyhow I have never run into a person with toe thumbs so it's great to see there are many out there :0) I love my thumbs..I'm a licenced massage therapist and my strong toe thumbs work miracles!! Thumbs up!
my God.. Im malaysian n one of u guys too... btw, i love my thumbs damn much.. n appreciate them as they are.. it made me popular during my teen ages.. n now, im a medical student n my colleque do always tease me to find my thumb's structure in the atlas of anatomy.. hehe
Omg I'm 21 and all my life I thought I was the only one not that it bothered me I just figured I was unique. Thank you for this Blog. I actually adore my thumbs they work just like any other thumb would. I have two of them. I never Hid my thumbs and when people asked i will show them. Its weird I never got teased for them, but teased for other things. I'm the only one in my family with Clubbed thumbs. I like being the only one it feels good to be different and unique in a world full of the same type of people. WE are picked to be different and blessed to be Unique
I am 13 years old.
I have 'toe thumbs', I hate them.
They embarrass me! Everyone is always making fun of them.. I feel like an outsider because I'm so different.. My boyfriend wouldn't even hold me hand cause he thought they were gross..
Is there any cure for this?! Please help.. I can't take it..
If it were me - I'd leave that boyfriend behind you!!
I have stubbed thumbs and always thought they'd look better on my feet, but hey, you should see my feet - my second toes are longer than the big toes - ?????
every now and then - some sharp wit works wonders against all the comments! Yeah to all of you - we're connected.
I two toe thumbs. I was always ashamed of them and hated sharing books with people at school because people would see them. I often did the "turtle." One of my daughters has two toe thumbs and one has one. My other two children don't have any. None of my siblings or other relatives have toe thumbs. I didn't want my kids to be ashamed of their thumb(s)and I guess I did a good job as the oldest has "toethumbs" as her email address. Texting with toe thumbs isn't the best but otherwise- no problems:-)
i have only one toe thumb, my sister and my friend had been making fun of me for and decided they would call me "toe thumb" so my friend decided to look it up on google...and it was a real thing. My sister makes fun of me for. So do my fiends they are always like "put your thumbs together" because i have one normal thumb and one toe thumb. oh and apparently toe thumbs are also caused from incest.. ahahhahaha
Cass
Well brothers and sisters, reading all these stories has made me laugh and laugh...I have two royal thumbs too...and I have always felt they made me unique and special...I shared this special bond with my sister and her son...we have been laughing at all the photos of our thumbs...they do look a bit rude! If you all don't mind I'm going to continue to believe I'm special and blessed, never seen others until today but admit I haven't been looking, interested to know descent of others, I am Nz moari, Cantonese and English mix...be proud of our uniqueness!
I hate the name toe-thumbs, that term alone makes the condition sound like a Frankenstein experiment. I'm sure whoever penned it was an ass-face...
I have toe thumbs and my daughter has them. Non of my 3 sisters nor my sons have them. My daughter is expecting a little girl soon. We'll see if the tradition continues...
I'm 15 years old yet i only have one toe thumb. Is there any reason why i only have one? Most everyone in my family thinks its because when I was younger I used to suck my thumb a lot and it stunted my growth.
Kloby
I'm 15 years old, both of my thumbs are clubbed. No one ever noticed this until 6th grade, no one else in my family has it and my parents had never heard of such a thing. I have met 3 or so other people people with my same thumbs since i found out about my uniqueness. I love my thumbs, they are a conversation starter and are often called cute and "adorable". I have done quite a lot of research on my thumbs and found that they were a birth defect of European royalty because everyone kept marrying their relatives. So in a way everyone on here is somehow closely related to Megan Fox! I have watched many movies and found other actresses with my same thumb! I often draw my thumbs and write poems to go with the drawings for my friends, I find my thumbs a blessing because I have something unique about me. Clare
I have two of these thumbs and am really quite fascinated to find there is a story to them. My mother and possibly my maternal grandfather had them but neither my brother nor any of my four children or grandchildren have. When I produced twins a Chinese friend said it must be my "lucky thumbs" so there's a nice new name for them!
