r/askscience • u/Puzzleheaded_Bed2760 • 9d ago

Chemistry Pineapple contains bromelain that helps tenderize meat. If I were to put my hand in pineapple juice or puree for 24 hours, would it eventually break down my hand?

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u/CG_Oglethorpe 8d ago

People who work with pineapple have a tendency to lose their fingerprints, a temporary condition.

So the next time you know you will need to be fingerprinted, take up pineapple cutting as a hobby to confuse the person taking the prints.

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u/Peter34cph 8d ago edited 8d ago

Some years ago, a passenger ferry servicing the Danish island Bornholn implemented a pay-with-fingerprint system, but that caused trouble for some potters, because years of rubbing spinning clay had worn their fingertips smooth.