Maxima vaccine update

It’s no secret that 2020 was a tough year for everyone in the world, In an effort to expedite returning to ‘normal’ we were able to secure vaccines against SARS COV-2 for those in Maxima who wanted it. And like most people, we were feeling sick after the first dose. But after two days of headache, high temperature, and pain all over the body we got over it. Still, our hands hurt for over a week, after the pain subsided we noticed something was wrong. After the vaccine, we got left with a second thumb. But as a technology company, instead of complaining, we decided to adapt.

2 Weeks later…

We wanted to get back to the office as quickly as possible. and on one hand, we achieved that but on the other, we have a new challenge in adapting things to our extra finger. We felt weird with the third thumb, why would we even need it? It was hard to get used to it but in a few days, we noticed that it's nothing short of an advantage. Such as:

• It makes us type faster, we get 10 hours of work output from 8
• We can send more LinkedIn invitations and reach more candidates
• Project management got easier, we complete tasks 30% faster thanks to that extra finger
• We can hold more knives when cosplaying as Wolverine
• It's a great conversation starter!
• Our grip is firmer
• We do better card tricks
• The guitar riffs are SICK!
• It’s easier to make lemonade when life hands us lemons
• We scroll through memes faster
• Keyboard shortcuts are even better

The downsides

You are probably wondering about the downsides. Well, sometimes we don't know our strength, and fist bumps can get out of hand fast. Some office devices are not designed to use a second thumb, so we decided to solve this problem. Right now we are working on prototypes:

• A cup that can be held with one finger
• A mouse with extra space and buttons
• New gloves
• Maxima tattoo for the new finger
• A lollipop holder
  

Conclusion and tips

Nobody knows how we’ll react to the second dose of the vaccine but we look forwards to it! We won’t take the 2nd shot on the same arm, because we want more power and possibilities. If you’re also going to get vaccinated then make sure to take it on the side you want the second thumb, it will come in handy in the future. Stay safe and have some fun on this April fools day ;) 

Dani Cloud designed the Third Thumb in 2017 and it proves that we can use technology to improve our capabilities. To read more about it check the interview with her at YouFab. The Third Thumb is currently part of a neuroscientific research study, by studying the neural correlates of hand augmentation, we can explore the boundaries of neuroplasticity, seeing how it can be harnessed to improve usability and control of prosthetic devices.