Click 'CHINADAILY' above to follow us
These are the gestures we use every day, but they are way too simple when compared with the following hand tricks.
The "finger knot" challenge has gone viral since last week, with thousands of people showing off the flexibility of their fingers on social media at home and abroad.
The challenge asks web users to perform a weird finger-twisting trick and bonus points go to those who can do the trick one-handed.
Little finger on top of thumb
The craze first started last week when Chinese actor Zhang Yishan was seen making a difficult hand gesture in a popular TV show, which had 860 million hits on its internet pages as of Thursday.
Zhang made the gesture with his right hand, putting his little finger on top of his thumb while keeping the other three fingers straight.
Many netizens said it was achievable but acknowledged that they need the help of the other hand. And the most difficult thing is to keep the little finger on top of the thumb, rather than the other way around.
(We also tried the trick but failed. Actually, it's quite PAINFUL)
Those who can't make the gesture (like us), end up with hands that look like huge "chicken feet".
Make a knot with the fingers
The trend was spurred on by a challenge from Nigerian website KRAKS TV that posted this photo to its Twitter account.
Chinese TV anchorwoman Li Sisi posted a photo of her trying the challenge onto her Weibo page and challenged her followers to make a knot with their fingers.
She wrote, "If you tried twisting your fingers like this after reading this post, raise your hand.
"
As well as the challenges above, web users have come forward with their own difficult hand tricks. ☟
This is easy!
Notice the acute angle on the thumb?
More bizarre gestures
Seriously, this gesture hurts!
Eh....
Medical experts, however, warned that people should not force themselves to hold these positions if they find them difficult.
Jane Simmonds, a registered physiotherapist at the University College London, said those who could perform the difficult finger tricks are likely to have joint hypermobility, a common phenomenon present in 20 to 30 percent of the general population, according to the Daily Mail's report.
As Simmonds said, joint hypermobility is more common in children and females, and also in Asian and Afro-Caribbean ethnic populations, which may be a reason for the popularity of finger tricks in China.
Take care when you try it!
Sources: Chinadaily.com.cn, Daily Mail
Editor: Jiao Jie
Audio and translation of the story is available on our WeChat mini-app
