Jeff Bezos has, for the most part, managed to keep his shoe size a secret, much to the chagrin of (some) people on the internet.

We could go into a detailed analysis of why people care, or why there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to feet (WikiFeet), or foot fetishes and their acolytes, but we won’t, because there are some things that you can’t un-know once you know them.

It’s Monday and far too early in the week for all of that.

Instead, we’ll head on over to VICE, where one woman, Samantha Cole, took it upon herself to solve the mystery of the billionaire’s foot size.

The first thing you need to know before we delve into this in-depth investigation is that Bezos’ feet come up more often than you’d think.

Gossipgist.comsays they’re a 14, a size so large and uncommon, most shoe size charts don’t list it, and that sometimes require a special order.

…WikiFeet Men—”the collaborative celebrity feet website”—also lists Bezos’ foot size as “unknown.” And if the good folks of wikiFeet don’t know, it’s safe to say that no one really knows the truth, except the man himself.

…In 2004, Amazon’s top reviewer Joanna Daneman crossed paths with Bezos at an Amazon-sponsored event, and noticed that “he has really large feet.”

The problem with Bezos’ feet is that they have a habit of changing size in paparazzi photos.

In some, his feet seem very large. In other photos, the perspective changes, and his feet seem impossibly petite.

One thing is for certain: the man fills out a pair of strappy sandals.

Good for him.

It’s at this point that Cole contacts everyone who has ever been near the famous feet to inquire about them before appealing to WikiFeet for help.

They suggested that Cole finds a picture of Bezos’ feet next to something that can be measured.

This is the image that would solve the mystery:

The plan was to visit the Statue of Liberty Museum where the picture was taken and measure the stones.

With the coordinates dialled in (40°42’11.7″N 74°00’59.4″W) I headed to Manhattan’s southernmost tip to walk in Bezos’ footsteps. As I got closer to the spot we’d seen in photos, I saw the flagstones.

Image credit: Vice

I moved slightly out of view of a park ranger and got to work taking measurements. Each stone is about 55 inches by 52.5 inches.

This information was then used to determine the size of the foot.

If a little more than four and a half of Bezos’ shoes fit in one of these stones lengthwise, that’s around 11.9 inches of shoe.

If you account for the shoe being a little bit bigger than the foot inside, and reference various shoe and foot size charts, one can assume his feet are around 11 inches long, between a size 11-12.

It’s worth heading on over to VICE for what is, overall, a funny and cleverly written article.

Or you can just die happy knowing that the mystery of the size of Bezos’ feet has been solved.

A third option does also exist – you could just forget about this and move on with your life.

[source:vice]