Can I get a hand, please?

I lost my wedding ring several years ago. I blame the pandemic.

Back in the days of shutdowns and social distancing, I was sitting in the driver’s seat of my beautiful car when, having just interacted with someone outside my family circle, I reached for the heavily recommended hand sanitizer. At the time a bottle of this clear, often scented goop was like money in the bank. Everyone desired it, but only a few could find it on store shelves.

To properly clean my hands, I removed my wedding band and set it aside. After rubbing alcohol into my skin, I reached for the symbol of wedding vows. My still damp fingers failed to grasp the tungsten carbide; thus it slipped and fell into the recesses between the seats.   

And there it remains to this day.

I’m beginning to think there is a black hole to the darkest depths of the universe on my Honda’s floorboards, because several things have been lost down there over the years, and no expedition or treasure hunt has ever been able to recover anything of value. I have found half-eaten crackers and broken crayons aplenty, but never my lost jewelry. A bounty still stands on the lost item. I told my children that whoever recovers and returns the ring will be entitled to a $20 bill.

Still nothing.

The problem is that there are so many dark crevices along the seats that no amount of light can shine in every corner, and even if it could, the human hand is not dexterous enough to reach in every hole. My ring, most likely, will go to whomever I sell my car to whenever I decide to finally upgrade. We can just keep that between us. I have started wearing cheap rubber wedding bands, so it’s no big deal if I make a habit of dropping things.  

The solution to my problem, though, is currently being developed by a team of scientists in Sweden. Researchers are developing a robotic hand that will surpass the functionality of a biological one. What’s the problem with hands? A real one can only pick up one or two things at a time. This machine one, however, can maneuver and grasp multiple items at one time, with each finger operating semi-independently of others and bending in all kinds of ways our meat-and-bone phalanges cannot.

Furthermore, the hand is detachable from the host and can crawl around, much like the Thing in the Addams Family franchise. The implications of such a device are phenomenal. Besides benefitting the injured or handicapped, the robot hand could be the perfect tool for working in tight and/or dangerous spaces. From retrieving a dropped screw in ductwork to repairing industrial machines, this thing could make life easier for a whole lot of people.

All I want to know is, can I borrow one for a little while? I want it to root around under the seats of my car and see if it can find my wedding ring.

There’s $20 in it if it can.