Spit and Modesty: Yoma 47a

Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit, a high priest during the Second Temple period, was famous for his enormous hands. He also is featured in this very strange story:

Once Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit was speaking with an Arab in the marketplace. Some spittle flew out of the Arab's mouth and landed on the Rabbi's clothes [rendering him unfit for service in the Temple that day.] Y'shevav, Rabbi Ishmael's brother, performed the ritual duties in Rabbi Ishmael's place. Thus, their mother saw two of her sons serve as High Priest on a single day. It is also told that once Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit was speaking with a foreign king in the marketplace, and some spittle flew out of the king's mouth and landed on Rabbi Ishmael's clothing [again rendering him unfit for service in the Temple for a day.] Rabbi Ishmael's brother Joseph served in the Temple in his place, and thus their mother again saw two of her sons serve as High Priest on a single day.

Our Rabbis teach that Kimchit [Rabbi Ishmael's mother] had seven sons, and all of them served as High Priest. The Sages asked Kimchit, 'What have you done to merit such an honor?' She replied, 'The roof of my house never saw my braids.' [That is, she was extremely careful about keeping her hair covered at all times.] The Sages replied to Kimchit, 'Many others have done this, but without the same result.'

We Love Fat Priests: Yoma 47b

As part of many ritual sacrifices in the Temple, a priest would take a handful of flour and sacrifice it on the altar. The Talmud, being the Talmud, wants to know exactly what a 'handful' is. A problematic question is whether any flour left between the fingers after a priest scoops up the flour with his hands is actually part of the handful or something extra. Our sages were unable to determine the status of such flour. Therefore they mandated that, whenever possible, fat priests, whose fingers are chubby enough that no flour gets caught between them, should perform this sacrifice.