why do humans have toenails?
439829
To protect the edges of our toes. The area where the toenail is located is a place where the toe contcts objects the most. If we didn't have toenails or fingernails, the tips of our toes and fingers would be continuously bleeding and injured.
785949
Who cares? Our lives are better than yours.\nHave you not seen a person be healed? It happens all the time, people's legs that were cut off grow back!!! Can science explain that?
173411
They're usually from an injury that occurred while that part of the nail was growing.
565455
Sorry all, but I have to call wrong answers here.  YES--nail biting can cause health risks actually.  When you bite your nails, you can cause them to be too short for one, which can cause them to get ingrown.  This is also known as a hangnail.  They are very painful, and if infected, may have to be removed by a DR.  My son actually took to biting his toenails (I know--YUCK!) after he had bitten down all of his fingernails.  He has his big toes so messed up now that they keep growing back in wrong and he has to go back in every 3-6 months and have needles stuck in his toes to have them locally anesthetized so they can cut away half of his toenail.  Our friends son was so stubborn about his that he actually ended up with an infection that spread to his blood!!  He was put on MAJOR antibiotics for quite a while because of it, and STILL needs to have his toenail removed entirely by a surgeon now!
46190
Yes, you need to see a doctor. The nail is dead and you may infect your toe if you are not careful. Do not dig at it you might cause further damage
624094
Feet are bumped, banged, stepped on, and smushed more often as they are on the ground and used for transportation.  Nails (on fingers and toes) are protective devices (the way a helmet is used to protect your head).  Makes sense for toenails to be thicker and stronger, because feet take more abuse in general.
439828
The proteins dont coagulate, they denature- The tertiary and secondary structure of proteins determine if they are soluble and liquid-Upon unfolding because of heat, they become insoluble, interact with each other, and form a single mass of loosely polymerized proteins.  Toenails DO grow slower, because of genetic control on the deposition of protein.  This is likely regulated by what evolution learned about the average time it takes to wear down the two in different situations.
517660
A pedicure just really cleans in between your toe nails , and you get a foot massage. What woman would'nt want a man with a clean foot? And hey girl , if someone else is massaging his foot you will not have to.
738950
"Balance" isn't much of an explanation.  Why is a big toe better than a small toe?  If big toes produced better balance, then why does it help to have it on the inside, rather than the center of the foot or the outside?  Why not 5 big toes on each foot?\n\nA better explanation is that it is an evolutionary throwback to the "thumb" on the foot of primates.  A lot of the internal bone structures, muscles, ligaments, and nerves of the foot provide further evidence.  Four examples (among many):\n\nFact 1: Look at your hand.  Notice that you have one fewer bone (one fewer joint) in your thumb than in your other fingers.  The same is true in your foot (see picture of foot bones in Source 1) ... your big toe has one fewer bone (one fewer joint) that your other toes .  And the same holds with all primate hands and feet.  Your big toe is a re-purposed "thumb".\n\nFact 2: There is a vestigial muscle in the calf of humans, called the 'plantaris' muscle.  (See source 2.)  It is completely useless in humans ... in fact it is so useless that it is a favorite to be harvested by surgeons needing tissue for reconstructive surgery (like heart surgery), and in fact 9% of humans are born without any plantaris muscle at all.  However, the same muscle is very important in other primates, as it is what lets them flex and oppose the large inside digit of the foot, to allow GRASPING WITH THE FEET.\n\nFact 3: Why is your thumb fatter than your other fingers?  Because it needs to be stronger than the other fingers to be opposable for grasping.  That is the reason the big toe is fatter  than the other toes.  It had to be fatter because it was once used for grasping.\n\nFact 4: Wiggle your toes.  Notice that you can wiggle your big toe independently of your other toes ... but it's very dificult to wiggle any other toe by itself (some people can wiggle their pinkie toe by itself).  The reason for this is that there are more nerves and muscles dedicated to the big toe than to your other toes ... again, evidence that the big toe was once used for grasping.\n\nYes, the human big toe (once we became ground walkers, and no longer grasped things with our feet) has moved forward help the other toes produce better balance when walking upright ... but that doesn't explain why there was a big toe in the first place.
4279
because God made us that way\nP.S. we have toeprints on or toes not fingerprints lol
168019
I think it's so that you can get a better grip on it (sort of like fingerprints) and not drop it on your toe, because that really hurts.\n\nGood question by the way.  :)
1095086
Thanks for your interesting question. Human fingernails are not made of stiff hair but are actually made from skin cells. \n\nNails grow from a "growth plate" located at the base of the nail. It's the half-moon shaped area at the base of the nail near where the skin connects. Nails are fomed by special cells called epithelium. Epithelial cells grow from the growth plate and as they mature, they are pushed outward. During growth they die and the inside of the cells become filled with a hard protein called "Keratin". It is the keratin that makes our nails hard and tough.
243055
We have a horny (keratin) protection on our last phalanxes because we're mammals and almost all mammals have (except for whales and some others); it's something we probably inherited from our synapsid ancestors ("mammal-like reptiles"). \nAnd we have fingernails instead of claws or hooves because we're primates. All great apes have fingernails, whereas "lower" primates have claws. \n\nAt least, that's the evolutionary reason. I'm sorry if you were looking for something more philosophical!
631727
Improve your nutrition.  Your fingernails are one of the telltale signs of good or bad nutrition.  Anything you apply to the nails will only be a temporary solution...you'll have to figure out what your body is missing in order to see a real change.
191513
yep, check this website it is all a myth:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingernail \nIt is commonly claimed that nails and hair will continue growing for several days after death. This is a myth; the appearance of growth is actually caused by the retraction of skin as the surrounding tissue dehydrates, making nails and hair more prominent
308065
I know it will take forever but if you get one of those black or grey emery boards--not the steel ones--you can file your toe nails.  Clipping them and filing them will help them to grow slower.  Also to me, the best way to clip my toe nails is to shower first and then immediately clip them afterwards.  The warm water from the shower loosens the nails making them more flexible and easier to cut.  That way you won't clip your tissue.
519755
Because long nails can harbor bacteria, and nail polish flakes. (yuck!)