Why do people wear shoes inside the house?

Aces@lemmy.today to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 227 points –
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Growing up, we never thought twice about it, we just wore our shoes inside (or didn't) and it was whatever, nobody ever said anything. I grew up in northeast US and the only time we really wouldn't wear shoes in the house would be when it snowed or if we had mud on our shoes, otherwise it helped keep your feet warm. It wasn't until I met my wife that she was like, "What the fuck?" She grew up in Kenya where it was mandatory to not wear shoes. It's so dusty out there most of the time that the house would be a mess if you did wear your shoes inside, so it was just an automatic thing to take them off.

I keep my fuzzy slippers at the door. Much nicer than street shoes.

Slippers are great. I used to have an awesome pair of gorilla slippers.. until my dog shredded one.

Sadly I can't find replacements that fit my feet now.

gorilla slippers

Good dog, those things are freaking scary.

Mine were super comfy and warm... sadly they don't make them in size 13 anymore that I can find.

Too bad my dog didn't like them, maybe he was jealous.

I've only ever seen this done by Americans. They also have really car centric cities. I guess it kinda makes sense to just keep your normal shoes on to warm your feet if they can't get dirty since you mostly only walk indoors.

I'm American and I know people from multiple states and I've never heard of anyone doing this. Always surprises me to see it assigned to us online. I'm sure it must happen in some region of the country but I don't know where.

It's a reoccurring internet discussion you can google. The rest of the world thinks Americans wear shoes inside, even on their beds, because that's what we see in US movies/series, and Americans always deny they'd ever do such a thing.

That's a good point. I hadn't thought about actors almost always wearing shoes on set. I guess it would look like everyone does that in their home.

I should wear shoes in bed. My feet got attacked by a cat this morning at Oh God o'clock.

You just think it was a cat because your brain canā€™t handle the truth. Thereā€™s a reason we use bursery rhymes to teach kids not to let their arms and legs hang over the side of the bed. You are so lucky you still have feet

I thought those nursery rhymes were because of the cat.

I hate that shit. When someone wears shoes in bed it's all I can focus on and it ruins the scene. As a fat American slob, I'd never wear shoes to bed. The only time I wear shoes inside is if I have to run inside quickly for something on the 1st floor or in the basement.

Not American myself. However, I've seen people from Pennsylvania do this.

Otherwise, for some reason it happens a lot in movies.

I'm not American and I always wear shoes in the house. Why the fuck not?

So... do you clean them every time you get home? Or is there just not much rain, snow or even just dirt in your area anyways?

We do have a lot of rain, specially in this time of year, but we have something here that is called a schoonloopmat which cleans/dries your shoes quite good. That together with hard wooden floors throughout the house makes I never take off my shoes at home.

In winter, my feet get cold

Why not have a cozy pair of slippers?

what are slippers but inside shoes?

Slippers never go outside. If they do its for but a few seconds to avoid picking up a ton of dirt.

What people seem to miss when thinking about how dirty their shoes are are the chemical residues from vehicles. Exhaust pipes drip contaminated water, oil drips from cars, brake dust accumulates in those wet and oily spots on the road, etc.... Every time you cross the street or walk in dense public areas your shoes pick that stuff up. If you walk around your house with those same shoes, you invite toxic residues into your living space. The effect might be negligible but the thought makes me wanna gag.

They are monsters. There is NO EXCUSE for wearing dirty shoes indoors, outside a party to which you immediately clean.

This is most common in the US. At any point, a policeman might barge into your house, shoot yout dog and start looking for something else to shoot. If you're wearing shoes already, you've got a head start and a chance to live.

As other have said, they're usually not the same shoes I wear outside.

But generally, for the same reason I wear them outside: to protect my feet. Especially if I'm going in and out a lot, like when doing yardwork or grilling.

Every time this question comes up, I can't tell if it's that homes outside the US are much cleaner or streets are much dirtier.

What are you protecting your feet from when relaxing in the living room? Is your coffee table regularly attacking you.

I wear slippers inside mostly to protect agains cold floor, coffee tables, and most important of all, Lego bricks on the loose.

Also another reason to wear shoes inside is when you are constantly going inside and outside. Which means then your floor is dirty.... which means you want to protect your feet from the dirt. That's a vicious cycle but can be one of the reasons.

This is what Crocs were invented for. Just slip your feet into ā€œoutdoor slippersā€ on your way out, and kick them off on your way back in. You donā€™t even have to search for matching socks, and it still works in the rain

Loose nails in the floorboards, kids' toys, yes table legs, things dropping on them from height, cold floors, cold air, pouncing cats, slipping in puddles, hot oil spatter in the kitchen... life in a 140-year-old house with three kids and five cats, basically.

