Before going to bed, the wife asked if I noticed.

The hobbits had celtic feet.

This is significant to her, since she has celtic feet.

I, on the other hand (or foot, as it were), have Norman feet. Which fits, as I had ancestors in the invading Norman army of William the Conqueror.

'Course, our line also comes down from Robert the Bruce, and his mother was a Celt. So I could have had either.

So, how do you tell celtic feet from Norman feet?

Back during one of the World Wars, a Brit measured hundreds if not thousands of feet, and discovered there was a difference in the shape of the feet of people with Norman ancestry as opposed to the native celtic foot.

The Norman foot was the more common shape, with the four toes all tapering gradually in a nice curve from the tip of the big toe.

People with celtic ancestry, however, had first and middle toes that were equal in length to the big toe, with the ring and small toe then angling down to the outside. Essentially, their feet are square in the front, instead of rounded.

Makes a difference if you are trying to get proper-fitting bootware for your army.

When I told her, wife was thrilled to note that she has celtic (Irish, in fact) feet. It also explained why she could so rarely find footware that was comfortable. It's not that she has weird feet. Manufacturers simply design their shoes for the more common phenotype.

Anyway, she was thrilled that they made hobbits with celtic feet, rather than Norman. And wondering what New Zealander feet look like. (Any insights, Angelsmum?)