I think the idea first crossed my brain one evening while considering how much better my shoes would fit if I didn’t have those silly little toes on the outside edges of my feet. My feet are wide enough, so those fifth toes really aren’t necessary, are they?
If you think about it, the human body is cluttered with bits and pieces we just don’t need. I’m trying to simplify my life, but how can I ever truly reach minimalism or simplicity with those extra toes?
I’m fine with my body just as it is, but a quick Google search for “unnecessary body parts” turns up plenty of discussion on this fascinating topic. Wisdom teeth, the appendix, tonsils and what many people insist on calling the pinky toe are quickly dismissed by most writers as useless.
Hmm… While every toe might be necessary for proper balance, toenails certainly can’t be. Can they?
Others suggest we don’t need muscles for wiggling our ears or for grasping with our feet. Nipples on males make some lists, for reasons I wouldn’t care to defend. A more complete list of useless parts has been circulating on the web too.
So which parts are you willing to shed? I still have my appendix and the portion of my tonsils that hasn’t rotted away during one of my life’s many sore throats. My wisdom teeth are crammed uncomfortably into the back of my mouth, but they’re still there. In short, I’m fully equipped and proud of that fact. I’ll keep decluttering my life, but my parts are staying where they were installed as long as possible.
Whether you consider them escapees from an otherwise orderly evolution or the universe’s little jokes, our useless bits are worth considering, and that’s just what we’ve done in this brief essay.
Gip Plaster is a web content writer. Previously a journalist, online bookseller and even a corporate advertising guy, Gip now specialize in writing high-quality content for websites — his and other people’s. Learn more here.
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