Lab holds largest collection of toenail clippings – with over 30,000 people donating samples [Video]

10:39 EST 30 Dec 2024, updated 11:35 EST 30 Dec 2024

When it comes to toenail clippings, do you put them in the bin, flush them down the toilet, or throw them out the window?

Or, do you send them to a research facility?

While this last option may sound strange, 30,000 Canadians have indeed cut their toenails, scooped up the shards and dropped them into clear bags to put in the post.

In fact, the collection – housed at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia – is in the book of Guinness World Records as the largest collection of toenail clippings.

But rest assured, the clippings represent a serious a scientific study rather than a creepy personal collection. 

Scientists say toenail clippings give a measure of the potentially toxic elements that we have been exposed to in the past few months, such as arsenic. 

Toenail analysis, combined with a knowledge of where each donor lives, can reveal specific locations where potentially …