Most of us have either sworn a pinky promise or at least heard about it. For the uninitiated, a pinky promise is an act of intertwining your pinky fingers together to signify a promise. How many times have you told a secret to your best friend and pinky swore on it?Even during our childhood, we pinky promised our friends to keep our candies and secrets safe with them, isn't it?This promise is said to have originated in Japan and in some areas people also kiss the palm to seal the deal. This swear is considered to be the highest regard of all the promises.One possible origin of this traditional promise is Japan, where it is known as ‘yubikiri’, meaning “finger cut-off”. Supposedly, people in Japan believed that if you break a pinky promise, you have to cut off your pinky finger in return. Yes, creepy isn't it? Some even say that this promise was created by the Japanese mafia, Yakuza.While in modern times, especially amongst close friends, it has become an informal way of keeping a promise. Although, we should thank our stars that this promise no longer requires the sacrifice of our smallest finger, otherwise it would have surely gone extinct. One thing is for sure, our beloved pinky finger sure has a dark past.In case you did not know, here are some interesting alternatives to the good, old pinky promise.1. In the ancient Hebrew culture, if a person wanted to make an oath or a promise to someone, they had to touch the thigh of the said person and then only promise it.2. Writing an oath with blood.Thankfully over the period of time, this strange tradition has transitioned more into a word of promise. So the next time you think of breaking off a pinky promise, you might want to rethink that decision.