Counting by 10s vs. 20s

[Charles C Doyle]

A very common "birth defect," easily fixable in infancy nowadays.  Anne Boleyn had it (she wore gloves)--a detail that became significant during her trial for witchcraft.  The long-time relief pitcher Antonio Alfonseco had it (could that give a pitcher an unfair advantage?).

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of W Brewer [brewerwa at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 8:05 PM
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Come, come, lady and gentlemen. Duodecimation possibly has an anatomical
etiology. I recall a (National Geographic or Discovery) documentary that
included an interview with an English family characterized by six fingers
on each hand. Ya never know. After all, the English foot has 12 inches,
obviously subtexting a longer version of the "This Little Piggy Went to
Market" tale, for certain Englishmen.

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