Ape-like feet 'found in one in 13 humans'

Ape feet or not, we still have freaking gimpy feet. I'm guessing I'm one of those with the ape feet though? Thank god.

Ever since the day I could realize how awkward peoples feet look I've extremely disliked them; pretty early on. And then they steal our soles with socks and shoes. That was a major problem I had early on in conjunction with my autism. You know, I don't think people realize we wear them precisely for that reason: we wear them! Thousands of years of doing that without question, and you get the sorry state of affairs we have today.

lol rant. I always feel the need to emphasize this pitiful conundrum

Go ahead. Ask a member with Celtic feet anything.

Am I Celtic? No
Have I Celtic feet? That would be how things appear.

But my balance en pointe back in my ballet days was preternatural.

I need to see pictures of these ape feet!

My feet look different than one another and are a cross between some of those listed in the meme. Anyone want to figure out where I come from?

I've had monkey feet all my life, so this study makes me feel relatively better

Ah, evolution.

What tree-climbing pygmies tell us about foot evolution...

That’s because their ankles are so extraordinarily flexible that their feet can make up to 45 degree angles with their shins. You can clearly see this in the video. It’s a level of flexibility comparable to wild chimpanzees, which walk up trees in much the same way. They plant their soles flat against the trunk, allowing them to hold their bodies closer to the trees and reducing the energy it takes to climb.

For comparison, most people can only bend their feet by 15 to 20 degrees. If you or I tried to match the flexion of a Twa climber, our ankles would rupture catastrophically and we wouldn’t be walking, much less effortlessly scaling a thick vine.

But the Twa’s secret isn’t in their ankles, which are indistinguishable from those of other people. Instead, the team found that the Twa’s flexibility stems from calf muscles (gastrocnemius) with unusually long fibres—far longer than those of the Bakiga, a group of neighbouring Ugandan farmers who don’t climb trees. The team found the same differences in the Philippines. The tree-climbing Agta hunter-gatherers have far longer gastrocnemius fibres than the non-climbing Manobo farmers.

Venkataraman suspects that their calf muscles aren’t born this way. Instead, their fibres lengthen with practice. “People who frequently wear high heels have short calf muscle fibres, and their ankles are stiffer as a result,” he says. Regular tree-climbing does the opposite for the Twa.

If you don't use it, you lose it.

Originally posted by chasingbrahman
Go ahead. Ask a member with Celtic feet anything.

Am I Celtic? No
Have I Celtic feet? That would be how things appear.

But my balance en pointe back in my ballet days was preternatural.

You said to ask a member with Celtic feet anything. My question is...

Where did you get that AWESOME Poe/Cask of Amontillado meme picture for your avatar?! I LOVE IT, LOL!

Originally posted by Saorsainn
I need to see pictures of these ape feet!

My feet look different than one another and are a cross between some of those listed in the meme. Anyone want to figure out where I come from?

Roman on the left foot, Egyptian on the right! Hmmm...where are you from?

Oye! My feet don't fit any of those categories....i guess I am an alien.....NOT!...It just confirmed that I am a Heinz57 after all...

reply to post by jcutler12888


Thanks! I was just perusing different pictures of Poe one day and saw that and had to have it!

The toes next to my big toe is longer than all the others on my odd feet, I often trip up over it lol....am I a freak?

Originally posted by boymonkey74
am I a freak?

Yes.



Oh, hang on, i just read your full post...........



I have the same freakish problem but i always found it quite helpful for climbing trees bare foot or picking up things with my feet (a la Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot).

Frankly though, why stop at feet? Whilst we are marvel of evolution, we also have some serious design flaws.

Not to lower the tone but sexual organs in a feeble sac outside the body? Definite fail.
Belly buttons - just why?
Funny bones (elbows and knees). Clearly important but could do with some serious improvements. Perhaps something we could top up with lubricant when aching?


Really, i could go on and on.......

reply to post by Flavian




Cheers mate .

I too am good at climbing, never thought that my funny toes help me my party trick used to be peeling a banana with my feet, I often use them to pick stuff up and I hate wearing shoes.
Guess we have a little more Ape in us

Design flaws? yup like the fact that we are the only ape which can not eat and breath at the same time, but this may have helped us develop speech.

Originally posted by rickymouse
This is kind of strange. They just found out that some people have different type feet than others. You would think that this would have been discovered over a hundred years ago. This shows us how little the experts really know about our bodies. This shows us how unaware that those with degrees are, following the writings of long ago and not opening their eyes and looking. At least there are a few people seeing these things now instead of saying everyone is the same. Not two people in this world are the same.

I'm confused by this. What do you mean that they just found out people have different feet and that means experts know very little? Of course they knew that people are unique individuals for the most part. Not recognizing a small trait in some humans, doesn't mean they are clueless. They know a LOT. Just because they don't know everything is no reason to throw all their knowledge out the window and act like they know nothing.

My sister can pick up and throw things with her toes... When she was about three she picked up and threw a toy rolling pin with her toes, threw it across the room at a mouse and killed it...

Originally posted by boymonkey74
The toes next to my big toe is longer than all the others on my odd feet, I often trip up over it lol....am I a freak?

Nah...you're just a boy monkey of Greek descent. LOL

reply to post by jcutler12888


I have been looking it up and it is called Mortons Toe.

en.wikipedia.org...'s_toe

It also says it is associated with the Celtics which is more likely for me.

My other half kept telling me I have monkey feet (and arms) because I'm always turning lights on and off with my feet (push button lights that I'm too lazy to sit up and push), and pick things up with my toes. I guess she was right.

On a related note (for cryptozoologists), this could make Dr. Meldrum's claims that his "bigfoot" footprint collection cannot be of human origin, due a seeming "mid-tarsal break", less valid (than it already seemed to be)?

Not good for the scientific claims in support of bigfoot.

I just wanted to add a pic of the feet of the "Vadoma Tribe" or Ostrich People of Zimbabwe.

The entire tribe suffers from a genetic mutation "ectrodactyly" or Lobster Claw Syndrome, they are all missing the middle three toes on both feet.

reply to post by wiser3


That is one of the oddest things ive ever seen