# Second Toe Length - Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878 "2013-05-20T23:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/1 "2013-05-20T23:03:01Z")
I was having a discussion with a female friend and as usual (kidding,) toe length came up. She remarked that her big toe was longer than her second toe, “thank God.” I replied that I was aware of the popularity of her opinion, but I prefer the aesthetics of the longer second toe. To me, it makes everything more balanced looking. “To the SDMB!” I thought. Do you have a preference? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/2 "2013-05-20T23:13:29Z")
Ah - Egyptian/Grecian beauty standards (even/smaller middle toe) vs. Roman beauty standards (longer middle toe). I learned that as a way to differentiate between ancient statues’ origins… ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/3 "2013-05-20T23:24:06Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah - Egyptian/Grecian beauty standards (even/smaller middle toe) vs. Roman beauty standards (longer middle toe). I learned that as a way to differentiate between ancient statues’ origins… Interesting. I had never heard that. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/4 "2013-05-20T23:33:48Z")
I Googled “Egyptian toe” and got this: > **[Morton's toe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton's_toe)** > > Morton's toe, also known as Greek toe, is the condition of having a first metatarsal bone that is shorter than the second metatarsal (see diagram). It is a type of brachymetatarsia. This condition is the result of a premature closing of the first metatarsal's growth plate, resulting in a short big toe, giving the second toe the appearance of being long compared to the first toe.\[medical citation needed\] > The metatarsal bones behind the toes are of different lengths, and the relative lengths vary ... Which incudes the paragraph: > [@](#): > > It has a long association with disputed anthropological and ethnic interpretations. Morton called it Metatarsus atavicus, considering it an atavism recalling prehuman grasping toes. In statuary and shoe fitting, it has been called the Greek foot (as opposed to the Egyptian foot, where the great toe is longer). It was an idealized form in Greek sculpture, and this persisted as an aesthetic standard through Roman and Renaissance periods and later (the Statue of Liberty has toes of this proportion). There are also associations found within Celtic groups. The French call it commonly pied grec (just as the Italians call it piede greco), but sometimes pied ancestral or pied de Néanderthal[4] Oops; I had Greek Foot on the wrong side of the line - it is more like Roman… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/5 "2013-05-20T23:36:07Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Ah - Egyptian/Grecian beauty standards (even/smaller middle toe) vs. Roman beauty standards (longer middle toe). I learned that as a way to differentiate between ancient statues’ origins… The [Greeks actually preferred the longer second toe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_toe#Cultural_associations), to the extent that this type of foot is often called a Greek foot. ETA: I see you corrected yourself while I was posting. 🙂 Incidentally I once came across some 19th century book about anatomy as depicted in Ancient Greek art where the author had to assure his readers that people with the “Greek foot” actually did exist in real life and weren’t something totally made up by Greek artists. I thought this was pretty funny, since my siblings and I all have longer second toes and I was probably about 10 before I realized this wasn’t how most people’s feet looked! ---
**Author:** ![I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Made_French_Toast_For_You)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/6 "2013-05-20T23:39:49Z")
Here’s a handy foot [diagram](http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/which-foot-type-are-you-egyptian-roman-greek.jpg) that may or may not be correct, and may or may not be making fun of Celtic people. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/7 "2013-05-20T23:42:49Z")
I don’t care at all. My feet would do well in Egypt though, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Rowanchilde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rowanchilde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rowanchilde)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/8 "2013-05-20T23:52:07Z")
As a female with the most beautiful feet the gods deemed worthy to walk this earth, I’m voting shorter second toe… Pyramid climber in a previous life. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/9 "2013-05-20T23:56:08Z")
> [@I\_Made\_French\_Toast\_For\_You](#): > > Here’s a handy foot [diagram](http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/which-foot-type-are-you-egyptian-roman-greek.jpg) that may or may not be correct, and may or may not be making fun of Celtic people. I don’t really fit any on the diagram. Closest to Roman, but after my first two even toes, they get progressively shorter. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/10 "2013-05-21T00:12:26Z")
I voted, “I don’t care,” but the truth is that I think the aesthetic ideal can vary, depending on other factors. Some feet are long and narrow, while others are broad and athletic. I wouldn’t judge a dancer’s foot in the same way that I judge an athlete’s foot. (Well, okay, stupid pun. But, seriously… What looks good on Artemis might not look good on Hippolyta.) ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/11 "2013-05-21T00:33:57Z")
Right, like **Trinopus** , I don’t care which toe is longest, but some feet are attractive and some are hideous, based on other factors. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/12 "2013-05-21T01:05:12Z")
[Toe length and behavior.](http://http://shell.newpaltz.edu/jsec/articles/volume4/issue4/HarrisonVol4Iss4.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/13 "2013-05-21T15:06:09Z")
[Mauricio’s Big-Toe Girl](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/mv-f5yjR/shallow_hal_mauricios_big_toe_girl/) from _Shallow Hal_ (2001). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/14 "2013-05-21T16:19:59Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I don’t really fit any on the diagram. Closest to Roman, but after my first two even toes, they get progressively shorter. Descendant of Antony and Cleo? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/15 "2013-05-21T16:22:01Z")
My feet are different: left middle toe longer, right big toe longer. (Not dramatic, but definite.) Never noticed that. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/16 "2013-05-21T16:46:57Z")
I prefer the look of a shorter 2nd toe to the big toe. My toes taper off like a beautiful crescendo, and if made of metal, you could play my toes like notes on a xylophone. Just as Chim Chum, the God of Evolution, intended. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/17 "2013-05-21T17:05:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Descendant of Antony and Cleo? Yeah, let’s go with that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/18 "2013-05-21T17:05:57Z")
[Not unlike this performance, if I do say so myself (just close your eyes and imagine the racoon is playing my toes instead)…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAWCbeVSVo) That said, my wife has a second toe that must have like eight knuckles in it. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/19 "2013-05-21T17:35:26Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > … My toes taper off like a beautiful crescendo, and if made of metal, you could play my toes like notes on a xylophone. Just as Chim Chum, the God of Evolution, intended. Mine, too! 🆒 I was into the double-digit ages before I realized not everyone’s feet were like that. I mean, it just seems like a natural progression: big toe, then everyone gets smaller after that, until you get to the weeeeee little pinky toe. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878/20 "2013-05-21T18:10:12Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Mine, too! 🆒 I was into the double-digit ages before I realized not everyone’s feet were like that. I mean, it just seems like a natural progression: big toe, then everyone gets smaller after that, until you get to the weeeeee little pinky toe. Precisely! I believe it was a while for me as well before I noticed that longer 2nd toes aren’t a rare and hideously gross deformity, or a mutation due to nuclear waste. That revelation was a relief of pity. I kid, because I love. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/second-toe-length-poll/658878.md?page=2)