Reality: it is an active, involuntary vasomotor response. The nervous system constricts blood vessels under the skin to form ridges—acting like tire treads to channel away water and improve grip on wet objects. Patients with severed median nerves don't wrinkle at all.

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[–] alywindows3@feddit.org 0 points 2 hours ago

All 7 peer-reviewed PubMed/DOI papers (including Wilder-Smith, Lewis & Pickering 1936, Changizi 2011, and Kareklas 2013) are linked in the References section at the bottom of the article!