All of my friends are constantly making fun of me because of my thumbs:(((
I don't understand the reason why my thumbs ended up like this because I haven't found anyone with similar thumbs in my family. I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only person with them, though:)
About 4 years ago I found a similar site about the toe thumbs. I was relieved like most of you. I too had been teased and made to feel different, ashamed, embarrassed and isolated as a child and later by foolish adults. I suffered from low self esteem because of it. I hid them and would not wear rings of nail polish. No way was I going to draw attention to them. When I found that site, I laughed until I cried as I read those all to familiar stories. An amazing thing happened. I was not alone, now was I ignorant of what caused it. The folks who were not ashamed gave me strength and I found HEALING finally. I AM PERFECT JUST AS I AM. I LOVE MY HANDS, THUMBS AND ALL! THANK GOD I HAVE THUMBS! I am 45 now and proud. As a kid I felt like an outcast, it was tough. I wished I had this site then. THANKS EVERYONE!
Wow, I can't believe I've gone 23 years without knowing more about this! Like some of the other people who have commented here, I almost instinctively tuck my thumbs under my palm a lot of the time because I'm a little self-conscious about them. Most of the people around me don't notice that I have "toe thumbs". I think three people outside of my immediate family have actually mentioned anything about my thumbs to me. My own brother said he only realized that my thumbs looked different than his a few years ago. Whenever I meet someone new, I almost always look at their hands to see if they have thumbs like mine, but so far, I don't think I've met anyone else who has thumbs like mine in real life. Hooray for the Internet. :) In addition to having "toe thumbs", I also have relatively small hands and fingers in general, and they're very useful for making things. :) On the other hand, having relatively short fingers makes simultaneously playing two notes that are far apart on the piano a bit more difficult. Thanks for making this blog!
I have two toe-thumbs and I think I got it from my grandma she only has one and then my great grandma has two. Im 14 and im ALWAYS hiding my thumbs because they look weird ! Honestly I dont like then and I wish I had normal thumbs but when I look at them I feel sort of special that God thought of ME to make these special thumbs.. but I love my thumbs no matter how much I hide them. My friends think their cute.
I've always been a little embarrased about the "thumbs". My teammates on my Water Polo team nick-named me Gecko& Gecky and I thought it was because I gripped the ball so well! :) You know, how a Gecko lizard would stick on a wall. Little did I know they were teasing me about my thumbs. Heehee..I thought it was pretty funny ;-D I too feel I am good at thumb wrestling and massages ;)
This was actually really inspiring to me. I am 21 years old and I've been hiding my "Toe thumbs" my whole life and the whole "turtle" thing that sounds like me I still to this day do that when someone makes a comment or I find someone being rude and staring. As a kid I used to get teased about it a lot and up until this point in my life I never researched anything about this and I find all of this information very enlightening. So I thank you for sharing your story
Frances
I am a 50 year old female. I am the only one of many aunts and uncles and cousins, grandparents , parents, sisters children and grandchildren that have these thumbs. I don't know how that happened. I must admit that there are times when I envy women with long beautiful thumbs but I except mine. I guess I could have been born with something worse. Same as everyone else. My thumbs are two little power houses. And they just naturally fit in my palm under my fingers when they need to.
I am a 54 year old female and have two toe thumbs, as did my Dad. Like many of you I grew up hating my thumbs and I always tried to hide them. The "turtle" comment made me laugh as it describes this so well. Delighted to know there are so many other people out there with big toes for thumbs.
I have toe thumbs and i hate them. I am 37 years old and just today a trainer at the gym was poking fun at me because of my thumbs, bringing me back to the horror of adolescence. My nickname in college was, of course, "thumbs". I have always hid my thumbs like a turtle, curled up in my hand. One of my co-workers asked me once if I was angry because my hands were always clenched in fists. I have often hoped I could get some sort of reconstructive surgery to have them be pretty and sleek. I am so relieved that my daughter was not born with toe thumbs. I suppose everyone has something they don't like about themselves, and I am lucky that I have my heAlth and just an ugly set of toe thumbs.
I am 28 and have 2 clubbed thumbs and i too do the turtle, i constantly hide them from people and feel very self concious if they are spotted. My mam also has 2clubbed thumbs. I have only this week looked it up on the interent and feel relieved to know i am not the only one! Not everyone can understand what it is like to live with clubbed thumbs..after reading all of these blogs i will try to embrace them :o) Sarah
I only have one toe thumb. However my father has two... It's funny one time my friend told me everyone he had ever met with thumbs like ours were very artistic. I have never met anyone else with them so i didn't know. I find it interesting to see that others here claim to be artistic. I wonder what's up with that
At the moment I am a 17 year old teenager, I always hide my thumbs. IT is especially hard when your friends want to paint their nails, but I don't have much to paint on. I do have 2 clubbed thumbs; however, my grandmother, and my half brother also have this disorder. I know I am not alone but being with my friends I am the only person that has them. I do turtle them. I hope someday I will be proud or at least not embarrassed.
