# There an exact name for people who can pick up things with their toes? And can you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176 "2005-09-24T04:33:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/41 "2018-09-19T01:02:40Z")
Yes, yes I can. My toes are jacked up looking from years of pointe dance. We did foot stretches that makes toes extra flexible. My toes are strong too. My dogs love me to scratch their backs with my feet. Sometimes I do it in stereo, one dog under each foot. Yeah, I am a dedicated dog person. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/42 "2018-09-19T06:17:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Why yes, I do have prehensile toes. > > And when I sidle up to women at the supermarket and inform them of my dexterity, they are suitably impressed. Do they run, or just walk really fast in the other direction? > [@running\_coach](#): > > I can pick up things with my _feet._ > Tacks, broken glass, bits of wire… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/43 "2018-09-19T12:41:29Z")
Yes, it’s ‘polyandrous.’ Poly meaning “many” and -‘Androus’ being a contraction of ‘ambidextrous’ meaning ‘able to use both hands.’ So ‘polyandrous’ means ‘ability to use many hands.’ You should make sure to inject this into conversations when you meet people. “Hello, my name is Idle Thoughts and I’m polyandrous. Are you?” It’s a great ice breaker.\* 🙂 What? Did no one else enjoy ‘Balderdash’ growing up? \*Note: This is a facetious post meant to illicit humor. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/44 "2018-09-19T13:51:49Z")
I think this is much more common than some assume, and those who can do it (and I am one of them) are maybe a little too proud of this “skill”. Just my take on it, I certainly could be wrong. mmm ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/45 "2018-09-19T15:36:44Z")
I don’t think polyandrous is the correct word, unless I’m being wooshed… or the woman who can pick things up with her toes also has two husbands. Edit:Maybe you meant polydextrous? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/46 "2018-09-19T15:50:53Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > I don’t think polyandrous is the correct word, unless I’m being wooshed… or the woman who can pick things up with her toes also has two husbands. > > Edit:Maybe you meant polydextrous? That would be a parrot that can pick things up with both feet. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/47 "2018-09-19T16:06:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That would be a parrot that can pick things up with both feet. Huh, I thought Polydextrous was behaving like a parrot that was a serial killer that only killed those it deemed guilty of committing crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/48 "2018-09-19T18:18:30Z")
When myself and my brother were little our grandmother would make use pick up our spilled toys\* with our toes and put them back in their container. This is a skill that has come in surprisingly useful in life. Thanks granny. \*like lego blocks, not Tonka Trucks ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/49 "2018-09-19T20:14:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Why yes, I do have prehensile toes. > > And when I sidle up to women at the supermarket and inform them of my dexterity, they are suitably impressed. Actually, I came into this thread wondering if anyone meant picking up women with their toes. Just one, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/50 "2018-09-23T04:40:47Z")
Of course I can. I suspect most people could, with practice. I have a container of decorative rocks that I dump out on the floor. I use my toes to pick them up and put them back in the container. This is an exercise for preventing plantar fasciitis. I wear orthotics daily, so I don’t have problems with that right now. I also dislike sweaty feet, so I prefer to wear cotton socks most of the time. This makes picking items up with my toes difficult. Like every other exercise, I don’t do this often enough. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/51 "2018-09-23T16:51:58Z")
you ought to read about the armless German violinist, Carl Unthan. Quite a remarkable man. > **[Carl Herman Unthan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Herman_Unthan)** > > Carl Herrmann Unthan (5 April 1848 – 1929) was a Prussian-born violinist who was born without arms. > He was born on 5 April 1848 in Germany. > Unthan's father was a teacher who insisted he not be "coddled". Whether this was the reason or not, Carl reportedly could feed himself at two and around the age of ten is said to have taught himself to play the violin by strapping it on to a stool. He was sent to a music conservatory at 16 and graduated a couple of years later. > By the age of twenty Unthan ... ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/52 "2018-09-23T22:49:16Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I am pretty good with my feet. I can pick things up, write, etc. > I can also put my toes in my mouth… which isn’t to say that I _do_ but just that I _can_. 🙂 Miss you. Thinking of you. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176/53 "2018-09-24T00:38:00Z")
My second toe is longer than my big toe and I feel like it really helps when I pick stuff up with my feet. I sort of grab or scoop it with the second toe first and then grab hold with the big toe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-an-exact-name-for-people-who-can-pick-up-things-with-their-toes-and-can-you/323176.md?page=2)