Why the Palm deserves a High Five

I bet you didn’t realize how unique and practical the palms of your hands were.

First off, the palms of our hands don’t tan or burn from the sun like the rest of our body. 

There are a few reasons for it.  Beyond the fact that they are rarely exposed to the sun like say, our forearms or neck… the palms of our hands don’t have as much melanin (the pigment that gives skin its colour).  The palms also have a thicker ‘callused’ layer which protects the skin from burning.

Other unique points about the palm…

It is always hairless.

It is one of the toughest layers of skin we have, yet it is also very sensitive.

In addition, unlike skin on other parts of the body, the skin on the palm is anchored down to the bones of the hand through a layer of connective tissue.

If it weren’t for this close attachment, the skin on our hands would slide around like a loose glove.  It would then be difficult to grip and twist something…like the lid on a new jar of pickles.

If the palm doesn’t deserve a ‘high-five’ it at least deserves some applause.