is it not supposed to be??
Without looking into the actual stats, it’s so incredibly common it’s normal. There are pedantic pros and cons to both; it’s trivial. But more people have a second toe shorter than the first.
Pedantic, haha.
Feet causing you problems?
Pedantics.Gotta call a toe truck
Sorry to rain on the parade… but ya’ll know that the prefix indicating something pertains to the foot or ankle is pod-, right?
Podiatry. Podiatrist.
Ped- refers to children.
Pediatrician. Pediatrics.
Wait… what is a pedometer counting???
So I looked into this a bit and…
it appears to be based on whether a word is using Latin or Greek as its etymological basis, for words pertaining to feet.
In Latin… it is ped-… but in Greek… it is pod-.
… And, you are correct, English has a mish mash of both.
But also, a lot of English words referring to children use the Greek derived ped- or pedo- to refer to… children.
…Which is why in British English, the spelling ‘paed-’ is used, to minimize this confusion.
But us clever Americans dropped that, rofl.
It just makes a lot of shoes and socks uncomfortable and it’s bad for your back
From what I’ve been seeing I think a lot of shoes are just uncomfortable as-is. My longer big toe gets pushed around by the side of a slimmer shoe and shoes in generally aren’t quite wide enough around the toes for most people’s feet.
Shoes are fucking horrible. There is no reason we should be shaping our feet to match our shoes. It’s like a way less extreme version of Chinese foot binding, but it’s so common it’s insane. Bunions and foot pain aren’t normal, they’re normalized. Wide toe boxes! We need wide toe boxes!
Thank you for attending my Toe Talk
Ok, this is an exaggerated (and badly drawn) drawing, but do people wear shoes like in option 2? Or do I just have comfortable shoes??
I’ve seen women’s shoes like that. But even picture 1 isn’t good for you. Your toes are naturally wider than the rest of your foot (take a look at a toddler walking barefoot sometime to see this). Toes splay to give us balance. Shoes that are like picture 1 or, God forbid, 2, push the toes to be narrower than they should be, causing crowding, overlapping, and bunions, among a host of other issues.
I have duck feet, and always assumed ‘wide’ shoes were just how a well fitting shoe was supposed to feel.
Then I bought a cheap pair of barefoot style shoes, which often have ridiculously large toeboxes that some people avoid just due to how they look.
It was nirvana; finally, a shoe that truly fit! I can never go back now.
Also @Soup@lemmy.world, you might wanna try some if you haven’t!
Link to the shoes?
I started with these. Unfortunately only available on amazon, but they were an affordable way to try them, and they’ve been surprisingly durable!
Once I confirmed that I loved the barefoot style, I eventually invested in some vivobarefoot boots as well, and those have been fantastic. (If you go that route someday, look for them on eBay and wait for a deal).
Wait, it’s bad for your back? Why?
My lower back problems started pretty young. Never would have thought my stupid long long toes would be related.
It effects your posture, gait, and weight distribution which all effect the pressure and strain on your spine
it’s an anatomical variant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton’s_toe
The Culture section of that article is a wild ride. Like phrenology for feet.
Indeed but also the carvings and painting are quite nice lol
Hello fellow person who can’t wear Birkenstocks
Don’t listen to them. These weirdos just have extra long foot thumbs
My mom has longer second toes, and she always said “It’s a sign you’re descended from royalty.” She also said stuff like “An ancestor ran away with an Indian princess” and “We’re descended from Sir Francis Drake” so my mom, though I love her, does not have a fully-functioning bullshit sensor.
Dunno, kinda sounds like shes bullshitting you
The toe thing was definitely a little tongue-in-cheek, but the other two she seemed to fully believe. When I pointed out that Drake didn’t have any children, or at least not legitimized, she acted confused and said it was something that the family had always said. Well… someone was bullshitting someone!
My own personal no-evidence theory is that if the person has particularly long fingers, their second toe will be longer than their first.
I comply with this theory.
Hello fellow Mo-Toe-er
mine are the exact same length. never broken a toe.
My mortons toes are quite long. My fingers are really normal.
Can confirm there’s a relation.
I’m one of those. It sucks. I keep breaking them.
I’ve only ever broken one bone… And it was the tip of my second toe on my right foot.
All I’m hearing is that you guys have inferior skeletal systems which is completely unrelated to the toe length
Your big toe is the protector. Have you never stubbed your toe? Now imagine that the little one is the one that gets hit instead. Snap.
I stub my toes constantly. I also have a longer second toe than big toe. Still have never broken a bone in my feet or anywhere else, for that matter.
I simply choose not to stub my toes.
That’s like saying your eldest kid is the protector. No, you are the responsible adult, it’s your job to take care of those little piglets. Protect and take care of your toes like they’re the five pairs of identical twin kids of your feet.
If your toes have special needs, there’s always steel tipped shoes. 👷👍
Or that they do kickass stunts that just happen to rely on their extra long 2nd toes.
Really? My mortons toe is a good amount longer than my big toe, but neither foots has ever been hurt. Also, my toes are very controllable and I can pick up all sorts of stuff. They’re sweet.
Never broken a toe, but both my long 2nd toes are curled. I have size 13s as an adult, and I remember outgrowing shoes frequently but still wearing them past when I should have because I hated shoe shopping. I think I basically bound m y feet out of laziness.
I used to think the same thing about my toes, even down thinking I did it myself …
Then I had kids who have my weird curled toes too, and I know damned well Ive never let them wear shoes that are too small. Theyre just built that way.
No?
At least in my experience, I’ve never looked at someone and wondered what their feet look like.
Or realistically, what any covered-up part of them looks like.
Ngl, had me in the first half
My friend just had part of his toe amputated.
Like an hour ago maybe not even…
Can you tell by looking at his face?
Not why i commented but I’ll answer anyway, i cannot
I’m a half and half. Left foot has a shorter second toe, right foot has a longer one.
We’re gonna need you to pick a side.
What? It’s not like, everyone? Huh. TIL.
One of mine is a mallet toe. I need to get that fixed sometime.
It’s a condition called Morton’s toe
So this is who shoes are made for!
Honestly jealous
No, but I will now…
New form of racism unlocked
I was always told people with a long second toe have dominant personalities
Yeah but can you wiggle your little toes independently?!
It would be pretty neat to be able to flip someone off with your hands and feet.
