Caltrops, when resting on a horizontal surface, have a sharp, narrow point sticking straight up. Stepping on such objects is painful. Most polyhedra do not have such a shape; the most well-known example of an exception to this is the tetrahedron. This fact is well-known to many players of role-playing games, who often use the term “d4” for tetrahedral dice, and who usually try to avoid stepping on them. Here are some other polyhedra which resemble caltrops. All were made using Stella 4d, software available at this website. The first two images may be made larger by simply clicking on them.

The third example, made with the same program, varies this idea somewhat: in physical form, resting on a floor, this caltrop-polyhedron would have three, not just one, potentially foot-damaging “spikes” sticking straight up.