the point of toenails

[ewx]

What use are toenails? About the only one I can think of is as a surface for painting on.

(I ask because a someone lost a toenail last night at karate. Accidents do happen, but it's a good reminder to keep nails trimmed...)

Comments

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Why can't they just be vesitgal?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Perhaps they are, but for all I know there are people out there who find them really useful for some purpose or other. Certainly they're not in any way essential.

[armb.livejournal.com]

I used to know someone who had all his toenails surgically removed (because they tended to ingrow, IIRC). As far as I know it didn't cause him any problems.
I think they can provide some protection against minor impacts and squashing, when barefoot or wearing sandals. Balancing that against the risk of tearing them out being more painful than not having them might be difficult to assess though.
I gather losing a few small toes to frostbite doesn't cause problems, but losing big toes does noticably affect balance. Losing toenails must be less of a problem than losing whole toes.

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

My aunt did, for the same reason. I've never seen what it looks like though.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

They're God's argument for evolution ...

I suspect that these days they're more a liability than an asset. On the other hand, they're not so much of a liability that evolutionary pressure is going to revamp the genotype to actually remove them. I'm sure that there are mutants without toenails, but I'd expect them to be missing fingernails too.

God's argument for evolution

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Whhat an excellent phrase l-)

[knell.livejournal.com]

They also go entertainingly black and nasty if you run long distances. If you're really lucky they fall off - but then you get shiny new pink ones, apparently.

[antinomy.livejournal.com]

I think they're less useful to us than to just about any other mammal - from animals that use them for scratching or for purchase, to horses, cattle etc who walk on them... I think they're mostly vestigeal in us, though ISTR a ballerina friend of mine claiming that having them the right length etc was essential for pointe work.

[brrm.livejournal.com]

I was rather glad of my toenail when I dropped a metal headphone amplifier on my foot recently. :-)

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

They make it marginally less painful when you drop things on your foot, and possibly provide a little extra reinforcement to the toe for walking purposes.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the last time I dropped anything on my foot so I can't compare the former. Certainly I've not noticed any evidence of the latter.

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

If you grow them long enough, you can go rock climbing barefoot.

length?

[(Anonymous)]

Certainly we as modern man have only very recently in the scope of evoltion had the luxury of sissors or toenail clippers. Imagine a cavepersons long, possily sharp and definatly unkept nails and tell me if they would'nt come in handy for many things like defense or ripping meat from bones. I say "I want sharp talons like wolverine damnit!"
That would rock!

Re: length?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I think long toenails (as opposed to actual claws) would be incredibly inconvenient on feet. (Who are you, then?)