Question: why do we have fingernails?

Louisa Chard answered on 21 Jun 2010:

Many animals have claw or talons and fingernails are thought to probably be our version. During our evolution, they ahve been good for scratching, climbing, and other tasks that require little precision. Our more recent ancestors developed fingernails through the process of evolution because fingernails helped them to pick parasites off themselves and others. Think of monkeys picking fleas off themselves.