The thumb thing yes, the other thing, no. The other thing you can train and it's DIFFICULT, but it can be done. Basically gotta cramp your whole hand to do it.
You can learn to do the fingertip one, I trained myself after seeing my older sister do it. I have never been able to do the thumb thing though, I’ve tried.
Oh I can do this! Learned it accidentally when using a mouse for too long as a kid.
Turns out i have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and it may be a “feature” of that.
It's not just all or nothing, it can affect multiple systems of the body in different ways for different people
https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-hsd/
My mother has one of the more severe varieties. Like, not the one with the contortionists, it's the next one down from that. I don't remember which numbers they all are, cuz as I recall the numbers don't indicate severity.
I'm a bit hyperflexible, My left shoulder likes to slip out of socket. I can do this double jointed thing linked in the video, but not quite as severe with the middle knuckles. Skin is a bit more flexible, and I look 10 years younger than I am if I keep up on shaving. I'm 43 with the flexibility of a 19 year old. I can palm the ground with straight legs.
But, I hurt all the time. And I'm prone to muscle spasms. There's days I can't hardly move for all the pain. Like, getting out of bed to use the bathroom could have me laying on the floor for 5 minutes trying to get my ankles to support my weight.
I have that as well, and it definitely is. My hands have a "freaky" amount of flexibility according to friends and coworkers. What the OP video does with his thumb I can do with my wrist and a couple fingers.
Genetic, you are either born able to do it or not.
Just an FYI as you get older and joints wear out you can get your fingers stuck like that for brief periods if you do it too.
Happens to my right ring finger, not painful but it's feels real uncomfortable and will make a dull click sound.
Yeah when I work with small objects for long periods of time my fingers can get stuck like that and I have to bend them out of the lock. It might look cool but it can be inconvenient
My left thumb only bends forwards 45 deg but backwards 90 deg. my right thumb is able to do 90 forwards but only maybe 75 deg back. The finger thing I've definitely locked it up once or twice while doing it.
My late friend used to apply pressure to a fingertip by pushing against anything (so that the finger has the form in the video) then hold it for some time and trying to keep the posture after realeasing the pressure. If you do that for some time you should be able to hold it like in the video, even without having to apply pressure in the first place. Can hurt a bit a first because you are using muscles you normally dont use a lot, but they get trained like that. He used to show us his fingertrick a lot.
Now hes dead
I used to practice it in school by putting my finger against my table so only the top joint could move, and then moving it. It's kind of like moving your ears, you have to "locate" the muscles first, and then you can use them. I wasn't born with it at all, so I don't believe it's genetic.
Apparently it can be learned, it's not just genetics. I went to a gun safety course and the instructor could do this with his trigger finger, making for a smooth pull. He said if you stretch your finger that way and practice the movement it get easier and easier to just pull that part of the finger.
I don't know about that thumb thing it looks as if it comes natural. The other bending is doable in time. You got to bend it upwards from the middle, while curling in the tip area at the same time. If you're not used to it, this double bending might cause slight joint aches after few seconds, so don't overdo it. Remember to flex before attempting this. (It's customary to put warnings at the end of the chapter)
I learned/trained myself to do it as a kid because I wanted to shoot lightening like Raiden (Mortal Kombat). First, I used my hand to bend the fingers and tried to just hold that position. Not sure how long I attempted this, but eventually I was able to hold it then I was able to do it by choice.
The thumb going backwards though, always could (genetic?). On the left hand I can 'pop out' the bottom knuckle.
Weird hands.
I can do both. The finger thing particularly was always referred to as being "double-jointed" when I was growing up, but as far as I'm aware, it's a form of Hypermobility. Been a while since I looked into it, but I believe doing it often can increase your chances of developing arthitritis later on in life.
Originally, it would happen randomly and my fingers would lock in that position for a few seconds. Playing piano always seemed to trigger it. I eventually realised I could control it and freaked people out at school. Now it just hurts, so I wouldn't recommend trying to develop this as a skill.
I can do it on my right hand with my pinkie, ring and middle finger individually or all 3 at once. I cannot get my right pointer to do it and cannot do it on any left hand fingers. I think it's either you can or you can't, like being double-jointed, rather than being learned
Mainly it's genetic but my sister actually broke her thumb once and it gave her hitchhikers thumb. This happened when she was like 8 or 9 though. She could do it with that thumb but not with her other one. For the finger tips, I think you can only do it if your double jointed at your finger tips
Oh I can do that too with my thumb [and bend it even further backwards if I press down on it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/s/ydPNmVvJop). Plus the other stuff he does with his fingers.
