Pankie fangers.

After giving up my seat on the metro during a spontaneous offload this morning due to a "door malfunction," I found myself sandwiched next to some dude, as was everyone else on the overcrowded train at this point. So the guy puts his hand on the glass to support himself... and I noticed something that, ironically, is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me: all his fingernails were trimmed down EXCEPT for his pinkie, which was long yet clearly filed down and manicured.








I'm sorry but this really irritates the hell out of me. This is the second time this week I've encountered the stray pinkie nail. On Saturday I went up to Mazza Gallery to do a little shopping, and when I reached out to give the parking garage guy my ticket, he grabs it with this HORRENDOUSLY long pinkie nail. I feared for my life of being maimed. My thing is this: if you're not a straight up pimp (and I question whether the long solitary nail is necessary even for them), what the hell do you need that singular nail for?? Don't EVER let me go out on a date with a guy and have him reach for a fork and let me see that nail. What were you planning to do with that thing, caress my face?? And if you're going to have one long nail, why not have ten? I just don't understand the need for ONE. Maybe I'm missing something, and perhaps this phenomenon could be explained. Still, I think it's gross.

Addendum: I have decided to google "long pinkie fingernail" on the internet. Behold! Answers on Wikipedia.

Purpose of Long Pinky Fingernail: One theory is that it is simply to look cool. Or to clean ears, since it's safer than a Q-Tip. Or for nose picking. In some Asian cultures, men will grow a long pinky nail to indicate wealth and status, since it proves that they obviously do not do manual labor. And last, a long nail is often useful for mundane purposes, and the pinky nail is least likely to get in the way, and the easiest to avoid breaking.

Further, Yahoo Answers, and the "best answer":

There's a stereotype that they use it for drugs, but there's another explanation as well: in some Asian countries (this is mostly done in China, but it's also sometimes seen elsewhere), it's considered a sign of wealth and elegance for a man to have at least one long nail. (This is usually the pinky because it's the least used finger.) The reason for this is it shows that they do "upper class" work (like working in an office, administrative position, etc.) as opposed to manual labour; keeping their nail long and in good condition (not dirty, chipped, etc.) is supposed to show that they have a job that doesn't require a lot of manual labour. Also, some men who play guitar are known for having long, well-maintained nails on the hand they play with- this is done as an alternative to using a guitar pick because many players say it's easier and gives them more control than using a pick.

I still hate it.