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Ladies have been getting their nails manicured for, like, ever: Some 5,000 years ago, Indian women used henna inks to polish their nails, and centuries after that, the Chinese invented the first nail polish, a lacquer made from gum arabic, egg whites, gelatin and beeswax. We've been painting and polishing ever since.

Today, nails are big business. Last year American women spent more than $6.1 billion dollars getting their talons primped, polished and wrapped in acrylic. Below, some of the freakiest real and fake nails we could find. (Our friends at StyleList have a cool collection of wild nail art, too.)

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Fierce Fingernails
See how these grab you.
Flickr

Fierce Fingernails

    George W. and Polish leader Lech Walesa get nailed together.

    AP

    Wild style.

    Flickr

    Even George W. loves him some nails.

    AP

    Color coordination!

    Getty Images

    Not only are these nails long and strong, but they also glow in the dark and act as a beacon to passing ships in the night.

    Flickr

    Good nails are just a roll of the dice.

    Getty Images

    Lee Redmond's crazy long nails make us wonder how many words per minute she can type.

    AP

    Do the polka (dot)!

    Getty Images

    Insanely decorative fake nails, or finger fungus?

    AP

    Track genius and nail-a-holic Gail Devers keeps her fingers fly.

    AP