In my Stumbles (StumbleUpon) across the great internets I came across an interesting collection of points. One of them was that we don’t need any of our toes except for our big toe, and that our toes are just evolutionary bi-products of our ancestors (like the tail-bone). That led me to do a little more research on the matter, and I found some very interesting theories.
First one being that our big toes were once opposable like our thumbs (also the largest digit of its own domain), but that it has adapted to walking upright, and is crucial for that undertaking. I remember seeing reports about a football player breaking his big toe, and how it took months for him to start playing again because of the impact it had on his ability to walk, run, and play. I couldn’t believe it. But it turns out that it is the only, and thus most crucial, toe that helps us balance while walking upright.
Other ideas I found include the term “Morton’s toe” which refers to the second toe being longer than the first. Fun fact #457 about me: My second toe is longer than my big toe on my right foot, but not on my left. This accounts for the 1/2 shoe size difference between my two feet. Theories about the Morton’s toe, sometimes called a Greek foot (as opposed to and Egyptian foot where the big toe is longest), are that it is a sign of intelligence and beauty, and that it is a genetic disorder. That sounds about right. (highly reliable source) But does that mean that the right side of my body is intelligent, beautiful, and a freak, but that my left side isn’t? That could be a good sign that I am right in pursuing a career in the design world – a hint that my right brain is genetically superior to my left.
But I digress. The point of this post is just to inform all yalls that I could be supported in my single blade-toe theory of not-so-many weeks ago. Namaste.
