KNUCKLE CRACKIN'

An article today caught my attention and took me back to my younger years...and my nephew Kim.

The article was about people who crack their knuckles...and how you feel about those people who do. Does it make you cringe when you watch them? Does it drive you crazy...like listening to the girl who continually pops her gum?

Kim...was the world champion best knuckle cracker that I ever saw. It made me cringe when I would watch him...and it looked painful. He could snap every joint in his hand...and many times...he would do it multiple times. I mean even that little joint at the end of your little finger. And when he got done crackin' all his knuckles...I watched him crack a few of his toes! He was a Jedi Master at it.

I think his mom...(my sister Joan)...would tell him to quit..."you'll have arthritis so bad when you get old you won't be able to use your hands"...but he didn't listen. What son listens to his mom anyway...particularly when you know you're getting on their nerves...just a little?

According to the article I read, the author says: "There's not any hard science to explain why it's so addictive, but certainly people speculate it's one of those activities that releases nervous energy."

He goes on to say, you're not actually cracking anything. "That sound you hear is synovial fluid vapor cavities--or gas bubbles--in the fluid around your joints. With certain amounts of pressure, you can make those bubbles burst."

And while studies show that knuckle crackers are no more likely to get arthritis than anyone else, they do 'up' their chances of hand discomfort (swelling, less hand strength, and finger or joint injuries).

To my knowledge...Kim's still a knuckle cracker. I just know...if there was ever a better knuckle cracker out there...I don't want to meet him. It was gross enough to watch and listen to Kim.


Dan