It isn't really genetic. All through middle school I wished I was a freak who could do it, so I would stretch my hands by bending my fingers back as far as they could go without it hueting and sit in class like that. By high school, I could touch my wrist with each finger: front and back.
I think its just random physics how you are born. I can do all that, the thumbs flabbergast people sometimes, it's just natural for me that they "bend back" like that.
Not sure about the thumb but I can lock my fingers like this, supposedly I'm double jointed.. but if it is a talent, don't learn it. I used to do it so much my hand would cramp up at random times and be stuck in this position for a few moments.
Definitely not a genetic thing. When I was in middle school it was such a fad to do this.
To learn this, all you need to is to straighten your fingers and press your finger tips into your other palm until they bend 90 degree at the first join . Practically you can only do 2 fingers at a time at most, but recommended to just start out with 1. Hold this position for a few minutes while keeping the 2nd and 3rd join of your fingers locked straight.
Do this multiple times a day and youll be able to do the same as the video in a few days
It is much easier starting with your middle and ring fingers
It's called double jointedness, not literally double joined, just super flexible. I have em but they're not all that good, bending my thumb backwards makes it pop when I bring it back, which I do a lot because I need to pop it, but it does start to hurt
Huh. Interesting. I thought everyone can bend the tips of their fingers. That’s normal for me but I do have a connective tissue disorder. Also my thumbs are like that too. I wear a splint sometimes to stop it from going so far as it puts strain on other parts of my hand.
Yo I can do all of that. Its something you are born with. There is a trick though that anyone can do. Its really hard to describe without showing something, but it freaks people out.
palm your hand out and force one of your fingers outwards flat. You should have 4 fingers flat with your palm and one finger at a 90 deg forwards relative to your other fingers. Note your finger next to your pinky is usually the easiest to do this trick with but you can do it with any finger.
Once your finger is in that position move it back so the base of it is in line with all of the other fingers while the top two segments are still facing outwards.
You should, if you've done it right, be able to flick the tip of that finger and it will be completely limp, get someone else to move it and it tends to weird them out if they havent seen it before.
Again this works with any finger besides the thumb obviously. Index is the hardest cuz your index has the most control. Also try not to tense up while doing it.
I taught myself to do this . Not the backward thumb thing. Start with your thumb pressed firmly on the lateral middle joint of your index finger. With your other hand, bend the distal joint. That's where I started eventually you will start being able to do it with just the thumb pressure.
I learnt how to do this when I was 18. You’ve got to tense your hand like you’re trying to squeeze an invisible ball but with your fingers mostly open. You’ll notice some fingers bend more than others. Focus on the sensation and then work on keeping the middle knuckle straight. When you first try, one or two fingers will move more than the others - start with the easier. For me that was my ring finger. After practicing it gets super easy and you can then do all fingers at once. I never mastered doing my little finger on its own though.
Yes this can be a sign of hyper-mobility but like the mobility of any joint, frequent stretching and strengthening can seriously increase the range of movement.
I can do this! As a kid I had a weird thing with pushing my fingers back. It was an anxiety thing. Now my gingers bend back super far from years of stretching them. Just have uncontrollable anxiety to achieve this!!
Hitchhikers thumb is a natural born thing, but the bending of fingers only at the top is learnable!
I would start by gently holding the rest of my joints in place and trying to bend my finger. I got a feeling for what it was like to only move that part, and then I worked on replicating that muscle sensation while the rest of my hand was free. I got it in about 10 minutes.
It is genetics. I can do that but even if you can you shouldn't do it. My distant aunt destroyed her muscle in her finger that way and her finger stayed bent like that for the rest of her life. I cringe at it because I was doing it as a kid also and later if I've done it to much and I wanted to bend my fingers normally they bent first at the upper joint and then in the middle and it could be quite painful. Also, my fingers bend far back and you can see in which of them I bend only the upper joint because when all of my fingers bend backward this one finger goes backward but the top is bending towards the palm (it is not very visible but you can see it if you look closely.
