Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-18
FUNNY FACTS ABOUT FEET


Study Concernine the Tootsies Of Iufhnts-
A Few Scientific Theories.
ssHow MANY PEOPLE HAVE EVER
Ia taken notice OF . bsby's foot, except
to admire ih pinkness and prettiness9' said Q
well-known scientist to srAR reporter. "And
yet to the anatomist IL 10 . revelation. Take,
for example, the tootsies Of . child Of ten
months that has never walked nor stood alone.
1t has power Of. grasping to some extent and
Is used instinctively like hand. The great toe
has certain independent working, like .
thumb, and the wrinkles Of the sole resemble
those Of the palm. These markings almost en-
tireay disappear after the pedal extremity has
come to be employed for purposes Of support
and locomotion
The hands and feet Of . human being are
strikingly like those Of the chimpanzee in con-
forma ton, while the guerillas resemblance 10
man in these respects Is even more remark
able The higher apes have been classified -
''qusdrumana.' or four-handed,' because their
hind feet are hand shaped but this desig-
ape: posterior eItremities are not really
bands at all They merely look like
hands at the first glance. whereas in fact
they are but feet adapted for climbing. The
big toes cannot be opposed to the other toes
pincerwise for the purpose Of grasping. Now.
funnily enough, the infants feet have this
same power of grasping pincer-fashiou, and the
action ia performed in precisely the same way.
Advocates Of evolutionary theories take this to
signify that the human foot was originally util-
lied for climbing trees also before the species
was 30 highly developed as 1t is now. Also they
assert that the fact that the art Of walking erect
is learned by the child with such difhculty
proves that the race has only acquired 1t re-
Gently.
There are many scientists nowadays who
contend that man is not structurally adapted to
walking on two feet. and that this habit is
responsible for the frequency Of rupture in the
male and of UTERUS complaints in the female.
II "this most interesting OF animals went on all
Tours they say, the strong abdominal walls
would properly uphold the internal organs.
Also they find confirmation of their theories in
the fact that the foot of the unborn infant is
very like that of the anthropoid xpes, lacking
development AT the heel.
POWER OF THE GREAT TOE.
However all this may be, there is no doubt
Of the fact that the power Of the great toe for
grasping and other services may be preserved
and developed after infancy if the foot is not
confined. Many savage peoples make consid-
cradle use of the foot foT handy purposes. Aus.
tralian natives employ the grasping power Of
their great toes in climbing trees and It is their
habit to pick up in the same way spears and
other objects from the ground Nubian horsemen
hold the reins with their big toes and Chinese
boatmen pull their oars by the same means
Persons born without hands often use their
feet for nearly every object that hands
ordinarily serve for. threading needles with
their toes, using scissors, writing DC. 1t il q
very interesting thing to examine the skeletons
OF human foot and hand side by side, and to
observe how the two structures are absolutely
similar. save for certain notifications which
adapt the foot for locomotion and the hand for
manipulation.
EQUIPPED FOR LoCoMoTION.
''Thcre seems to be no doubt that man. COM
pared with other animals. is very poorly
equipped for locomotion. The horse walks on
its toe nails. likewise the mountain goat and all
other beasts that are swift You can yourself
discern the superiority of this method for
grace and rapidity by observing the ballet
dancer, who. by the artificial cultivation Of
certain muscles, is enabled to prance upon her
toes aud without touching her heels TO the
ground. Did it ever occur to you to think how
wretchedly inferior as a runner man 10 to
nearly every other living creature?
The instep is a feature peculiar anatomi-
cally to man. As a rule want Of developments
in this particular is characteristic OF low physi
cal development. Certain negro races lack it
notably. In southern cities colored youths
who enjoy the gift Of fiat feet do frequently,
when the pavements have beer watered in the
evening, walk over them. their soles acting
like the leather suckers utilized for purposes Of
amusement by small boys, and delight in the
loud reports which follow their steps.
From the occidental point Of view the
Chinese deformity has always been regarded as
most interesting in considering the subject Of
feet Torturins Of these extremities is begun
in the second year Of infancy by turning the
toes underneath and bandaging them tightly
in that position. Among the rich it is consid-
cred necessary that the big toe shall approach
the heel as nearly as possible. OF course, the
pain is agonizing, and delicate children fire.
quently are killed by the process. But even
death is preferable to being out OF the fash
ion"