If you are bored, please feel free to read a book (or peruse through the Refinery29 archives). Or watch a movie. Or catch up on any of the TV shows you've told everyone that you've already seen. Please do not try to break your own thumb.
That may seem like a pretty obvious statement, but apparently, it isn't quite so clear to everyone.
A meme that's been floating around the internet for some time now claims to show you how to break your thumb "if you are bored," by tucking your thumb into your fist and flinging it forward to "break" the ligament. The meme gained steam, however, when a Twitter user named Ryan claimed that his friend Jon tried it, with some unfortunate results.
JONATHAN ACTUALLY BROKE HIS SHIT LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/4nOIPgJ6nq
— rah (@RahSenpai) January 6, 2017
However, as Jon told BuzzFeed, he doesn't think he actually hurt his thumb (and he's also double-jointed).
“The pain was more caused by me doing it over and over again from attempting to test the meme, if that makes sense,” he told BuzzFeed.
“After so many attempts, my thumb felt weird. I can’t really explain the exact feeling," he said, adding that his thumb had locked into that position for a moment, but then returned back to the way it was.
BuzzFeed also did some sleuthing and found that the diagram the meme comes from is actually a way to diagnose de Quervain's tendonitis, an inflammation of the tendons in your thumb. If you perform the test and find sharp shooting pain along your thumb to your wrist, it's a sign of tendonitis, but this flex won't actually break your thumb.
However, that hasn't stopped Twitter users from trying it out for themselves and claiming that it works.
CAM JUST BROKE HIS THUMB OVER A TWEET pic.twitter.com/67TxVUoBfO
— DRΣШ JΩΠΣS (@drewj2017) January 6, 2017
maria really done broke her thumb bc of twitter SMH pic.twitter.com/zAFPCJo638
— steph (@stephanienbelt) January 6, 2017
okay so i saw this post and it was a wiki-how about how to break your thumb if you're bored... lmao guess who broke their thumb
— laura 😛👑 (@lauraslayss) January 6, 2017
I HIGHKEY ALMOST BROKE MY THUMB BECAUSE TWITTER TOLD ME TO
— delilah (@delilahgutierrz) January 6, 2017
My poor friend @CapitalDEEZ_ Twitter over here making him break his thumb ligament 😩😂 pic.twitter.com/wioEJOrp3M
— Gringaruvian 🇵🇪 (@KaySammikay) January 6, 2017
Hey, we get it: Curiosity can be irresistible. But this method doesn't work — and even if it did, we'd rather you didn't try and send yourself to the emergency room.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
No, Sweating Isn't A Substitute For Working Out