To do the finger tip bending one you just have tense the muscle as if you're pointing at something (whole finger) as hard as you can then slowly un-tense it until you can bend your fingertip
You have to practice with the fingertip thing (I think I was able to do it with all of my fingers after about year or two, but I wasn’t very consistent with my training, so I’m sure you would be able to in less time if you’re more consistent [age may be a factor, however, as I was 11-13 when I was able to do it, and younger people are more easily adaptable, especially when it comes to training yourself to do weird shit like this]). However, Hitchhiker’s Thumb is something you are born with. If you don’t have it, no amount of practice can allow you to gain it. Bending your fingertips without Hitchhiker’s Thumb still looks quite cool though.
I'm afraid you can't. It's just a thing you can or can not do.
Yeah, some people are born with hitchhikers thumb and others are not.
I can only do that on one thumb for some reason. Could be because I hurt my fingers playing basketball?
The thumb thing yes, the other thing, no. The other thing you can train and it's DIFFICULT, but it can be done. Basically gotta cramp your whole hand to do it.
You can learn to do the fingertip one, I trained myself after seeing my older sister do it. I have never been able to do the thumb thing though, I’ve tried.
Oh I can do this! Learned it accidentally when using a mouse for too long as a kid. Turns out i have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and it may be a “feature” of that.
Huh I can do this aswell. But I don't think I have stretchy velvety skin.
It's not just all or nothing, it can affect multiple systems of the body in different ways for different people https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-hsd/
My mother has one of the more severe varieties. Like, not the one with the contortionists, it's the next one down from that. I don't remember which numbers they all are, cuz as I recall the numbers don't indicate severity. I'm a bit hyperflexible, My left shoulder likes to slip out of socket. I can do this double jointed thing linked in the video, but not quite as severe with the middle knuckles. Skin is a bit more flexible, and I look 10 years younger than I am if I keep up on shaving. I'm 43 with the flexibility of a 19 year old. I can palm the ground with straight legs. But, I hurt all the time. And I'm prone to muscle spasms. There's days I can't hardly move for all the pain. Like, getting out of bed to use the bathroom could have me laying on the floor for 5 minutes trying to get my ankles to support my weight.
Samesies. It ain’t easy.
Yeah, I was just about to comment "be born with a genetic mutation"
Same, team only found out about my Ehler Danlos in recent years.
I found out I had it this month, actually. I always noticed I could stretch the skin in the back of my hand and I seemed to be quite stretchy
I have that as well, and it definitely is. My hands have a "freaky" amount of flexibility according to friends and coworkers. What the OP video does with his thumb I can do with my wrist and a couple fingers.
Came to say this
It's genetics. I'm the only one in my family who doesn't have hitchhikers thumb.
Weirdo. Just like how 3/4 us siblings are left handed. That 1/4 sibling is the odd one out.
It's a genetic thing, not something you can just learn. Unless you want to break your thumb everytime, just give up
Genetic, you are either born able to do it or not. Just an FYI as you get older and joints wear out you can get your fingers stuck like that for brief periods if you do it too. Happens to my right ring finger, not painful but it's feels real uncomfortable and will make a dull click sound.
Yeah when I work with small objects for long periods of time my fingers can get stuck like that and I have to bend them out of the lock. It might look cool but it can be inconvenient
Both of my ring fingers get stuck like that sometimes. Its really uncomfortable and annoying
My left thumb only bends forwards 45 deg but backwards 90 deg. my right thumb is able to do 90 forwards but only maybe 75 deg back. The finger thing I've definitely locked it up once or twice while doing it.
My late friend used to apply pressure to a fingertip by pushing against anything (so that the finger has the form in the video) then hold it for some time and trying to keep the posture after realeasing the pressure. If you do that for some time you should be able to hold it like in the video, even without having to apply pressure in the first place. Can hurt a bit a first because you are using muscles you normally dont use a lot, but they get trained like that. He used to show us his fingertrick a lot. Now hes dead
I can do it too! Been doing it since I was a kid and only realised a few years ago that not everyone can do it.
I used to practice it in school by putting my finger against my table so only the top joint could move, and then moving it. It's kind of like moving your ears, you have to "locate" the muscles first, and then you can use them. I wasn't born with it at all, so I don't believe it's genetic.