No way! I thought I was the only one hahah. I have one toe thumb but I've always called them my odd thumbs cause the other thumb is completely normal. I thought I had one of my dad's thumbs and one of my mum's but now I know. You gotta love them though, it makes me unique and it's awesome to break the ice in convo - 'oh! Have you seen my odd thumbs? They're pretty weird' and then everyone is like 'woooooah' B)
This makes me so happy!!! For so long all my friends and I have been trying to figure out what happened to my thumb, not knowing it was an actual thing that other people have too. I only have one on my left hand. Some of my friends thought i got part of it cut off as a child. They always "Lovingly" picked on me about my thumb, saying it was my nubby thumb. The only time that it crossed the line is when they acted like it was some disgusting disease. I know they were just being silly, but i always just told them how much i loved my little thumb! i think it makes me unique, and honestly i do love it! I think it's cute. I don't think it's anything to be self conscious about. they function just as well as any other thumb (since i have one normal thumb) they are no different in function, just different in the way they look. Be proud of the thumbs we have!!! Don't let anyone tear you down.
All my life , I'm 52 now, have looked at other peoples' thumbs to see if anyone had them besides me. I have two toe thumbs and have always tried to hide them "especially" in high school. Now I don't care very much but it can be difficult with certain pieces of jewelry or manipulating other tiny objects as needed. Glad I'm not the weirdo I thought I always was cause of them. My mother just used to say when I complained " be grateful you have thumbs.". didn't really help.
I'm, 17 now and both my thumbs are clubbed. the thing is know one from my family has them unless they are long gone but my parents don't know either. only a few years ago i really noticed how different they were. i never to notice because it didn't matter to me until people at school saw. i was really happy to find others who had them. i'm really proud of them it just makes me feel that extra little bit different form others. everyone asks me if they feel weird or if they stop me from doing things or if they hurt and even if they were cut off when i was a kid. CLUBBED THUMBED AND PROUD is what i say.
I'm, 17 now and both my thumbs are clubbed. the thing is i know no-one from my family has them unless they are long gone but my parents don't know either. only a few years ago i really noticed how different they were. i never to notice because it didn't matter to me until people at school saw. i was really happy to find others who had them. i'm really proud of them it just makes me feel that extra little bit different form others. everyone asks me if they feel weird or if they stop me from doing things or if they hurt and even if they were cut off when i was a kid. CLUBBED THUMBED AND PROUD is what i say.
Wow.. This just made my day!! I'm 16 and I have one, yes I said one, toe thumb! I hate it!!!!! And often hide it! People normal don't notice it at first but when they do they make a big deal about it anD make fun of it.. My family always jokes about how I didn't have a thumb so them had to cut my toe off and make it into my thumb!lol Ive only ever met one other person with them and she has two of them! I wIsh I had two because having one bothers me, I have OCD! I often want surgery to fix it! My last boyfriend didn't notice them till we were dating six months and he thought they were cool, I hated how he wanted to see them!! I feel better knowing that other people have them! Also I'm really good at art too!hahaha Well thank you for this post, it's helped me feel better about myself!=)
BDD and Proud!
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/customize/product2.aspx?number=795265923&utm_medium=cp_social&utm_source=addthis&utm_campaign=CreateAndBuyPDP#.US5y9w460J4.email
I myself have one toe thumb, and it's my left thumb. People think that it's nifty, and ever since I was little I've told people wild and complicated stories to make it seem less weird. I adore them, because they make me different, which is fun ♥ I never knew what they were called, but it's a relief to know I'm not the only one with it. I agree, I am happy to find my brothers and sisters on this blog :D
Hi my name is Sian. I have two short thumbs, I used to dislike them as people used to laugh and make comments, but hey, I've begun to understand that its just how I am.
Its a shame how some people see BDD, some others are just ignorant and spread things that just are not true as this website shows: http://uaddit.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=11956
I am a woman and have them as well. My hands, wrists, and feet are also fairly small given my height. Anyone else notice this? The thumbs run in my family. My mother does not have them but her 3 sisters do. I have them but none of my female cousins do. My daughter does not have them. Being double jointed also runs in the family. I've become an expert at doing my own nails vs getting them done at a salon. Each nail must be perfectly shaped to fit my shorter, wider nails. I've always been embarrassed as well. There's always that moment when someone first notices your thumbs and is like "what's THAT?!" Lol.
