Fascinating Foot Facts
Feet serve the dual purpose of providing mobility and stability.
Ligaments and tendon contain collagen fibres that have the strength of steel.
Foot issues can signal health problems elsewhere in the body; e.g., a non-healing foot sore may indicate diabetes
Spoon-shaped nails often suggest anaemia.
Feet have approximately 250,000 sweat glands.
Foot binding in China, was once a practice that involved wrapping the feet tightly in cloth for a prolonged period of time. This discouraged foot growth with the result that feet remained small, albeit deformed. Small feet were considered beautiful, this practice faded out in the 1900s.
Ancient Egyptian and Greek statues often sport the left foot forward, an artistic expression that, to this day, remains a mystery.
Toenails and fingernails are mainly composed of keratin, a protein also found in hair and skin.
Smelly feet are caused by bacteria, not odourless sweat.
The big toe carries 40% of the total weight carried by the toes of the foot.
During the Vietnam war, some men shot off their big toe to avoid being drafted.
The big toe carries the most weight of all the toes, bearing 50% of the load.
The big toe is the last part of the foot to push off the ground before taking a step.
Prosthetic (artificial replacement) toes date back to ancient Egypt.
Podophobia is the term used to describe a fear of feet.
The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the entire body.
Apparently, most women are embarrassed about their feet.
The average person walks about 100,000 miles in a lifetime, which is equivalent to traveling around the earth four times.
25% of the bones in the human body are located in the feet.
The most common cause for foot and leg amputation in the UK is diabetes.
