Pigeons Aren't Pigeon Towed

...but many of our greatest athletes are.

Say what?

Yep, that's what I discovered. The reason people with their toes pointed inwardly, rather than straight (Technical term: Matatarsus Adductus) are called

"pigeon toed" is because of the slightly different different way they walk...similar to the way a pigeon walks.

And the reason it's called that .

In other words, Pigeons aren't pigeon towed...they just walk that way.

Get it?

(Talk about great writing........this ain't it.)

Many people are born with this handicap but are able to lead normal......

WAIT!  HANDICAP?  WHAT HANDICAP?...

Many of our top athletes are pigeon towed.....(Michael Jordon, Jackie Robinson, John Elway, etc.) and currently one trait the NFL scouts are looking for in new recruits...PIGEON TOWED players!

And here is the best explanation that I could find:

"People who are pigeon-toed may be able to contact the ground with less energy dissipation and as a result be able to apply greater propulsive forces to the ground in a shorter period of time. A good analogy would be that pigeon-toed athletes are like super-bouncy balls- they get on the ground and get off the ground quickly without losing much energy. People who are not pigeon-toed are more like a deflated beach ball- their foot lacks the stiffness of pigeon-toed people and as a result the energy return is not as efficient."

Makes sense to me.

And speaking of pigeons, many consider them a nuisance, especially in our crowded cities where they nest on building ledges and other man made structures and are not very good housekeepers.

But, all in all, they have worked well with humans, particularly in time of war.

According to the experts:

"Nearly all of the carrier pigeons during World War I and World War II were heroic, delivering important messages over enemy lines. 

Cher Ami

"On October 3, 1918, Major Charles White Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. 

They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, just over 190 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. 

The pigeon carrying the first message, "Many wounded. We cannot evacuate." was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: "Cher Ami". She was dispatched with a note in a canister on her left leg,

"We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it."

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising out of the brush and opened fire. For several moments, Cher Ami flew with bullets zipping through the air all around her.

 Cher Ami was eventually shot down but managed to take flight again. She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors.

 In this last mission, Cher Ami delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.

Cher Ami

Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division. Army medics worked long and hard to save her life. They were unable to save her leg, so they carved a small wooden one for her.

 When she recovered enough to travel, the now one-legged bird was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as she departed France."

Pigeons achieved a 98% success rate in the missions flown in WW II, despite enemy fire, and often with mortal injuries to themselves.  Cher Ami (stuffed) is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington. She was thought to be a male...until the taxidermist at the Smithsonian discovered differently.


-Ed