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Why do I get all wrinkly in the bath? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
Sometimes after getting out of the bath, your fingers and toes are all shriveled up, like prunes! Scientists have a few different ideas about why this happens. One likely reason is that when you spend a long time in water, like the bath or a pool, the outermost layer of skin on your fingers and toes soaks up some of the water around you!
By soaking up some water, your fingers and toes become a little bit bigger in size—so, the best way for the extra, water-swelled skin to still fit at the tips of your hands and feet is for them to squish up and wrinkle!
According to this idea, the reason your whole body doesn’t shrivel up is because the outside layer of skin on your hands and feet is different (thicker) than the skin on the rest of your body. It’s the thickest outside layer that soaks up most of the water, so the thinner skin, like on your tummy, doesn’t act the same way in the water.
Sweat it off!
No matter how raisin-like you get, once you’ve been out of the water for a while, the water you’ve soaked up leaves your body again and your fingers and toes return to normal! (Whew!)
Can you think of one of the main ways water might leave your body? If you guessed sweat, you’re right!
What have you learned about why we sweat and how it’s helpful??
By soaking up some water, your fingers and toes become a little bit bigger in size—so, the best way for the extra, water-swelled skin to still fit at the tips of your hands and feet is for them to squish up and wrinkle!
According to this idea, the reason your whole body doesn’t shrivel up is because the outside layer of skin on your hands and feet is different (thicker) than the skin on the rest of your body. It’s the thickest outside layer that soaks up most of the water, so the thinner skin, like on your tummy, doesn’t act the same way in the water.
Sweat it off!
No matter how raisin-like you get, once you’ve been out of the water for a while, the water you’ve soaked up leaves your body again and your fingers and toes return to normal! (Whew!)
Can you think of one of the main ways water might leave your body? If you guessed sweat, you’re right!
What have you learned about why we sweat and how it’s helpful??
- Meyer, Laurence. “Why do fingers wrinkle in the bath?” Ask the Experts. 02 Apr. 2001. Scientific American. 14 Nov. 2010
- Myers, Jack. “Why do my hands get wrinkly when I take a bath?” Science Question. Highlights Kids. 14 Nov. 2010
- “Why do fingers and toes wrinkle in the bathtub?” Everyday Mysteries. 13 Oct. 2010. The Library of Congress – Science Reference Services. 14 Nov. 2010
Tryin to figure out for my son why on;y his fingertrips get wrinkly int he tub. Got it! ty!