A new social media craze is sweeping the internet after a post claiming that all men have a scar on their left index finger. Rather than being a sexist stereotype, the weird quirk is actually backed up by medical research.

The cutting issue was first brought to wider public attention by Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, who first spotted the weird claim on a Facebook group.

Initially skeptical, he took to Twitter after discovering that he possessed not just one, but two scars on his left index finger.

А правда, что у всех мужчин на левом указательном пальце есть шрам? Прочитал об этом в дагестанской группе фб и не поверил бы, но у меня тоже есть такой шрам (не цитата). — Kashin⚓Kashin⚓Kashin (@KSHN) August 21, 2018

Ой, у меня их тоже два - 1988 и 2005 (нож кухонный). — Kashin⚓Kashin⚓Kashin (@KSHN) August 21, 2018

Soon, male followers started posting pictures of their scarred index fingers and sharing their own mishaps of how they gained their scars.

Women too got in on posting their own index finger scars showing that it wasn’t just men who were clumsy enough to take chunks out of their left hands.

что за дискриминация :( pic.twitter.com/wEBxy90VJA — Синяя Аксиния (@blueberry_tree) August 21, 2018

In RT’s London and Dublin offices, a quick survey of the men found that the vast majority had their own index finger scars (including the writer).

But is it all just sexist nonsense or is there any scientific data to back this online claim up? While people gain scars in different ways – ranging from surgical to ones caused by mishaps with bread knives – a study published in 2013 by scientists from the University of Dundee found that in general, males exhibited a higher incidence of scarring than females.

What's more, the survey also found that males were more likely to show scarring on their left hand whereas females were more likely to exhibit scarring on their right hand.

And the area of the hand where males experienced the most scarring? The research found that contrary to existing literature, scarring on male hands occurred most frequently in the index and middle finger corridor regions.

So while we all may have scarring on different parts of our hands, science backs up that, if you’re male at least, there’s a good chance it will be on the index finger of your left hand.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!