The stickleback fish in North America are the other clear example, they say. The walking stick, named for Sandoval, comes in two genetically determined color patterns–with or without stripes.

Wierengo makes artistic and functional walking sticks from trees he's harvested from Baldwin and the Upper Peninsula.

Walking sticks have come a long way from their humble origins as mere support tools to becoming significant style statements. While today they are often associated with the elderly or those ...