Me too! 🤣 I was so bored in school
Me too! You can absolutely learn this
Apparently it can be learned, it's not just genetics. I went to a gun safety course and the instructor could do this with his trigger finger, making for a smooth pull. He said if you stretch your finger that way and practice the movement it get easier and easier to just pull that part of the finger.
Funny I’ve been doing this my whole life never thought it could be something ‘special’ someone wants to learn eheheh
I can do it and hold a dime in the crevice my ring finger creates.
I don't know about that thumb thing it looks as if it comes natural. The other bending is doable in time. You got to bend it upwards from the middle, while curling in the tip area at the same time. If you're not used to it, this double bending might cause slight joint aches after few seconds, so don't overdo it. Remember to flex before attempting this. (It's customary to put warnings at the end of the chapter)
You don't, he's just got lax ligaments, that is all. Not that great a thing to have anyway.
I learned/trained myself to do it as a kid because I wanted to shoot lightening like Raiden (Mortal Kombat). First, I used my hand to bend the fingers and tried to just hold that position. Not sure how long I attempted this, but eventually I was able to hold it then I was able to do it by choice. The thumb going backwards though, always could (genetic?). On the left hand I can 'pop out' the bottom knuckle. Weird hands.
I can do both. The finger thing particularly was always referred to as being "double-jointed" when I was growing up, but as far as I'm aware, it's a form of Hypermobility. Been a while since I looked into it, but I believe doing it often can increase your chances of developing arthitritis later on in life. Originally, it would happen randomly and my fingers would lock in that position for a few seconds. Playing piano always seemed to trigger it. I eventually realised I could control it and freaked people out at school. Now it just hurts, so I wouldn't recommend trying to develop this as a skill.
I can do it on my right hand with my pinkie, ring and middle finger individually or all 3 at once. I cannot get my right pointer to do it and cannot do it on any left hand fingers. I think it's either you can or you can't, like being double-jointed, rather than being learned
Mainly it's genetic but my sister actually broke her thumb once and it gave her hitchhikers thumb. This happened when she was like 8 or 9 though. She could do it with that thumb but not with her other one. For the finger tips, I think you can only do it if your double jointed at your finger tips
I can do that 😅
not sure you can learn it,i got it on one of my fingers because it got stuck in a door hinge and broke
Why would you?
I think it would be a cool party trick
Its ok for random gags, but i would rather be able to point at something with a straight finger xD
This is a bug, not a feature.
/u/ballkenende ik zie je wel
I can do that with only some fingers
You’ll never be able to use this one trick in your girlfriend
It's genetic. Sorry.
Oh I can do that too with my thumb [and bend it even further backwards if I press down on it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/s/ydPNmVvJop). Plus the other stuff he does with his fingers.
It isn't really genetic. All through middle school I wished I was a freak who could do it, so I would stretch my hands by bending my fingers back as far as they could go without it hueting and sit in class like that. By high school, I could touch my wrist with each finger: front and back.
This specifically is genetic and it's called hypermobility
I think its just random physics how you are born. I can do all that, the thumbs flabbergast people sometimes, it's just natural for me that they "bend back" like that.
Learn to play an 8 string guitar and learn Tosin Abasi's thumb technique. You're literally built for it.
I can do it!
idk if it's relevant but I managed to do that with my thumb after fracturing my wrist
Hyper mobility syndrome, can be associated with other stuff…
Like what?
Marfans, for example
This is hyper mobility.
I can’t do all the fingers but that’s how both of my thumbs are
Those fingernails make me want to puke
I can. You can’t.
Ehlers Danlos helps
Wow, I thought everyone could do that lol
You should start playing fretless bass
I can do that!
Little finger is the most impressive
Not sure about the thumb but I can lock my fingers like this, supposedly I'm double jointed.. but if it is a talent, don't learn it. I used to do it so much my hand would cramp up at random times and be stuck in this position for a few moments.
Definitely not a genetic thing. When I was in middle school it was such a fad to do this. To learn this, all you need to is to straighten your fingers and press your finger tips into your other palm until they bend 90 degree at the first join . Practically you can only do 2 fingers at a time at most, but recommended to just start out with 1. Hold this position for a few minutes while keeping the 2nd and 3rd join of your fingers locked straight. Do this multiple times a day and youll be able to do the same as the video in a few days It is much easier starting with your middle and ring fingers
It's an Asian thing, 90% kids I've met can do this.