Hello! I am a fellow "Thumber" I have created a website for people with Clubbed Thumbs" (BDD) to share and discuss!
www.mybigthumb.com
It is a new website, so please help me by joining and getting the conversation started. I will reply to every post!
Yay for dwarf thumbs! It runs in my family too! at least 3 of my aunts have them and my grandma does. My dad doesnt however. Those who have it have both thumbs. I didnt realize mine were deifferent until my sophmore year in highschool when we were going over genetic traits (including hitchhikers thumb)
I'm a hobby artist, hobby musician, and going into the equestrian career field. Let me just say I'm furious that my thumbs keep me from achieving my favorite chord(major 10th) in one hand and it makes holding the flute difficult as well.
I also have them! once I dated a guy that had them too, it was quite funny.
Mutant and proud!
I'm 16 years old and have two toe thumbs. Growing up, I've been extremely self-conscious of them. I am constantly trying to hide them. As a piano player, I'm worried it affects my playing. I've been teased about it, and am afraid people will think im weird or deformed. I wish SO badly I could be confident about them.
Also, I've had joint issues in my thumbs. Every once and awhile the joint gets "locked" and I'm forced to pop it back. Does anyone else have that experience?
I have a toe thumb too. It isn't that bad though. Of course I've made fun of, but... meh... my sister and brother have these thumbs too although my sister's twin doesn't. Also there's my aunt.
I didn't understand the condition until I read the book Emerald Mile that there was a name for this. I was concerned as a preteen but no one has ever discussed it with me. When I had my first child. My best friend first looked at his thumbs. It never occurs to me since it wasn't a big deal but I guess it has been to others.
I have two clubbed thumbs, and I get them from my dad, I think. My mom says they're perfect but I know she's only trying to make me feel better. I don't like my thumbs, once in a while people will comment on them. They don't make fun of me, but they just say something like "Your thumbs are short!" And then it never comes up again. I wish I could wear fake nails when I am older, but I cannot because they wouldn't fit my thumbs. Since thumbs are part of every day life, it is hard for me to do things that require or focus on my thumbs without noticing them and thinking, "I wish my thumbs were like other thumbs." Once, my dad was taking a picture of me, and he told me to give thumbs up. I was hesitant, but I did it anyway. I don't like when teachers tell you to give thumbs up when you are done with an assignment, because I don't like showing my thumbs to others like that. My thumbs cause a few troubles here and there, but I have to learn to live with it. I'm lucky I have thumbs, anyways.
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I have hammerhead thumbs too. And so does my son. But I also have weird big toes. I've always said I have hammerhead toes as well as hammerhead thumbs. My sons toes are like this too. Anyone else have hammerhead thumbs AND toes?
I have one, and call it my "dumb thumb." I always thought it was caused from breaking it when I was younger, until yesterday when I discovered other people have these!
Wow, I had to wait 40 years to find out that my thumbs have their own name! And all because it was mentioned in a TV series... I'm so excited to find this blog. Little bit less excited that I'm not that special after all ;-) Well, my both parents have short thumbs and growing up in Poland I have seen quite a few of them, so I did not think it was such an unusual thing. In US - only one - a server on a cruise in Hawaii, and it turned out he was from Poland too. I was totally convinced that it's a Polish or at least Eastern European thing. Hey, global community - short thumbs up!
Aga
Aga, that's an interesting idea. I'm half Polish, so that could explain why I have it. I wonder if anyone has ever done a genetic test to see if there are markers for it?
Hi Steph,
You may be on to something :-) When I saw your picture, I thought you looked totally Polish, I even clicked on it to see if you are from Poland. In the meantime - I checked my both sons' thumbs and none of them got my special - as my husband calls it - Gecko thumb. He was joking that I can hang on it from the ceiling like a Spiderman, and my 4 year old wanted to see it of course :-)
I seriously think the short thumbs were really common in Eastern Poland. I remember seeing it among farmers (my mom's village is close to Ukrainian/Belarusian border)- and I never seen just one. Next time I visit, I am going to thumbs count do some short report my findings! None of my Polish friends here have it, but they all happen to be from Western Poland. I have 3 siblings, and so far I checked with one of them via Skype (there are all back in Poland) and his thumbs looked pretty long, but I am pretty sure my other brother and my sister have the short thumbs - they seem to be more similar built to me as well - short and stocky. The brother I checked is slim and tall (I wonder if that has anything to do with it).
Do you know which part of Poland your family came from? BTW, since you have Polish background, I thought you may be interested in a book about Poland, written by James A. Michener - called "Poland" (available on Amazon). I found it totally amazing.
