Curious About Nails

PODCAST 105: CURIOUS ABOUT NAILS

RELEASE DATE:  OCTOBER 4TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, SEASON 5.

O:  YAY.

D:  WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR ANOTHER SEASON FULL OF LEARNING, AND WE HOPE TO MAKE THIS THE BEST SEASON YET.  WE ARE SO EXCITED THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TAKING LISTENER SUGGESTIONS EVERY WEEK GOING FORWARD, SO WE CAN GET TO ALL OF YOUR AMAZING SUGGESTIONS.  PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT BY SENDING AN E-MAIL OVER TO CURIOUSKIDPODCAST@GMAIL.COM.  DON’T FORGET TO GIVE US YOUR NAME, AGE, AND HOMETOWN SO WE CAN GIVE YOU A BIG SHOUTOUT IN THE EPISODE WHEN WE GET CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR TOPIC.  LET’S GET GOING WITH OUT FIRST TOPIC OF SEASON 5.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HEY THERE.  YOU HAVE 2 LOYAL FANS IN HOLLADAY, UTAH.  NOAH (AGE 7) AND CLARA (AGE 5) AND THEY HAVE A REQUEST.  THEY’RE BOTH VERY CURIOUS ABOUT FINGER AND TOE NAILS AND WHY WE HAVE THEM.  WE’D LOVE FOR YOU TO COVER THIS ON A PODCAST, IF POSSIBLE.  KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!”

NOAH AND CLARA

O:  THANKS FOR THE E-MAIL!  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT NAILS FOR NOAH AND CLARA.

D:  AND WE CAN’T WAIT.  WE HAVEN’T DONE ANY EPISODES ON BODY PARTS, ALSO CALLED ANATOMY, SINCE WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT THE HEART ALL THE WAY BACK IN FEBRUARY, SO IT’S ABOUT TIME WE DO ANOTHER ANATOMY EPISODE.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE RECORD FOR THE LONGEST FINGERNAIL?

D:  HMM… I LIKE TO KEEP MY FINGERNAILS TRIMMED, BUT THERE IS ONE MAN FROM INDIA WHO LET HIS NAILS GROW FOR A VERY LONG TIME.  HOW LONG DO YOU THINK HIS NAILS GOT?   

O:  FINGERNAILS ARE MADE OF A PROTEIN CALLED KERATIN, WHICH IS THE SAME STUFF THAT’S IN HAIR.

D:  IT’S ALSO THE SAME PROTEIN THAT CAN BE FOUND IN ANIMAL CLAWS, HOOVES, AND HORNS.  LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE PARTS OF A NAIL?

O:  NAILS HAVE PARTS?  I FIGURED IT WAS JUST A NAIL AND THAT’S IT.

D:  THERE ARE A FEW PARTS OF THE NAIL.  THE PART OF THE NAIL THAT EVERYONE THINKS OF AS THE NAIL IS CALLED THE NAIL PLATE.  

O:  THAT’S THE HARD, TRANSLUCENT PART OF THE NAIL.  

D:  IT’S MADE OF SEVERAL LAYERS OF DEAD CELLS PACKED TOGETHER.  HAIR IS ALSO MADE OF DEAD CELLS, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY IT DOESN’T HURT WHEN YOU GET A HAIRCUT.  YOUR NAIL PLATE ALSO CAN’T CAUSE YOU PAIN.  IF YOU’VE EVER HAD NAIL PAIN, IT’S ANOTHER PART OF THE NAIL THAT IS HURTING YOU.    

O:  THE NAIL BED IS THE SKIN UNDER THE NAIL PLATE.

D:  THAT’S RIGHT.  THE NAIL BED CONNECTS EACH FINGER OR TOE TO THE NAIL PLATE.  NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR NAILS, YOU WILL NOTICE A THIN LAYER OF SKIN AT THE BOTTOM EDGE OF YOUR FINGER OR TOENAIL.  THAT’S CALLED A CUTICLE.  WHEN NAILS GROW, THEY GROW FORWARD, SO THE PART OF THE NAIL YOU CUT IS THE OLDEST PORTION OF YOUR NAIL AND THE PART AT THE BOTTOM EDGE, AROUND THE CUTICLE, IS NEW.  THE PURPOSE OF THE CUTICLE IS TO PROTECT THE NEW PART OF YOUR NAIL. 

O:  IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR THUMB NAIL, YOU WILL PROBABLY SEE A WHITE CRESCENT SHAPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE NAIL.  

D:  THAT IS CALLED THE LUNULA.  YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SEE IT IN OTHER FINGERNAILS AND TOENAILS, BUT IT’S CLEAREST IN THE THUMB NAILS.  THE REASON IT’S CALLED THE LUNULA IS BECAUSE LUNULA MEANS SMALL MOON, AND THE LUNULA IN YOUR NAIL RESEMBLES A SMALL MOON.  THE LUNULA IS PART OF THE MATRIX, WHICH IS THE AREA OF THE NAIL BED UNDER THE BOTTOM OF YOUR NAIL.  

O:  THE PURPOSE OF THE NAIL PLATE IS TO PROTECT THE MATRIX.

D:  THE MATRIX NEEDS PROTECTION BECAUSE IT CONTAINS NEVES AND BLOOD VESSELS.  IT HELPS TO MAKE THE CELLS THAT BECOME THE NAIL PLATE.  THE MATRIX EXTENDS FROM ABOUT THE TOP OF THE LUNULA DOWN, UNDER THE PART OF THE NAIL THAT ISN’T VISIBLE BECAUSE IT IS COVERED WITH SKIN.    

