Why do you need nails?

A number of theories about the reasons for having toe and fingernails abound. Most relate to human evolution, suggesting that they are related to the claws which other members of the animal kingdom have. Fingernails especially are highly useful to perform daily tasks, and toenails sometimes come in handy as well, depending on the situation. While toe and fingernails may be vestigial remains of our wild past, most people who have lost nails agree that they are much more valuable than they look.

One theory about fingernails and toenails suggests that they are designed to protect the delicate nail bed. This supposition has been dismissed by many doctors, who point out that people who permanently lose nails develop tougher nail beds. It seems more likely that the delicate tissue or quick under the nail evolved in response to the presence of fingernails, rather than the other way around.

The more likely reason for the presence of fingernails and toenails is that they are useful. Fingernails help humans to scratch things, peel fruit, open things, pick away the outer layers of other edibles, undo knots, and perform a variety of other tasks. In a more distant past, fingernails probably assisted humans with the capture of body lice, as is still seen among the great apes. When the feet were used more like hands, toenails served a similar function, helping humans to open vital food objects, strip bark to build structures, and other such things.