People do thumbprints and often maybe just a pinky print, but regardless, those doses are much more powerful, extended in duration, and can be very mentally and physically taxing. It kind of blows one right past the stage where all the subconscious issues are brought up. Rather it can often put you into a state of bliss or total confusion and/or even cause blacking out. People will often be locked inside their heads tripping with no idea of their surroundings, so it can be dangerous if not in the proper company with the right kind of sitters. They may remember some of it, or some part of the hallucinations, or they may not remember any of it with such extreme doses. It isn't a myth, but is often only done among those who have constant contact with it, and they have a tolerance and a lot more experience in these deep states.
As for absorbing through the skin, it will, but it helps if it's dissolved in a solvent, and it takes a much longer time to actually get enough in to cause a full blown trip. Laying a gram of LSD with bare hands while dipping sheets will definitely cause a pretty good trip, but it's definitely not like eating a sheet or anything. Some may compare it to a ten or twenty average hits, if that.
Hofmann got a little on his skin and experienced a minor head change, then returned the next day to ingest, orally, 250 mcg, or a quarter milligram. That is when he had his famed bike ride.
I do not advocate these large doses, but they really can be like chinacat described, they just definitely are not for everyone or even the average drug user.