Intresting, we have around the same aged house, four cats, a dog but no kids and have never really felt the need for shoes indoors.

My coffee table broke my toe last year, vicious thing!

I had taken some shoes off 5 mins earlier as well šŸ˜ž

In that case I perfectly understand you. Society really doesn't take coffee table attacks as seriously as they should, really vicious things if left on their own.

I had a pinky toe pointing backwards courtesy of a door jamb. I now always wear crocs inside

I was a barefoot all the time person until I got a bunch of cats. Now I need socks.

Slip-on shoes at the door seem to be an alien concept.

Did you not have mothers who'd throw things at your head if you wore your shoes in the house? Were you not better than 'shoes in the house' people?

I like to cook, and I like big cooks. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday is wake up and immediately start dinner. Fresh bread, slow roasted meats, things that take time in the kitchen. It's not weird for me to spend hours in there, and a kitchen needs a hard floor because carpet will just absorb spills and become disgusting really quickly. My old ass gets really sore after 5 hours standing barefoot on hard tile, so I have some house shoes that never go outside and help me stay comfortable.

we have those squishy princess pads we put down and wear house slippers but yeah same idea

Indoor shoes are fine, but wearing outside shoes in is wrong.

Wrong why, though? Is the ground outside really THAT dirty? Even if it is, can you guarantee that the floor in your house isnā€™t effectively as dirty?

Living in Southern California, where we donā€™t get much inclement weather, tracking in muddy or otherwise physically dirty shoes in the house isnā€™t really a concern 95% of the time.

The ground outside is literally made of dirt. It is as dirty as it gets.

The only way your shoes don't get dirty is if you never actually walk on dirt. Which, sounding like you are American, is probably true since everything is concreted over to make space for your cars.

And even then, you never encounter dog shit, right?

Living in Canada the outdoor shoes are unthinkable! So much mud and snow.

But even in good weather there's dog pee and gum and all sorts of junk on the bottom of your shoes.

Ah, this reminds me of uwabaki (äøŠå±„恍) back when I went to elementary school in Japan. Outside shoes and inside shoes which are called Uwabaki are different. The only time I use Uwabaki outside is in an emergency situation. I remember doing this in 2011 Earthquake

Those are similar to what I wear indoors: typically slip on shoes with a soft sole.

For some reason I don't feel productive if I'm not wearing shoes.

My dog refuses to wear shoes outside so sheā€™s already tracking dirt (visible or not) in several times a day. Iā€™m always wearing either my outdoor shoes or slippers to keep from exposing my feet. If we did not have a dog than it would make sense to remove shoes as soon as we come inside.

Same. I required people to take shoes off in my house until I got dogs. They track dirt, pine needles, fur all over the place. I still mostly go around in my socks, but I don't expect anybody else to.

If you have plantar fasciitis, it can really help with the added support.

There are slippers like Oofos that you can wear at home instead of using shoes.

Those look nice, but I don't know if I can justify spending $120 on slippers.

That's fair. I've never bought from them for full price, as I find them quite expensive as well. I always wait for sales or discount codes. Having said that, they are amazing. They are the plushiest/softest footwear I've experienced so far, even better than the popular Boost, React, and ZoomX foams. They have a very pronounced arch, so if you need arch support, you'll definitely get it.

No one near me sells oofos, I can go to 3 stores nearby and buy a pair of Hokas that I can also wear at the Gym instead of needing a separate pair of Gym shoes.

When I lived in the Midwest, indoor carpeting was everywhere, and everyone took their shoes off at the door. Probably due to snow and muck and whatever else.

Moved to the east coast and people thought it was weird that I would try to take my shoes off at their door. Most people had hardwood.

I still live on the east coast, and basically I just do what people ask. It generally seems like places that have carpeting ask for shoes off, those that don't, don't.

That's when you're going to someone else's home. In my own home, I have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. The indoor shoes are basically slip on types. I wear them everywhere inside until I'm going to bed, then they go by the bed.

I have children and I got tired of stepping on shit and walking with a limp because I stepped on a metal truck the size of a dime or whatever.

Because I'm Mr Rogers. When I come home, I take off my jacket & work shoes, and put on my sweater and home shoes. I also sing a song.

Because I have a "thing" about having those little floor-crunchies on my feet. Floating flooring is nice, but every little thing lays right on top of it.. So instead of constantly dusting the bottoms of my feet off on my calves, I just throw on some house shoes. Freshly cleaned floors excepted.

We have dogs, cats, and kids, trying to maintain the level of cleanliness people are implying you could get by removing shoes just isn't going to happen here. Hardwood floors, Roomba twice a day, and biweekly deep clean.