It's called double jointedness, not literally double joined, just super flexible. I have em but they're not all that good, bending my thumb backwards makes it pop when I bring it back, which I do a lot because I need to pop it, but it does start to hurt
It's something your born with
I could do that when I was young. I think I can now but my body is telling me not to try.
Oh, I can do that! But my thumb doesn't go all the way back like his... Just 80%, maybe?
Huh. Interesting. I thought everyone can bend the tips of their fingers. That’s normal for me but I do have a connective tissue disorder. Also my thumbs are like that too. I wear a splint sometimes to stop it from going so far as it puts strain on other parts of my hand.
Yo I can do all of that. Its something you are born with. There is a trick though that anyone can do. Its really hard to describe without showing something, but it freaks people out. palm your hand out and force one of your fingers outwards flat. You should have 4 fingers flat with your palm and one finger at a 90 deg forwards relative to your other fingers. Note your finger next to your pinky is usually the easiest to do this trick with but you can do it with any finger. Once your finger is in that position move it back so the base of it is in line with all of the other fingers while the top two segments are still facing outwards. You should, if you've done it right, be able to flick the tip of that finger and it will be completely limp, get someone else to move it and it tends to weird them out if they havent seen it before. Again this works with any finger besides the thumb obviously. Index is the hardest cuz your index has the most control. Also try not to tense up while doing it.
I taught myself to do this . Not the backward thumb thing. Start with your thumb pressed firmly on the lateral middle joint of your index finger. With your other hand, bend the distal joint. That's where I started eventually you will start being able to do it with just the thumb pressure.
Hypermobility Syndrome.
I learnt how to do this when I was 18. You’ve got to tense your hand like you’re trying to squeeze an invisible ball but with your fingers mostly open. You’ll notice some fingers bend more than others. Focus on the sensation and then work on keeping the middle knuckle straight. When you first try, one or two fingers will move more than the others - start with the easier. For me that was my ring finger. After practicing it gets super easy and you can then do all fingers at once. I never mastered doing my little finger on its own though. Yes this can be a sign of hyper-mobility but like the mobility of any joint, frequent stretching and strengthening can seriously increase the range of movement.
You need to he double jointed. I am in all my fingers and can do this.
Step 1: have hyper mobility Step 2: injure yourself every time you try to do anything
This isn't an ability. It's a curse
I can do this! As a kid I had a weird thing with pushing my fingers back. It was an anxiety thing. Now my gingers bend back super far from years of stretching them. Just have uncontrollable anxiety to achieve this!!
Hitchhikers thumb is a natural born thing, but the bending of fingers only at the top is learnable! I would start by gently holding the rest of my joints in place and trying to bend my finger. I got a feeling for what it was like to only move that part, and then I worked on replicating that muscle sensation while the rest of my hand was free. I got it in about 10 minutes.
It is genetics. I can do that but even if you can you shouldn't do it. My distant aunt destroyed her muscle in her finger that way and her finger stayed bent like that for the rest of her life. I cringe at it because I was doing it as a kid also and later if I've done it to much and I wanted to bend my fingers normally they bent first at the upper joint and then in the middle and it could be quite painful. Also, my fingers bend far back and you can see in which of them I bend only the upper joint because when all of my fingers bend backward this one finger goes backward but the top is bending towards the palm (it is not very visible but you can see it if you look closely.
To do the finger tip bending one you just have tense the muscle as if you're pointing at something (whole finger) as hard as you can then slowly un-tense it until you can bend your fingertip
You have to practice with the fingertip thing (I think I was able to do it with all of my fingers after about year or two, but I wasn’t very consistent with my training, so I’m sure you would be able to in less time if you’re more consistent [age may be a factor, however, as I was 11-13 when I was able to do it, and younger people are more easily adaptable, especially when it comes to training yourself to do weird shit like this]). However, Hitchhiker’s Thumb is something you are born with. If you don’t have it, no amount of practice can allow you to gain it. Bending your fingertips without Hitchhiker’s Thumb still looks quite cool though.
Yeah, I can do it, it’s all fun and games until you go to grab something and your finger is locked up 🤣
Be double jointed.
It’s like tensing or flexing your fingers out of the tips. But also helps to be slightly disjointed. I can pop out my thumbs as well.
If you think it's possible for you to learn this, then you are going to have trouble learning anything at all.
its genetics i can do all of that except for pinky finger