Why do humans like to pick their feet?

What do the guys who pick their toes around you look like?

Is it this cute, quiet, ignorant and immersed way of picking one's feet?

Or are you just being dissolute and picking your feet in public without caring about what others are saying?

Or how about an elegant, state-of-the-art foot-picking piece like a work of art or a national treasure?

As a cultural activity that is appreciated by both the elite and the masses, picking one's feet is quite popular. Moreover, people usually cannot stop picking their feet after they start.

However, in the eyes of many people, picking your feet is a kind of unkempt and sloppy behavior. But even if they are labeled as sloppy, many people still like to pick their feet. Why is that?

Interest is the best teacher. It is precisely because of this strong interest that most "foot-picking experts" summarize this knowledge and break it down into the following basic steps after practicing foot-picking day after day:

Simply enjoy picking your feet, peeling off dead skin, removing dirt between toes, and tasting the smell

Let’s talk about these decomposed movements one by one and why they are so tempting.

Article 1: Simply enjoy picking your feet

This one can be said to be the most basic operation in the academic world.

The culture of picking toes can be said to be a craft that has been passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors and is still flourishing in various places. When humans began to walk upright, their hands were freed, so they were just sitting there doing nothing, so why not...

Of course, picking your toes at that time helps keep your feet clean and comfortable, otherwise it will affect your walking.

It was this skill that allowed our ancestors to run and hunt more easily.

Therefore, there is no direct connection between picking one's feet and being disgusting and dirty. It is a kind of love that comes from the bottom of one's heart.

As an organ that receives stimulation, the human foot has an intricate relationship with numerous blood vessels and nerves. The foot is also one of the most sensitive parts of the human body (remember when you scratch your feet, you either scratch your armpits?). When we repeat a simple friction motion, we undoubtedly repeatedly stimulate numerous blood vessels and nerves. These stimuli are quickly transmitted through the soles of the feet, and then you can immediately feel the so-called "refreshing feeling".

Of course, some people feel uncomfortable because of some problems with their feet, such as athlete's foot, fungal infection, etc. The behavior of picking their feet to relieve the itching of their feet is simply due to physiological reasons.

Article 2: Tear off dead skin

In the process of peeling dead skin, the human body's pituitary gland and hypothalamus will release endorphins.

Endorphins are a type of peptide produced by the human body that has effects similar to morphine. This substance can make people feel an inexplicable sense of pleasure, which is manifested in the pleasant feeling of picking your feet, such as the continued excitement after long-distance running or exercise, and the wonderful feeling of being in love all come from this substance.

When you find that picking your feet can make you happy, won't you tear them even more happily?

Article 3: Remove the sludge and smell it

This behavior also makes scientists particularly curious. Why do people still smell something that obviously stinks?

To figure this out, Kanda and six other Japanese scientists kept picking and smelling their stinky feet day and night, and even tasted the mud between their fingers.

Finally one day, they published a paper to announce to the world that foot odor is most likely caused by a substance called short-chain fatty acids. A pair of sweaty feet stuck in shoes for a day will stink, no matter if it's a rough man or a fairy! It smells like a sour odor.

Although smelling feet sounds outrageous, it is not a self-abuse behavior. In psychology, this behavior is called "benign self-abuse", that is, a behavior in which the body gets spiritual enjoyment from discomfort. The reason for this phenomenon is similar to the brain's joy of surviving a disaster.

For example, people feel pain in certain situations, but they feel uncomfortable because they do not realize that this pain will not cause harm to themselves. When things are over, they find that there was not actually any danger, which produces a sense of mental satisfaction.

After some brave people have made bold attempts and carefully verified the results, they all said: "This is so sour and refreshing, I can't believe it!" It's not sour and smelly, but sour and refreshing! It's the same psychological mechanism of "benign self-abuse" as riding a roller coaster or watching a horror movie.

So, will picking your feet lead to the spread of athlete's foot? I can tell you clearly that athlete's foot can be transmitted to your hands. Athlete's foot usually occurs because of blisters and hidden bacteria and fungi. When we pick our feet for fun, we may break the blisters and transfer the bacteria and fungi inside to our hands, causing tinea manuum.

Therefore, people with athlete's foot should hold back and not scratch or touch their feet randomly. Remember to wash your hands and feet in time after picking your feet!

END

Reviewer: Taozi National Psychological Counselor

Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo