“The Toe.” That’s what they called him, from the time he joined the Cleveland Browns until he retired Even though he was a star offensive tackle, until a back injury forced him to be only a kicking specialist, only. His name was Lou Groza, and some of you may remember him as the NFL Player of the year in 1954.

Burl Ives sings that Thumbalina “Is no bigger than my toe,” and it is said that Uma Thurman has to have the most famous toes in Hollywood Why the public focuses on toes is the big question. The toe has always, for some reason, been the symbol of strength and grace throughout the modern civilized world. Whether you talk about Bigfoot Bob & the Toe Tappers, a jazz and blues band in Michigan,. – or the Toe Jam Puppet Band from Massachusetts, it’s always been a mark of a straight-forward point of view or standing firm. Toeing the line is standing tough, and toeing the mark is to stand stalwart and strong. But lets look at the biggest, proudest and bravest toe on the foot: The

Big Toe. .

If you go on line, you’ll encounter the BIG TOE REVIEW, a journal of flash fiction and poetry; BIG TOE BOOKS, a series of children’s programs by the BBC; and you’ll find the WIKIANSWERS.COM is asking if anyone know which living human has the world’s largest big toe.

And when you think “big toe,” chances are you’re envisioning the hallux. It’s the biggest toe, and the innermost part of the foot. A lot of guys call it the “great” toe, and others refer to at as the “thumb” toe, though only God knows, it’s not opposable. “Hallux” is derived from the Latin, and is the longest toe for most people.

Genetics

Just like every other part of the human, genetics plays a part here. Not only the big toe inherited, but the size, shape and length of it are, also. In most people, it’s the biggest toe. But then there’s Morton’s Toe. Here’s an inherited trait that causes the second toe to be the longest. And then there’s a genetic problem called firbrodysplasia ossificans progressive that can cause a short big toe. In any case, medically speaking, the big toe is always referred to as “Toe I.”

Speaking of medicine, the big toe is where bunions form (at the joint), ingrown nails are most likely to form, and gout begins. But most important – the big toe is necessary for balance. Believe it or not, without your big toe, you wouldn’t be able to walk.

Okay, bet you never wondered about the anatomy of the big toe. It is rather complicated, and more than just a big bone. It actually consists of two bones, one distal and one proximal (far and near) called “phalanx” bones. The joint that allows it to move is called the MTPJ – the metatarsophalangeal joint, and underneath all of this are two, very small round bones called “sesamoids.”

Hamlet’s big toe

Now’s the time to pause for one of the greatest philosophical discussions of all time.

“Does Hamlet have a big toe? Think about it for a moment, those of you who are Shakespeare addicts. There are, actually, two answers:

Logician I feels that since Hamlet is human, he would most certainly have a big toe.

Logician II feels that Hamlet, and indeed ALL of Shakespeare, are merely words printed on a page. There is no humanity to a printed word or a piece of paper. Therefore, unless the writer specifically states that the character possesses a big toe, he has none! This is a problem that will not cause World War III, but is a significant argument in some literary circles.

Abe lincoln’s big toe

Who cares? Couldn’t give a . . . . ? Well, professor Gabor Britt does. He spent many years trying to figure out this cataclysmic problem. The conclusion: Abe wore a size 14 shoe, so his big toe had to be somewhere in the vicinity of the size of the average male who wears a size 14 shoe. Go figure. A footnote to history.

The earliest toe

As recently as February, 2009, the earliest known human footprints were discovered in Kenya. 1.5 million years ago, some hominid left his mark on the sands of time. The prints show a definite big toe, with four other smaller toes. The significance of this was that these toes were straight and not curved. Ancestral ape-like animals had curved toes and fingers for grasping. So it is assumed that uncurved, or straight toes are seen as an adjunct to walking upright.

Big toe afflictions

Of course, we love ALL of our toes. But now, just let’s worry about the first little piggie, There’s NUMB TOE, that can be caused by squeezing the toes too tightly into a too-small shoe, or ladies’ sharp-toed shoes. TURF TOE or GOLF TOE is painful. As well, it decreases the an athlete’s range of motion. Known as “Hallux limitus, it’s actually mentioned on the website of the Mayo Clinic. And then there is the GOUTY TOE, important, because it’s often the first sign of gout. Excessive uric acid is the cause here. The big toe becomes painful and inflamed, caused by crystallized uric acid. Nothing to fool around with. It requires immediate medical attention. Add to this the bunion, which occurs at the big toe joint.

There is no need to belabor this. There are, literally, thousands of facts and figures relating to toes, and especially the big toe. Maybe I’ll write about these on Toesday.