Polydactyly, meaning “many fingers or toes,” is a congenital condition where individuals are born with one or more extra digits on their hands or feet. It can occur on its own or be associated with other genetic syndromes. I had never met anyone like this until now.

When we were in Vietnam, we took a little bamboo boat ride. These are traditional round boats that you can use to paddle up and down a river. One of the rowers was doing some stunts in the middle of the river, and when my wife climbed out of his boat she looked down and noticed “a lot of toes.” She made a comment, and we subsequently discovered that the man had six toes on each foot and six fingers on each hand.

We hadn’t really noticed it, until my wife pointed it out. It’s not like he made an effort to show that off, but when we realized it he was more than happy to pose. I am sure he knew an extra tip was involved.

When I googled the condition, I learned that there are many different  types. The one our friend above exhibits is quite rare, where all digits are fully developed and functional. Worldwide, polydactyly occurs in about 1 in 500 to 1000 births. That’s a lot more than I would have thought. It’s obviously not something we look for when we meet somebody, and it’s not something people would necessarily point out about themselves.

We enjoyed meeting our friend above and got his permission to take a picture.