Why our feet are like frogs’ & 24 other foot facts!

Written by Michelle Champlin BSc Pod., M.Ch.S., S.R., Ch., (UK)

Find out what our feet have in common with frogs
• It’s normal for baby feet and legs to bow inwards – this is because of how they are lying in the womb
• All babies have ‘flat feet’ with fatty padding where their arch will eventually form
• Arches start to form at about 2½ years old
• By 12 years old, a child’s foot is about 90% of its adult size
• That foot-measuring device in kids shoe shops? It’s called a Brannock Device, after its inventor
• Average clothes sizes are getting bigger – and so are shoe sizes! Shoe sizes are up by one full size compared to 30 years ago
• About 35% of us underestimate our shoe size (and are wearing the wrong size – here’s our tips on sizing work shoes)
• Toenails grow about 1mm per month – but they speed up during teenage years, pregnancy and in hot climates like Dubai
• Louise Hollis of California holds the world record for the longest toenails – 6 inches long!
• Toenails can tell your Podiatrist if you’re anaemic (indentations), have psoriasis (pitted) or have decreased blood circulation (hairless toes)
• In 2008, 25 year old Jessica Cox of Arizona who was born without arms, became the first person to pass her pilot’s license by using her feet at the controls
• The palms of your hands and soles of your feet have the thickest skin on your body
• A third of all the bones in your body are in your feet (26 in each foot)
• Each foot has 33 joints, 19 muscles, 10 tendons and 107 ligaments (and your Podiatrist at Dubai Podiatry Centre knows what each of them are, how they should work and how to fix them!)
• Humans are plantigrades – walking on the entire surface of their feet. Just like alligators, bears and frogs. Digitigrades walk on their toes – like horses, dogs, cats and birds
• There has never been a ‘centipede’ found that actually has 100 feet
• Rock climbers know all about ‘Elvis foot’ – where your feet and legs shake on a rock hold from muscle fatigue. All shook up….
• Elephants use their feet to hear – picking up ground vibrations
• Butterflies taste with their feet
• When you run, the force through your feet can be 3-4 times your body weight
• Smoking cigarettes can harm your feet – causing peripheral vascular disease with problems healing, poor circulation, even ulcers and gangrene
• The 250,000 sweat glands in your feet produce about half a pint of sweat daily
• Ancient Romans were the first to make different shoes for the left and right foot – before that shoes were interchangeable
• King Edward II of England invented shoe sizes that we still use today. In 1324, he stated that he diameter of a barley corn (1/3 inch) would equal one shoe size
• There are an estimated one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) bacteria on each foot – it’s bacteria breaking down sweat that can cause smelly feet.
The best source for foot facts and healthcare tips are your expert Podiatrists at Dubai Podiatry Centre, led by Chief Podiatrist Michelle Champlin. Contact the UAE’s leading foot and leg clinic on +971 4 3435390 for every foot problem: from kids’ feet, to flat feet, verrucas and ingrown toenails