August 27, 2019

Lowe’s Exec In Trouble for “Small Hands” Gaffe

Joe McFarland, a Lowe’s executive paid $4 million per year, is in trouble over his description of a power drill:

McFarland, wearing a camouflage vest and seated in front of a sign that said “Lowe’s LoweDown,” went on to tout the features of this week’s spotlight item: “The thing is compact. It fits anywhere.” And a customer profile: “Some of our Hispanic pros with smaller hands, this is perfect for them.”

Well, that was stupid, and McFarland heard about it instantly. Still, I know you’re wondering: do “Hispanic pros” really have small hands? Naturally I’m here to help:

According to the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the formula for hand size in men is:

Hand Breadth = (Height – 86.783) + (.195 * age) / 5.122.

For a 35-year old, this suggests that the average Hispanic male has a hand breadth of 17.4 centimeters compared to 18.9 for white males. That’s a difference of a little more than half an inch. So McFarland may have been impolitic, but he wasn’t wrong. Perhaps we should send a $99 DeWalt 12 volt cordless drill to Donald Trump?

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