Thumb pad

Thumb pads were a primary form of entry into a building or room in 2015. Rather than a doorknob which had to be turned and locked, a thumb pad identified the user by their unique thumbprint and welcomed the person once they passed security.

However, thumb bandits were known to steal people's thumbs to use them to gain access to secret or private areas.

AT&T were one supplier of thumb pads, as the thumb pad at the McFly residence bore this logo.

Because Jennifer Parker's thumbprint never changed over the years, Officers Reese and Foley of the Hill Valley Police assumed she was the Jennifer of the future and she was able to enter her home. To verify Jennifer's identity, the officers used a thumbprint scanner, which read the subject's details aloud (it is unclear as to whether the device had a screen on which these were also displayed) in the following order: 'Name'; 'Date of Birth'; 'Address'; 'Arrests'; 'Warrants'; and 'Convictions'.

In 2015, cash was rarely used as by this time thumbprints had also become an alternate form of currency; these were used like credit cards for transactions. Portable thumb units carried by charity collectors – one of whom was Terry – enabled people to give donations to such worthy causes such as the Hill Valley Preservation Society.

The Wild Gunman arcade game which Marty McFly played in the Cafe 80s was started by a version of the thumb pad.^[1]

ActualityEdit

Although not yet seen in brick-and-mortar hardware stores, thumb pads are already available for sale online, four years before the events of the movie take place.[1]