I have house shoes (that I only wear inside) because orthotics don't fit in slippers

Orthotics are probably no better than a placebo for some conditions.

"Conclusions: Foot orthoses are not superior for improving pain and function compared with sham or other conservative treatment in patients with PHP."

After talking to my GP and talking to the specialist she recommended, this was the treatment plan that we decided on and it's been working well. Thank you for your assumptions and condescension.

Wasn't intended to be condescending or even specifically about you. Sorry, thought that was clear as it's only about a particular condition and you hadn't mentioned what your condition was.

Just something that I came across a while ago that I found interesting.

Glad things are going well for you.

I wear them only to maintain being productive. This is an actual thing a LOT of people with ADHD do to avoid just sitting down and not moving. I give myself about an hour then switch to my slips and usually only maintain my work level for a few more minutes at most.

My cats track litter everywhere and I keep my bike inside (the bike room in my apartment has a major theft issue). So not like I'm making the floor any dirtier by wearing shoes. I sweep once a week and mop usually every other week, more if needed like if a cat has a particularly pukey week. The floor is for dirty things I don't plan on eating off of it.

Barely related; but I use a square of astroturf to stop my cat tracking which works really well! Unfortunately, because it made the place look so aggressively, manufactured suburban green, I was forced to create a whole white picket fence poop garden for him.

I take off my shoes at home, but at my best friend's house I leave them on because she has pets and the floors are always filthy.

Pretty much this. The floor at home isn't in good shape, so you choose between shoes or potential splinters. I could get into a whole rant about why I live like this, but this is not the time or place.

According to my dad, "because if I walk around in socks I always end up stepping in something wet"... I don't know why they just leave wet spots around to step in.

Is it kids or pets?

Kids apparently lack the mental facilities to clean up after themselves until their 18th birthday.

Are you the kid?

My feet are cold

Fluffy socks or slippers?

I have slip on house shoes that are like slippers but being shoes they have a sole that can keep me from stunning toes on the stuff family members leave around. Plus they are more insulation when the floor is cold.

I don't always take off shoes right at the door though if they aren't wet or have obvious dirt or stuff on the bottom. Yes, that tracks some stuff in but regular floor cleaning takes care of that.

It is funny that the person I know who is the most strict about not wearing shoes in the house likes to walk around barefoot outside and then walks right in the house like her feet didn't pick up the same things as shoes.

House slipons are different! Like the other reply, I guess I'm more getting at that distinction between indoor and outdoor footwear. And something like walking on your porch is fine in either (to me), but I wouldn't go walking around the mall in my slippers any more than I keep sneakers on in the house.

My house slipons are literally regular slip on shoes that I don't wear outside.

Your porch most likely has just as much bird feces and random animal or insect spread bacteria as the sidewalk unless it is enclosed.

I have a pair of slippers I use to take the trash out to the can (adjacent to the porch), but also typically only wear socks inside the house (usually fluffy warm ones in the winter, or ankle socks in the summer)

Slippers are a type of shoe.

I would disagree, they are footwear but I don't usually think of it as a shoe if it doesn't have a hard sole.

That said, house shoes are a thing as well, and it's my mistake for not including it in the list. I guess my line of thinking was, there are types of footwear for streetwear/outside, and types for indoors, and I think it's a little weird to mix them.

I wear mine in the house because I have a collapsed arch on one foot, and both my knees are completely shot. Shoes keep the feet lighed up, and I don't sublux my kneecap nearly as often.

pair of slippers and flip-flops that stay indoors, just for indoors. I just hate getting bits of whatever stuck to my socks/feet in between sweeping sessions. Though after a good sweep, I will do a stride of pride sans socks/shoes, just to feel how clean the floor is

I have to wear orthotics in my shoes. I can't wear them without shoes. One day without shoes had led to months of pain.

Same here, I have house shoes that I need to wear or I'll be in pain for weeks. I bring them with me if I know I'm going to be at someone else's house for a few hours.

A lot of people half-ass the transition from outside to in and would step with a socked/bare foot right where they just walked with shoes. Meaning the isolation of in and outside dirt is broken. My roommate, the landlord, does this... I'm not gonna chase him around with sanitizer and a mop so, I see the floor being just as dirty as outside and wear socks and slippers all the time. (They also ignore the idea of cleaning or maintaining their house. But that's another issue and a reason I'm looking for me for a 1br)

This is how I feel, the floor is not clean, everyone I know with no shoes in the house rules put their dirty feet into their shoes as they walk out the door and then wonder why their shoes stink, or put their feet up on their couch with black soles, it is way more grimy than just treating the floor as being dirty.

