This hub is about legs. Everybody has them (or at least most of us do). Legs are a curious part of the human anatomy. They are beloved for their marvelous utility and primally driven attraction. Legs are iconic items that have been idealized, pampered, cloistered and treated as great symbols of beauty, strength and sexuality. If you’ve got great legs, you’ve got a head start in the world. Legs can get you where you want to go in many ways. But what constitutes “great legs”? Here's a sociological look at legs; analyzing some of the many shapes, sizes, stigmas and subjectivities of our lower extremities.

A lot of people have become famous for their legs. Actress Betty Grable (above) always said- “There are two reasons why I am successful in show business and I am standing on both of them.” Her shapely “million dollar legs” were actually insured by Lloyds of London.

Today, Svetlana Pankratova is cashing in on her gargantuan gams. The 36-year-old blonde's 51.9-inch legs, almost 4 feet four inches, have been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest legs of any woman in the world. In this photo, she’s shown with Pingping, the world’s shortest man. I guess length is important because Pingping isn’t getting as much press.

Some men do; however, have great legs and they’ve captured the attention of the world. Michael Phelps, the Olympic gold medal winner has strong, shapely but relatively short legs. This drawback actually gives the swimmer an advantage as it lowers his drag and speeds his performance. They say Michael's ankles can extend beyond the pointe of a ballet dancer, enabling him to flutter his feet as if they were "fins", for maximum thrust through the water.

I used to train with AAU swimmers and all the men shaved their legs to cut down on the drag. Although my surfing efforts haven't turned up anything on the internet, I would bet Phelps does the same.

We also have to give credit to Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson. They did amazing things with their legs even though they were mostly tucked away within their trousers.

David stands in front of the Palazzo Veccio in Florence and still comes pretty close to representing the ideal classical male body. He could easily model for Calvin Klein. Art historians agree that the statue's head and hands are not in proportion with the rest of the figure, but no one seems to mind. The Italians give Michelangelo more flack about the size of David's other extremity - and I don't mean his toe.... but that's an entirely new hub.

Getting back to legs...you'll also notice that David’s legs are really smooth and hairless. I don’t think Michael Phelps would be so popular if he had hairy legs.

Even if your legs are not perfect, smooth skin is in…yes…even if you have tree trunks. I happen to like smooth tree trunks too; just look at this lovely ficus I shot in Spain. But I digress.

Moving on to the classical female body, Venus by Praxiteles is missing a few bits, but on the whole she’s got lovely legs – perhaps a bit chunkier by today’s standards, but then women didn’t work out much in those days. This Venus was, just for the record, the first female nude sculpture.

Decent women went undercover shortly thereafter and their legs didn’t emerge in public until about 1913 when designers such as Coco Chanel raised the hemline to just over the ankle. During the Victorian Era, it was shocking for a gentleman to even mention the word “leg” in polite society, lest others be driven mad with abandoned lust.

Seamless stocking were slow to take off in the 1950s. The lack of seam line on a leg was associated with bare legs and in the 40s and 50s that was considered undignified and common. Gradually women came to their senses and started purchasing the seamless variety.

There’s an old saying, “hemlines go up and down with the economy”. That seems to have been case in the roaring twenties when hems rose above shapely knees and then plummeted along with the crash of ’29.

In the 1960’s when things were still pretty good in the US and UK, the mini-skirt was all the rage, made popular by supermodel, Twiggy. Her legs were considerably thinner than Ms Venus of the 4^th century BC.

When you take a step back and get real, it all boils down to the fact that all legs are beautiful. It’s just that society and advertising lead us to believe otherwise. If you’re healthy enough to exercise regularly, just do it. Your legs with thank you. You may even start feeling sexier. If you’re not keen on the shape of your legs, just wear boots or long pants. Ladies, - platform shoes and shoes without ankle straps make your legs longer and leaner. Gentlemen, - well-fitting jeans that accentuate your finer assets can make up for less than perfect pins. You can also surprise your partner one evening by coming to bed with shaved legs. (just thought I’d throw that in).

So now you've got a leg up on some anatomical trivia.

If you're hungry for more information about beautiful legs, check out the links below. And for whatever reason you decided to read this hub, I hope you found what you were looking for. Oh yes,.. the lovely leggy lady in the chorus line above, second from the right, is actually my mother-in-law.