O:  NOAH AND CLARA WANTED TO KNOW WHY WE HAVE NAILS.

D:  SO, ONE REASON THAT WE ALREADY DISCUSSED IS THAT NAILS HELP PROTECT THE SENSITIVE PARTS OF THE FINGERS BENEATH THEM.  THEY ALSO HELP US CUT AND SCRAPE, AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY HELP US GRIP OBJECTS.

O:  NAILS ARE BETTER THAN CLAWS AT GRIPPING THINGS.

D:  EXACTLY.  CLAWS ARE CURVED IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR ANIMALS WITH CLAWS TO GRIP THINGS THE WAY HUMANS CAN.  CLAWS CAN SERVE OTHER PURPOSES FOR THE ANIMALS THAT HAVE THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, CLIMBING TREES.   

O:  NAILS CAN ALSO GIVE YOU CLUES THAT THINGS MAY BE WRONG WITH YOUR HEALTH.

D:  BLUISH NAILS CAN SUGGEST THAT YOUR BODY ISN’T GETTING ENOUGH OXYGEN, WHICH SUGGESTS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH YOUR LUNGS.  A DARK LINE BENEATH THE NAIL CAN SUGGEST POSSIBLE MELANOMA, WHICH IS A TYPE OF SKIN CANCER.  

O:  IF YOUR NAILS DON’T LOOK RIGHT, YOU SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR.

D:  IT COULD BE NOTHING, BUT THEN AGAIN, YOUR NAILS MIGHT BE TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING.          

O:  NAILS GROW FASTER IN MEN THAN WOMEN.  FINGERNAILS ALSO GROW FASTER THAN TOENAILS.

D:  FINGERNAILS GROW MORE THAN TWICE AS FAST AS TOE NAILS, WITH AN AVERAGE GROWTH OF THREE AND A HALF MILLIMETERS PER MONTH, VERSUS JUST ONE AND A HALF MILLIMETER PER MONTH FOR TOENAILS.  NAILS ALSO GROW FASTER IN THE SUMMER THAN THEY DO IN THE WINTER.  THE NAIL ON THE MIDDLE FINGER GROWS THE FASTEST, WHILE THE NAIL ON THE THUMB GROWS THE SLOWEST.   

O:  NAIL-BITING IS A BAD HABIT THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY TEENS HAVE.

D:  AND THERE IS A FUN MEDICAL NAME FOR NAIL-BITING.  IT’S CALLED ONYCHOPHAGIA.  ROUGHLY HALF OF THE KIDS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 10 AND 18 BITE THEIR NAILS, BUT MOST STOP BEFORE THE AGE OF 30.  ALRIGHT OLIVIA, IT’S TIME TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS THE RECORD FOR THE LONGEST NAIL ACCORDING TO THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS?

O:  THE LONGEST NAIL WAS 197.8 CENTIMETERS LONG.  

D:  THAT’S 78 INCHES.  THAT’S 6 FEET AND 6 INCHES.  THAT THUMB NAIL WAS NOT STRAIGHT, BUT IF IT WERE, IT WOULD BE ALMOST A FOOT TALLER THAN ME.  THAT’S ONE LONG NAIL.  SRIDHAR CHILLAL, THE RECORD HOLDER, HAD A COMBINED LENGTH OF 909.6 CENTIMETERS OF NAILS ON HIS LEFT HAND.  THAT’S 29 FEET AND 10.1 INCHES.  SINCE HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD IN THE YEAR 1952, HE DECIDED NOT TO CUT THE NAILS ON HIS LEFT HAND.  HE DIDN’T CUT THEM FOR 66 YEARS.  BECAUSE OF THE BURDEN OF HAVING TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF ALL THOSE NAILS FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, HIS LEFT HAND IS PERMANENTLY HANDICAPPED.  SRIDHAR IS UNABLE TO OPEN HIS HAND COMPLETELY OR FLEX HIS FINGERS.  HIS NAILS WERE FINALLY CUT 2 YEARS AGO, AND THEY ARE NOW ON DISPLAY AT RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT IN TIMES SQUARE IN NEW YORK CITY, IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED TO VISIT THEM.

O:  NO THANKS, I’LL PASS.

D:  YEAH, THERE ARE OTHER PLACES I’D RATHER VISIT FIRST.  BEFORE WE WRAP THIS EPISODE UP, WE HAVE A BIG THANK YOU TO MAKE.

O:  THANK YOU, SARAH W.

D:  SARAH IS OUR NEWEST PATRON.  SHE IS ONE OF THE AMAZING LISTENERS THAT WAS KIND ENOUGH TO HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW.  IF YOU REALLY LOVE CURIOUS KID PODCAST, PLEASE VISIT OUR PATREON PAGE FOR ACCESS TO AMAZING EXTRAS, INCLUDING NEWS ABOUT WHAT OLIVIA AND I ARE WORKING ON, A SHOUTOUT IN AN EPISODE, A COPY OF YOUR FAVORITE TRANSCRIPT WITH A HANDWRITTEN NOTE FROM OLIVIA, CURIOUS KID PODCAST MERCHANDISE, ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE PATRON ONLY EPISODES, AND SO MUCH MORE.  OUR INCREDIBLE PATRONS PROVIDE THE FUEL TO KEEP THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST TRAIN GOING, AND WE CAN’T THANK THEM ENOUGH.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  EPISODE 105 - NAILS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB NOAH AND CLARA FOR THE FANTASTIC SUGGESTION.  WE ROLL ON NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER LISTENER SUGGESTION.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.