Why it's important to appreciate your feet

Do you appreciate your feet?

Have you thanked your metatarsals for their hard work? How about your talus? Have you hugged your cuboid today? Doubt it.

You might be the person who jams those bones into something you think are shoes, but your feet know are medieval torture devices. All in the name of fashion.

Sure, take your average 3,000 steps a day without a care, until those ugly things cry for mercy. Then run (or hobble) to a podiatrist hoping they can undo the years of abuse.

And most likely, they'll have a remedy, thanks to the son of an Indiana dairy farmer.

"Foot doctor to the world," as he's known, William Mathias Scholl, 1882-1968. Inventor, scientist, medical doctor and entrepreneur, he was a marketing genius--the father of modern podiatry.

You've heard of Dr. Scholl, but did you know there's a museum in North Chicago devoted to his work?

The Feet First Exhibition located inside Rosalind Franklin University, celebrates the complexity of the human foot and the business savvy of the former shoemaker.

It features the good, bad and ugly in the world of feet and those who doctor them.

You'll see the gargantuan shoe once worn by Robert Wadlow of Alton, Ill. It's a size 35. Stands to reason. He was almost 9 feet tall.

Check out the worst examples of footwear. Nineteenth century women's boots with toes as narrow as hypodermic needles, flip-floppy sandals, and huge woodblock heels from the 1970s. Foot killers, all of them.

Scholl made a fortune repairing the damage. His remedies are displayed in a re-creation of a 1930s storefront. The familiar yellow boxes with Zino Pads, Bunion Reducers Callous Salve, Kurotex Foot Plaster and Hammer Toe Pads are on the shelves.

His first invention, the "Foot-Eazer" gets prominent treatment. The spring-loaded, metal orthotic brought instant relief to thousands of aching feet and millions of dollars into the Scholl family business.

If you get tired on the tour, relax, put your feet up and watch a 9-minute film at the EZ Your Feet Theater. The movie documents the global success of the Scholl Company.

It's probably more information than you ever wanted or needed, but your feet might thank you someday.