Someone sent me a rather cryptic Babygate message yesterday with a theory to which I had previously not allowed much credibility. That theory is not the subject of this post, but in my research of that theory, I stumbled upon something else that I had not noticed before. In this infamous photo of Ruffles, he seems to have an extra-long big toe on his right foot. In a photo of Round Ear held by Sarah on her left hip, he seems to have a long left big toe. That photo is a couple of years later than the first one, and no, I cannot find a single photo of the other foot of either child. I can verify that the earlier photo has not been accidentally flipped in processing because this a blowup of the shot in which Sarah is standing right next to Mercede and Ruffles with a big VANDALS printed on her shirt. I do not have a way to verify that the later photo has not been flipped, however. Maybe someone else can verify this.
A very brief bit of research stated that the long big toe is not a common trait. A longer second toe may actually be a more common condition. I am assuming for now that all two (or four) feet have the long big toe trait. I have not been able to ascertain if some people are born with only one long toe, but I do not think this is the case. I have not found any mention of FAS or DS being associated with this trait, either.
When I first noticed this issue, it looked to me as if Ruffles had only four toes on his right foot, but my better judgment tells me that that is just a distortion in the blowup of the tiny photograph, or the angle is distorting the look of Ruffles' toes. When you look at Ruffles' left foot, it appears to have a normal-sized big toe, but again, my best guess is that this is a distortion emanating from the angle of the photo. If anyone else has any better photos than I have, please chime in with your opinion. I am not the least bit certain of any of this. Is it just a figment of my frustrated imagination? Why has no one else mentioned it before?
This brings me to that other new theory, the one I am not yet ready to disclose until the dust has settled on this one. If these toes are indeed a distinctive trait, does that mean that there is only one Trig, or does it mean the two Trigs are related? Does anyone have clear photos of the other feet?
