Toe Head

What the freak?

Ok, I know I've heard this term before, but I have no idea what it really means. I've heard/read it twice this week in different contexts and now I'm thoroughly confused. It doesn't seem very nice to call someone a toehead. Maybe it's the little kids' version of butthead?

Or is it toWhead? Now we're on to something. So does that mean that the head is big enough to tug oil tankers through the Boston Harbor?

Unfortunately (for the purpose of continuing to feel ignorant), I just now decided to check the actual dictionary instead of WikiPedia, and it gave me an answer.

Towhead
1. A head of white-blond hair resembling tow.
2. A person with such hair.
Colloquial Version: An urchin who has soft, whitish hair.
3. A sandbar or low-lying alluvial island in a river, especially one with a stand of trees.

Excuse me? Tow is a noun? An alluvial island? Now I've got to know the etymology of this business.

Eureka!
"Tow" evidently refers to the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute, prepared for spinning which apparently is light in color and messy looking. "Head" refers to that heavy thing on top of your neck. The blonde headed person definition is a product of 19th century American language. Not sure about the alluvial island, but Huck Finn tied up to one, so I think it makes a little more sense than toEhead did at the beginning.
Source

Yes, I know it's obvious that I haven't been writing. It's just that I promised not to talk about those things and I have a temporary roomate which keeps me away from this dreadful machine.