Will we ever stop having toes?
If in the future we will have fins and cat eyes, only evolution can tell, but we already know that humans have evolved a lot since they came, and with that evolution, behavioral, economic, social and, of course, changes also took place. Anatomical
Today we are bipeds, and there are already people born without the wisdom, the famous "teeth of judgment." Why do our feet still have toes? Have you ever wondered that? Even if they look good after a pedicure, our toes are of no real use - tapping a little finger on any corner is a cruel use - or are they for something?
Why have toes?
Who will help us understand this is Dr. Terry Philbin of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, who spoke on the subject in a statement published in Atlas Obscura. First and foremost, if you find this idea that toes may cease to exist over time, remember that many animals already have tiny toes attached to their paws, such as cats - unlike them, some monkeys, like the doublet, have long toes. Was it a primate thing, just?
The fact is that in the case of humans we have a noticeably bigger and stronger finger than the others, but it is not largely responsible for keeping us stable or providing us with any special ability. Dr. Philbin divides the human foot into three basic parts: heel and ankle; arch of the foot; and forefoot, which is basically the region of the toes.
In a standard walk, the impact with the floor begins at the back of the foot and ends at the toes. In this way, the greatest impact is absorbed by the hardest part of the foot, which is the heel. It happens that the sole of the foot also receives impact from the ground, and there those who work to absorb this impact in a healthy way are muscles and tendons. In this process of locomotion, the toes propel the toe, and the cycle of movement and impact absorption continues.
A matter of impulse
The fact is that walking, though it seems so naturally simple to us, involves a lot of muscle teamwork, so to speak. This is why it is possible that some people, especially those who work with ballet, can balance on the toes of their toes: their muscles connect with muscles in the sole of the foot, which in turn binds to the heel.
Keeping balanced on your fingertips causes the sole of the toe, which is the sole muscle, to stretch - think of it as a flexible rubber that is easier to imagine. Stretching this structure is what makes us take our feet off the ground - the toes are therefore crucial in giving the boost your foot needs to get off the ground in what is known as the "winch mechanism".
This whole process would cease to function if your foot had no toes, and walking would be a more difficult task to accomplish - we would basically have to create another method of propulsion. At the present moment of evolution, our fingers are fundamental and without them we would put pressure on areas that are not prepared for it.
Necessary, but not so much
All of this does not mean, however, that toes are absolutely essential. We actually need something flexible on our toes, but it doesn't have to be a set of fingers. By the way, just out of curiosity: nobody still knows for sure why we have exactly five toes. This is one of the mysteries of our humble existence.
Regarding the small size of our fingers, what we know is that unlike our gibbon primate friends, who need to climb trees and have a much wilder life than ours, we don't need that much skill, so our fingers They were really short.
What if we had long toes?
In fact, a group of megacurious scientists decided to find out what it would be like if we humans had the longest toes. Guess what? The truth is that a minimum stretch would already require a large amount of energy to maintain the functioning of our walking limbs, and a 20% increase in the size of the feet could double the amount of force generated by our breasts.
On the one hand, this is good, especially for runners who could run even harder; On the other hand, as it would need a lot of energy, the race would tend to last less, that is ... It's not a big deal.
The truth is that short fingers, just like the ones we have now, are ideal for our basic walking activities. It is because of the size of our toes, even, that we can travel long distances by walking - besides, it seems that the size of our toes is also one of the differentials that we humans have in relation to others. animals. So rest easy: we may have toes for a few more good centuries.
* Posted on 4/19/2016
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