I can't believe there's...

...really such a thing as a "hand model."

This article, "What a Hand Model Knows About Skin Care," was in the New York Times today, not -- repeat, not -- in the Onion. ("All the News That's Fit to Print"?)

From the Onion, I mean, the Times (my emphasis):

“I actually used to be embarrassed about admitting I was a hand model, like I should be contributing more to society than nice nail beds,” said Adele Uddo, who, like many women in front of the camera, declined to reveal her age. “But I figure we’re all doing our part.”

Ms. Uddo is one of the most successful parts models in the world, able to command as much as $6,000 for a day’s work, she said.

The work can be tedious. She can’t text or read because often two manicurists work on her simultaneously. The process is repeated for up to 15 nail looks in a day.

Some hand models baby their hands, wearing armorlike gloves and keeping their arms raised to avoid bloating. (For George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” oven mitts did the trick.) But Ms. Uddo considers herself a “rebel hand model,” even hiking, a favorite pastime. 

Hiking? Who would have thought hiking would be a risky activity for a hand model? She doesn't walk on her hands, does she?

She does admit to moving slowly and deliberately so as not to break a nail, avoiding cooking and limiting caffeine so her hands don’t shake on tight close-ups. She moisturizes with an all-natural lotion she makes herself and met a reporter for tea wearing fingerless gloves, which she kept on indoors.

“We women can be hard on ourselves, but every woman should be able to find some part of her that she most likes,” Ms. Uddo said.