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This Little Piggy

Okay, I haven't been inspired to write lately.  Not that Gabby doesn't inspire my life every day, but I think she takes all of the energy out of me lately, but I found this amusing so I thought I needed to share it. 

Last night Michael stubbed one of his toes (this is not the amusing part) on the way to bed after turning the light off last night.  I asked him which toe he stubbed and he said, "I don't know, the ring pinky toe." I informed him that he just described two different toes with finger terminology.  So sarcastically he said the metacarpal (something I don't remember).  I laughed and asked him where he heard that and he said he just made it up or it was off of "Bones" or something.  So after our little quips back and forth he grabbed his phone at 11:00 at night and looked up metacarpal (which I was impressed to find out is really something, but it has to do with your hand) and he decided we needed to know what to call each individual toe to save him from my endless questioning regarding a stubbed toe in the future.

To my amusement and his as well we discovered the following thanks to Wikipedia:
 (Please read this it's worth it I promise)

porcellus fori (big toe), translation: little pig at market
p. domi (second toe); translation: baby pig at home
p. carnivorus (third toe), translation: meat-eating piglet

p. nonvoratus (fourth digit) translation: small pig that has not eaten

p. plorans domum (smallest toe) translation: piggy crying all the way home
The text of the 18th-century rhyme, which parents still use when playing with their little children's toes, starting by wiggling the hallux and then each smaller toe in turn:

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.
So when we are playing with Gabby and saying "This little piggy" we are using some sort of mnemonic device to remember the Latin terms for each of our toes.  My question is, how did these names stick and become the technical terms for each of our toes?!? 

Just like "Ring Around the Rosy" and other nursery rhymes there is a deeper meaning than the surface entertainment for a sweet baby. 

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