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There are many seemingly small things around us everyday which may not catch our attention. We take them for granted and may not bother to ask or understand why.

You may have noticed that after soaking your hands in water for a while, your fingertips wrinkle. But probably we won’t wonder why. However, some neuroscientists at Newcastle University took that to be their research and looked for a scientific explanation.

The scientists found that when we put our hands in water, the nervous system reacts with the water entering the skin and create wrinkles with decreased volume of the fingertips. Thus, it is easier for us to handle wet objects with wrinkled fingertips than normal dry ones. In fact, toes react in the same way too. Since our ancestors had to look for food physically, the wrinkled skin controlled by the nervous system may assist them to hunt and run faster in wet environments. The scientists are now considering furthering the research in two directions: one being more mechanistic on how the wrinkled skin works, while the other concerns human and animal evolution process.

Wanna become a creative person? One useful tips is to stay curious and open for all kinds of possibilities. We will be able to catch new ideas when they are here. A tiny discovery may turn into new invention benefiting many other people. Like this interesting discovery, people can apply this finding to improve the rain treads for shoes.