Floating ribs are four atypical ribs (two lowermost pairs, XI-XII) in the human ribcage. They are called so because they are attached to the vertebrae only, and not to the sternum or cartilage coming off the sternum. Some people are missing one of the two pairs. Others have a third pair. Most, however, possess two pairs.
Their position can be permanently altered by a form of body modification called tightlacing, which uses a corset to compress and move the ribs.
Famous quotes containing the words rib and/or floating:
“Man created woman—out of what? Out of a rib of his god—of his “ideal.””
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The Royal Navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence and ornament; it is its ancient and natural strength; the floating bulwark of the island.”
—William Blackstone (1723–1780)