January 8, 2016
Welcome to the first ever Noted in Style ‘Friday Fact’ of 2016. This is a brand new feature, designed to give you a (mildly) interesting two minute distraction from your work at the end of the week. This year we’ll be featuring 52 snippets (tenuously) linked to what we do. We start the whole thing off today by answering one of life’s great mysteries for you – why are paper cuts so flipping painful?
Well, whilst it tends to lie there looking all innocent and pure, it turns out that paper is actually a pretty dangerous thing. Firstly at a microscopic level it is quite rough and therefore acts like a jagged saw blade. This means that it actually does more damage to cells and nerve endings on your finger than something like a scalpel or other straight metal blade would. Secondly, paper leaves behind tiny fibres and chemical residues, meaning that the wound gets further irritated after being made. Ouch!
Unfortunately, most paper cuts occur on fingers, which have a greater concentration of sensory receptors than the rest of the body – so it’s a perfect storm of a vulnerable limb and and viciously cruel weapon.
For those of you who like your facts in sound and colour, or who want to see that we’re not making this stuff up, you can watch this Scientific American video that explains it with a little more detail.
So, now you know why that tiny cut makes your eyes water and stings so much. In light of this we will be supplying complimentary protective gloves with every notebook purchased in 2016. PS. This last fact may be a lie.
This Friday Fact was brought to you by Laura Turner.
Dr of Paper Cuts.
(may be a final lie)
