Past Five
Last updated: 10 November 2026
How many do they count to with one hand?
This is a Tier it, not a rank from highest to lowest. Several countries can share a tier. The measure is Numbers one hand can show. The tiers on this card are 12+, Counts to 10, Counts to 5. You drop each country into a tier and lock it in. A right tier locks. A wrong one turns red. You get five tries.
India counts the lines between finger segments, four to a finger, so one hand reaches 20. China counts to five like the United States, then shows six through ten as gestures on that same hand: six is the thumb and the pinky. The United Kingdom runs from thumb to pinky, the United States from index finger to thumb, and Iran starts at the pinky, so each of those stops at five. The article does not name Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, or Egypt.
Who sits in which tier
| Country | Tier | on one hand |
|---|---|---|
| India | 12+ | 20 |
| China | Counts to 10 | 10 |
| Iran | Counts to 5 | 5 |
| United Kingdom | Counts to 5 | 5 |
| United States | Counts to 5 | 5 |
12+: India. Counts to 10: China. Counts to 5: United States, Iran, United Kingdom.
The values on the chips are the ones the tiers name. India is in the 12-or-more tier because the fact says India counts the lines between finger segments, four to a finger, so one hand reaches 20. China is in the counts-to-10 tier: the fact says China counts to five the way the United States does, then shows six through ten as gestures on that same hand, with six as the thumb and the pinky. The United States, Iran, and the United Kingdom are in the counts-to-5 tier. The fact distinguishes them anyway: the United Kingdom runs from thumb to pinky, the United States from index finger to thumb, and Iran starts at the pinky. The source is a BBC Future article from 3 September 2021, and the fact says the country methods are the ones that article describes, including a quote from Andrea Bender on how much finger counting varies. The fact also says the article does not name Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, or Egypt, so those countries are not on this card.
The source line is: BBC Future, How the way you count reveals more than you think, 3 September 2021. The country methods are the ones that article describes. Andrea Bender is quoted there on how much finger counting varies. Nothing on this page adds a country or a tier that the puzzle does not already list. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210902-how-finger-counting-gives-away-your-nationality