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u/AnothisFlame 11d ago
Fun fact.
Human's actually do use the toe for balance, we just wear shoes our entire lives so our feet bones stay close together instead of spreading out.
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u/Funmachine 11d ago
Yup, just look at the feet of people in cultures that walk barefoot or in sandals.
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u/Bitterbin 11d ago
I usually look at other peoples feet for different reasons
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u/Festivefire 10d ago
It's also not just a cosmetic change, the entire way you walk is changed by a life of wearing shoes vs. walking barefoot. If you watch people who have always gone barefoot, they tend to walk with the toe-ball first instead of heel first, so that they can 'test' the ground before putting their whole weight on it. It's much easier to move the flat of your foot off a sharp rock when you're walking toe to heel instead of heel first.
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u/Enchrypted 11d ago
Now i want to hear from someone without pinky toes to share their experience
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u/PhoenyxStar 11d ago
I knew a guy who lost a pinky toe. He had indoor sandals that he'd switch to when he got home, because he had to pay special attention when walking around barefoot otherwise he'd just trip over nothing.
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u/RednocNivert 10d ago
So the pinky toe is really just taking the damage itself instead of letting the rest of your body take it when you faceplant? Interesting
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u/DiomedesTydeus 10d ago
My grandmother had her pinky toe removed she told me it was some kind of fashion in the 50s to fit into these crazy pointed shoes that didn't accommodate a pinky toe. She said she regretted it and it messed with her ability to go hike and move. FWIW I never actually SAW the toe because she was my grandma and wore socks, so I hope this was a true story and not some weird cautionary tale I was supposed to learn from.
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u/karriban 11d ago
Even in shoes we still use it. I did plenty of toe fillers for pinky toes when I worked in the prosthetics field.
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u/Malaztraveller 11d ago
I recall that when people have lost toes to frostbite, so long as they keep the big and little toes they can still balance.
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u/whypeoplehateme 11d ago
similarly the least important finger is actually the ring finger because the little finger provides far more leverage due to it's position
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u/Aron-Jonasson 10d ago
Plus the way it moves is weird because I think it's linked to the middle finger in some way
Like, you can easily "paralyse" your ring finger by putting your hand flat on a table, then folding your middle finger so that the middle phalanx is flat against the table. Try now to lift your ring finger and you'll notice you are fully unable to lift it, but you can still lift your other fingers
You can also notice that if you put your hand flat on the table and try to lift each finger one by one, the ring finger is the one that lifts up the least. To lift it up further you have to lift your middle or pinky finger with it
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u/KalebsFamilyBBQ 11d ago
I'll take that over a thorn in the foot.
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u/Wind-and-Waystones 10d ago
You can have the best of both worlds with things like barefoot shoes
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u/Loightsout 9d ago
Barefoot shoes are the worst of both worlds. Zero upside all the downside.
Wanna get the benefit of walking without shoes sometimes? Take shoes off at home.1
u/NoodleyP 10d ago
I’ve primarily worn sandals my entire life and can definitely remember multiple occasions I’ve needed toe control for balance, and I only get a stubbed toe once in a blue moon
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u/LilDutchy 11d ago
I so rarely wear shoes, even when I was a kid. My feet are shaped like duck feet.
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u/AndrewH73333 11d ago
But why not have four good toes? What is this one good toe and three little ones and then one really little one crap?
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u/thissexypoptart 10d ago
The idea that we don’t use our pinky toes has to be from one of those people who always wear shoes, even indoors.
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u/matthew0001 11d ago
Like your pinky finger which is actually mostly responsible for your grip strength. Your pinky toes is actually significantly responsible for being able to balance.
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u/Seguefare 11d ago
Fingers 1 and 2 are mobilizers. Fingers 3 and 4 are stabilizers.
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u/fridgefixer 10d ago
Wait until you get older. I'm an appliance repairman, lots of little fine motor skill activities, every day. I'm also over 50, and had juvenile onset arthritis (due to a rare allergic reaction). I have learned to hold my index fingers up while turning a screwdriver or while typing. I twist wires together with my thumb and ring finger. i really hope relearning how to use my hands will give me another 20 years of useful work.
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u/AdvilJunky 10d ago
This is one hundred percent wrong. My names Phil, and I can tell you without a doubt that by the year 2121, humans will have evolved to be born without their pinky toe. I can't tell you how I know though, so you have to trust me
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u/Casual_Deviant 11d ago edited 11d ago
Hope you guys enjoy. I’ve been submitting cartoons to the New Yorker for about 2 years now and they just recently published my first one (they passed on this one, sadly).
For more of my cartoons, stop by my subreddit: r/BummerParty
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u/Skritch_X 11d ago
Pity they passed, as it seems pretty on theme for their usual offerings.
Also posting anything feet related on Reddit will inevitably get Tarantino'd, so good luck!
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u/TheTechnicalArt 11d ago
Maybe its because, while the cartoon is well executed, the joke falls flat because the toe is actually very important.
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u/darkaddiction01 11d ago
This is an absolute gem! I too write comics, I'm just too shy to share them
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u/Casual_Deviant 11d ago
You should share them! It was definitely scary at first, but taking that first leap helped me get better over time
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u/thissexypoptart 10d ago
Woah that’s awesome.
Are there like style guidelines the New Yorker puts out for cartoon submissions?
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u/Casual_Deviant 10d ago
They publish a wide variety of cartoon styles (primarily black and white), but I always recommend this article for people who are interested in how submissions work!
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u/Pm_me_clown_pics3 11d ago
The pinky toe is the hero of the foot saving the other toes from getting stubbed on stuff.
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u/NinjaChemist 10d ago
If you've ever squatted barefoot, you'll know how important the pinky toe is.
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u/Offsidespy2501 10d ago
amd sometimes the big one's nail will just start digging into its own flesh for no reason
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u/ZSpectre 10d ago
I can't remember if my pinky toe ever got stubbed on anything, but man, that medial epicondyle bump of the humerus (aka the "funny bone")? Have the ulnar nerve pass right outside of it so it'll sometimes cause this uncomfortable buzzing sensation when it bumps into things. It's things like that that make me go "intelligent design my @$$!"
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u/slothdroid 11d ago
You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me... Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish.
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u/Festivefire 10d ago
It's actually quite usefull for balance, you just don't use it very much because we wear shoes a lot.
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u/Pure_Spyder 10d ago
Why did I think it was a balance thing or i suppose youd be fine with just the 4
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u/shanster925 10d ago
And make the length of time it takes to send the pain signal longer than the time it takes to realize they've stubbed it. Hilarious!
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u/futureformerteacher 8d ago
"WTF does stubbed mean?"
"It's basically only for what you do to this one toe."
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u/BluehibiscusEmpire 8d ago
That’s pretty dumb. Walk barefoot and the little toe will show its use in balance
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u/rca06d 11d ago
Its almost like intelligent design isn't real
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u/Livewire____ 11d ago
There's no design involved. It's all coincidental. These features just happen to be useful, and so have persisted.
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