Aga
My family is from Krakow. I think they were farmers, but I'm not really sure. I've been unable to trace my lineage beyond when they came to America. I'm the only one out of my siblings and the polish family I've met that has this thumb, so it could be very recessive?
I am from India and have a pair of toe thumbs. My friends and family are pretty sure that these are the result of my frequent nail biting (I do bite nails frequently), but I have never thought so because, I bite all my nails evenly :P On this fine day, I thought I'd google 'Short Thumbs' and that's how I landed here and I am happy I did :) My friends and family fun-tease me frequently that I am some kind of a weirdo for having these. This time I would show them this post :) Surprisingly, none of my Parents, Grand Parents and Siblings have these.
I have a pair of 'toe-thumbs' and I inherited them from my fraternal grandmother (Bohemia, Czech). I was asked a lot of questions about them growing up (Do they hurt? Did you have an accident and they were chopped off?) and one friend always introduced me to others as 'Carrie and her amazing toe-thumbs!' I wasn't teased about them and often won at thumb-wars. I hadn't seen any other people with brachydactyly, so I assumed it was a very rare trait.
Lo and behold, when I met my husband, one of the first things he did was grab my hand and held up our thumbs together - we both had brachydactyly! His family is Polish Jewish, and I've seen in other comments that it tends to be prevalent. We double-checked, but if we have a common ancestor, they're way down the line. We affectionately like to tell people we have 'murder's thumbs'! It's definitely a conversation starter!
I mostly get annoyed when people call them weird or fat even though they know nothing about it. They're my thumbs. I'm sure they wouldn't like it if I called their nose or something weird and fat.. laughing at a condition someone has has caused me to be a bit self conscious but now that I've searched it up I feel much more confident and okay with it. I don't feel the need to 'fix' something that I've realised was never really broken.
Hey I have those too and once i'd used to hate them :( but now i thank God that i have fingers and can make them move��
I also have two thumbs too and was called thumbalina.
i have them too. does anyone wants to friends. that would be awesome. look for my number on messenger 218923294174. please i want to meat people like me.
I had no idea I had this "murderer's thumb" until a friend of mine, who was studying to be a forensic physical anthropologist, pointed it out. She told me at the time not to choke anyone as it would leave tell-tale marks on the neck of my victim! I had largely forgotten about this until I was reminded of her today. I never did look into what she meant, so I figured I'd google it and see what it was all about. Yes! Indeed! My left hand has a murderer's thumb! I never had anyone make fun of it or tease me about it. I had always noticed its nail bed was shallower than the one on my right, but other than that, I never really noticed. But, I'm glad to be part of the "club"! (Sorry, I simply could not resist.)
Hi there!
My daughter(12)told me a few weeks ago, her thumbs don´t look like the thumbs
of her classmates,and I didn´t know what she´s talking about-so I compared them with mine and was really astounded about how cute and small they look!...I guess I noticed that sometime ago, but I thought they are still growing....
Now I read a lot about brachydaktyly, it´s really Interresting!
My own hands are double jointed,some of you around here talked about that too....
...and my mom had two("normal")thumbs-at one hand!...OK, she had three thumbs,muahaha! (...normal, what is normal....)
(..she had an operation when she was 5...)
...but I never met other people with cute,lovely "toe"thumbs.
By the way, we are artists too somehow(drawing, painting..)...that´s sooo funny!!!
So hello to everyone, we are all different, but we are all the same!
(And sorry for maybe bad(german)english, muahahaha!!!!)
Hello! I don't want to tell anyone how to parent but I have toe thumbs as well and I am quite self conscious about them. As I am the only on in the family with them they always get shown off and I have noticed that even when I am alone I seem to hide them as if that will make them go away. Please all of the parents out there be careful with what you say because even though I laugh when people are laughing at me, it really knocks my confidence and it hurts. If you are a mother who says things (even if it is just as a joke) please bare in mind that you are the person they want to talk to when people bully them for anything and if they feel like they can't talk to you because you laugh as well then they won't talk to you. They will keep quiet and it will weigh on their minds. I am 13 and I am extremely conscious about my thumbs. People also called me Prince Charming because of my hair (I'm a girl so it wasn't a cpmpliment)so I came back with, 'well at least I look like Prince Charming, I wouldn't want to look like shrek.'
hi my name is abby and i too have toe thumbs. its been a crazy journey with my fat ass thumbs but im just livin life !! Hope you all get some inspiration out of this comment:)
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