Interesting Facts

According to a report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice: wearing high heels regularly for more than 3 years can ruin your feet. (Initially high heels can strengthen muscles around the ankle, but after three years some muscles become dominant and this increases the risk of sprains, and more severe problems like deformed feet, back pain and unhealthy walking patterns. I've spent most of my adult life in flatties, but I still have problems.  I think it's called old age.)

According to a report in the journal Nature, our feet are home to more than 100 funghi. (Over the whole body there are around 200, all of which is completely harmless. They particularly love our feet, which provide a warm, dark and humid environment, especially under the toenails, between the toes, and around the heel. Now don't go freaking out and scrubbing at your feet mercilessly, most of the time funghi does not cause a problem unless it multiplies in particular areas.) If you're worried the NHS website has some useful advice. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Athletes-foot/Pages/Introduction.aspx

“Rex” – the world’s most complete bionic man cost a million dollars to make. ( He consists of a prosthetic face, hips, knees, feet and hands, all of which are commercially available. Other off-the-shelf items include an artificial retina, cochlea and heart. The robotics team Shadow, who built Rex, believe they can now replicate about two-thirds of the human body. They said, “There are some vital organs missing, like the stomach, but 60 to 70 per cent of a human has effectively been rebuilt.” )

According to the UK National Sizing Survey, the average British woman's feet are a size 5 (that's around 24.5cm long). The average British man's foot is 27 cm (about a size 9). (This means I'm half a size above average.)

According to the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, around four in 10 British women buy shoes knowing they do not fit, and nearly two out of 10 men do the same. (I'm not surprised about the women, it's silly, but society says women are supposed to have small, dainty feet, but I am surprised at the men, or maybe they simply say their feet are larger than they really are.)

A human tapeworm averages 10 metres long! (Or for those of us who are a bit long in the tooth and haven't gone metric yet, 32 feet, which makes it sound even scarier!)

The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. The 52 bones in your feet make up about 25 percent of all the bones in your body. ( And don't I know it! I've just had an operation on mine!) Source - Podiatry.com

According to research by Debenhams, the size of men's feet in the UK has gone up a size in the past five years. (Half a decade ago, the average was a UK size 8. Now it is 9 and, to underline the trend, demand for size 12s has soared, retailers say. Requests for size 14 and above have also leapt in the past few years as men's feet appear to becoming broader and longer. Medical experts believe that Britain's obesity epidemic is fuelling the increase in shoe size. Seemingly eating processed foods during puberty can stimulate the growth hormone not only making your waist larger, but also other parts of the body. They mention hands and feet, but it makes you wonder....)

Butterflies taste with their feet. (Do you think that everything tastes cheesy?)