By K. Nepsa
Last month, we learned a little about fun and interesting feet facts for mammals. Many of us in the community have pets that walk to the beat of their own species. But what are the tracks we can expect to find from ourselves and our furry companions? Humans may walk on their feet, but we also know our fingers leave specific prints that help identify each and every one of us as unique individuals. According to Jack Serle of the BBC Science Focus team, the general type of fingerprint you have – such as the mixture of whorls, arches and loops is genetically determined- but your specific pattern is not. This is molded in the uterus from about three months’ gestation – so even twins don’t have identical fingerprints. You can scar your fingerprints with a cut, or temporarily lose them through abrasion, acid or certain skin conditions, but fingerprints lost in this way will grow back within a month. As you age, skin on your fingertips becomes less elastic and the ridges get thicker. This doesn’t change your fingerprint, but it’s harder to scan or take a print from it.
So, what about our feet? Do we leave specific toe prints? Are toe prints unique, like our fingerprints? Natalie Harrison, with Science Focus Magazine answers, “Yes they are. The whorls and ridges develop uniquely in each person but are not genetically determined like our fingerprints. There are a few famous cases in which criminals have been caught by using toeprints. The first was at a Scottish bakery in 1952 when a safe cracker was identified by the footprints he left in flour. Toeprints were even suggested as biometric data to be included in the now-abandoned UK identity card scheme.”
And what about our furry companions? Do dogs have fingerprints, like we do? I never really thought about it before, until this question was brought up in a science fair project (spring 2020) by one of our very own Vail students. I was fascinated to know the answer! Elizabeth Briceno, who currently attends Sycamore Elementary posed the hypothesis that dogs do indeed have their own paw prints that are unique to each individual pup. Why would they not, right? However, through her valuable and meticulous research, she found that her hypothesis was proven incorrect and dogs do NOT have individual prints like humans. Her project not only answered the question about paw prints, but also concluded through even more research that our pups can be identified through their individual nose prints. How fascinating Elizabeth! Thank you for your all your hard work! Her project was forwarded on to SARSEF. Great job!
Science starts with a question, leads to a hypothesis about our physical world, and hopefully we get answers to some fascinating topics! What started out as fairy fingers led to some interesting facts about feet. I particularly enjoyed this topic because feet are something I just never thought a lot about in the past. However, I will be paying closer attention as I WALK forward!
K. Nepsa has a B.S. in Geology and a Master’s in GIS. She has lived in Arizona, HI, CA and Shanghai, China. Her hobbies include enjoying the outdoors via Jeep, Kayak, horse or foot. She has been a Vail resident since 2005.
