The Man from the South

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If the solider in, "The Man from the South" by Roald Dahl, lost his little finger in the bet, he would have difficulties making a proper grip which is vital for so many activities and occupations for being a soldier. One major component of being a soldier is pulling the trigger of a gun. All of your fingers working together creates strength, your thumb and pinky both play a large role in that. If someone loses their pinky, they will not be able to produce as much force, which is needed when handling a gun. The solider would need to go through extensive hand therapy to gain strength in his other fingers as well as learn how to modify his grip. I do not think that adding any sort of modifying equipment to a firearm is a safe idea but maybe he can sit down and prop his gun up on a small tabletop tripod. As for the wife, she, only having one finger and a thumb, will have far more issues than the solider. It should be noted that I am not sure which hand she is missing so many fingers from, but if she was grasping for something on the table, it was probably her dominant hand. There was a dress that was laid out on the bed, meaning she wears dresses, which typically require zippers. If she is missing many fingers, she would have a hard time grasping the zipper in a lateral or “key” pinch and provide enough power to pull the zipper up. She would benefit from the use of a zipper pull. It could be added to her dresses and provide her with more surface area to grasp on to and if it has a loop on it, she could thread her thumb through the loop and use that to pull it up. Both would have issues when drinking a fancy drink, “pinkies out!”

Until next time,

Sam the Student