Rule of Thumb
Opposable thumbs
A thumb that can be placed opposite the fingers of the same hand. Opposable thumbs allow the digits to grasp and handle objects and are characteristic of primates and teenagers.
I was in a Best Buy looking for a toaster, I know it's not "sexy", but I need my bread toasted for my BLTs. As I wandered the aisles I noticed kids playing the Wiis, xBoxes and Playstations - they all stood planted to the ground and the only part of their body that was moving was their thumbs.
I put up my thumb and it blotted out the planet Earth.
Neil Armstrong
The kid in front of me at the cashier's line was texting up a storm and giggling. My phone buzzed and it was a text message from a friend, I whipped out my thumbs and texted back. Handy things those thumbs.
This generation is growing up with thumbs that fly on mobile and gaming devices, muscles supporting the thumb movements are getting bigger and injuries are increasing. According to Virgin Mobile 38% people suffer from sore wrists and thumbs from texting. However it's not the kids who are getting the Thumb injuries, it's the "Olds" who are suffering "Blackberry Thumb" because Thumb Usage was limited to typing - kids are born with game controls in their hands.
The fingers must be educated, the thumb is born knowing.
Marc Chagall
The time of the Thumb has come, and our future rests with those two stubby appendages.
Smell, sight, sound, touch, taste and now the Thumb. The Thumb works the controls, it sends out messages, it is our connection to the world. When you think about it, not having thumbs would be really annoying. Hitting the space bar while you type would mean the index finger would have to step up. Grabbing your Starbucks coffee would be a two hander. Texting, forget the keyboard, you would have to go with the one finger touch pad and come up missing a few consonants or be in a constant fight with the phone guessing what you are trying to type and offer suggestions that only infuriate you even more.
Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said 'What a good boy am I!
We constantly stick our thumbs into whatever pie comes our way, anything that brings us closer to an ever expanding world. Our thumbs do not blot out the Earth, it exposes it.
For thumb exercises and sage advice on how to Safe Texting:
PractiseSafeText.com
Quick Fact: The average amount of text message per month is 357. The average amount of cell phone calls is 204. In 2009 2.5 billion text messages are sent daily in the United States.
Image: Ophelia Chong / Touched from Afar
