# There's a pen on the ground. Can you pick it up with your feet/toes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968 "2012-04-06T02:18:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/1 "2012-04-06T02:18:34Z")
Are you one of those truly gifted who can pick objects (like pens, wrappers, papers, etc) with their toes and bring it up to your hand? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/2 "2012-04-06T02:21:52Z")
I can, but don’t. Apparently have a pretty good amount of control over my toes and can easily curl or fan them. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/3 "2012-04-06T02:23:27Z")
I do all the time, but sometimes I overdo it and get terrible cramps in the arch of my foot. Then I stop for a day, until my goldfish memory forgets and I do it again. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/4 "2012-04-06T02:23:43Z")
And for what purpose are you collecting your data? ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/5 "2012-04-06T02:30:45Z")
I can, and had to actively curtail my tendency to do so around my mother, because it freaked her out. She possibly thought it was cute when I was 3, maybe not so much when I was 30. (Why yes, I’m single.) ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/6 "2012-04-06T02:35:10Z")
I pick up all kinds of stuff with my toes. ---
**Author:** ![minionkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@minionkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minionkat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/7 "2012-04-06T02:40:51Z")
Can & do. Am the only one in my immediate family that can. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/8 "2012-04-06T02:43:49Z")
Sometimes I can. It depends on the object. One of my cousins though has absolute monkey toes. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/9 "2012-04-06T02:46:06Z")
Shiiiiiit, I can’t think of a body part I can’t pick the pen up with. ---
**Author:** ![supergirl123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/db5fbb/32.png) [@supergirl123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergirl123)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/10 "2012-04-06T03:05:52Z")
I have done it so long, it’s become second nature. ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/11 "2012-04-06T03:13:52Z")
Hey, I’m 6 months pregnant. Picking things up with my toes is far preferable to the involved process of bending down to get a stray sock or pen. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/12 "2012-04-06T04:15:22Z")
> [@supergirl123](#): > > I have done it so long, it’s become second nature. Yep–if I’m barefoot and I’m cleaning up a room, I’m likely to pick things up with my toes and transfer them to a hand as part of my rhythm of cleaning. A college friend of mine considered monkey-toe cleaning to be a revelation. ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/13 "2012-04-06T04:41:16Z")
I have monkey toe pride, I thought that everyone could do it.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/14 "2012-04-06T05:00:49Z")
Yeah, I have some pretty good toe control and have always made use of it to some extent. But after developing back problems, it’s become damn near necessary! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/15 "2012-04-06T05:09:20Z")
> [@florez](#): > > I have monkey toe pride, I thought that everyone could do it.🆒 My mom has little stumpy toes and refuses to admit that they’re deformed. She can barely even bend them. It’s sad really. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/16 "2012-04-06T05:09:24Z")
Easily; I pick stuff up like that fairly often. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/17 "2012-04-06T06:27:49Z")
I can pick it up with my feet and sign my name. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/18 "2012-04-06T06:33:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I can pick it up with my feet and sign my name. Seriously? If so, I’m impressed. In the first few months after my spinal fusion, I rarely bent down to pick up anything. Toes were the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/19 "2012-04-06T06:44:35Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > I do all the time, but sometimes I overdo it and get terrible cramps in the arch of my foot. Then I stop for a day, until my goldfish memory forgets and I do it again. Where is that “Like” button??? ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968/20 "2012-04-06T06:48:18Z")
Could pick up a pen and write with it. (Okay, the top would have to be off.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-pen-on-the-ground-can-you-pick-it-up-with-your-feet-toes/617968.md?page=2)