Many places have indoor and outdoor footware.

So you still wear shoes inside, but not the same shoes you take outside.

You will quickly learn your friends shoes, and start to pick up on signals like whose shoes are outside. Who is home, someone has guests.. all by the shoes.

Because sometimes the dogs bring in goatheads šŸ™ƒ

For the same reason people wear pants inside the house - it's cold, gets you ready to go out at a moment's notice, etc. - plus shoes add padding. Also... not everyone does, wink:-).

Where I live it's very unnatural. Definitely because of the weather (lots of snow, long winters).

Came here to say the same. I feel like "indoor shoes" are a lot more rare in places where you have a chance of tracking in snow

What do you mean by that? (English is not my native language)

We have a moderate amount of snow and relatively long winters here. Most people wear indoor shoes (slippers, Crocs etc) when inside, at least in their own home. At guests we either get them from the host or you walk on socks.

What does the weather have to do with that?

Sick of stepping on crap on the floor. Kids are messy. Also my feet get cold. And socks wear out too fast.

My dad does this. He thinks the whole point of wood flooring is that you can wear your shoes inside. He just doesn't like taking his shoes off, no deeper reason to find and he can't really see the gross shit he's tracking in so it may as well not exist.

Does he have reduced mobility?

I've often found folks who have trouble with something "normal" justify not doing it.

No, I think maybe he has low circulation so his feet get cold but who knows.

I keep stubbing my toe and it's easier to go outside

In Ireland it's quite common to just wear your shoes indoor - never quite understood it myself.

Irish here, have always worn shoes in the house. I moved to the US in my twenties and it seems to be about a 50/50 mix of shoes worn indoors or not. Personally, I'd be stubbing my toes all the time if I was only in socks.

What do you do, walk around kicking things in your house?

Wearing no shoes, I'd argue, is more natural than always wearing shoes.

I cannot, for the life of me, imagine wearing outside shoes in the house. I live quite close to a major US city, in what Iā€™d describe as a semi urban dense suburb. There is rabbit shit on every square inch of green space.

Gift article from WaPo https://wapo.st/42LfZqM as there's so much debate.

Long story short, you bring tons of literal shit into your home wearing outside shoes inside. But they recommend inside slippers or equivalent for protection of your feet. I realize you can't stop all shit on your floor but goddammit if I won't try. Also, I think it's obvious when carpeted homes allow shoes as the carpet is matted and gross.

Because sometimes I do chores that require me to be outside? And I'm constantly going in and out, carrying things back and forth, moving tools from the shed to the garage, to the kitchen to hang a shelf, and back outside to put them away? When I do yard work I get sweaty and need a drink of water, and don't feel like taking off my shoes or boots just to go inside for 30 seconds and then put them back on to go back out and continue working.

All my Asian friends houses have piles of shoes by the front door and piles of shoes just outside the back door for situations like this.

Yeah fuck undoing my laces for the 20 seconds inside. Cleaning up afterwards can be more efficient depending on what you're doing.

You only have one pair of shoes? Or do all the shoes you buy have laces that take half a minute to undo?

Maybe invest in something else, like crocks or something.

Crocs don't do well in wet sadly. But it honestly depends on what im doing, if i know I'll be in and out the house a lot taking a single path and cleaning that is just easier.

Every time someone ends a statement with a question mark I read it in the voice of David from Schitt's Creek?

I'm not sure what the problem is when you work in slippers or crocs. I often am barefoot at home but sometimes when it's cold or when I do something that involves water I put on house slippers. When I go outside of the apartment to get the post, to the basement, to the trash, or the balcony, or the garden, I slip out of them and in another set of slippers that are used solely for "outside". This takes like 2 seconds.

And for the water drink when you do yard work, maybe bring a bottle? Might save you even more time than running back and forth to put water in a glass.

Also, I don't know your life, but I doubt that you hang shelves in your kitchen on a daily basis. But I mean, you do you.

You'd be amazed how much work some people do on a daily basis. Also my backyard is currently a swamp, and slippers would not last me a week of working in my garden, even if it were good weather. But you do you.

As I get older I find my heels and arches just hurt randomly walking on hard flooring, and carpets get gross. The solution for me is a pair of sketchers I reserve for indoor use.

Every time I see people with arch issues complaining and saying they need their arch support shoes the orthopedic surgeon inside me wants to claw out.

You need to exercise your arches, not walk on crutches until the problem is so bad you need physical therapy.

Bare the barefoot. They'll improve. Your heel pain is likely related directly to your arch issues as you're putting more weight than necessary on your heels.

Disclaimer: I'm not actually doctor of anything, I've just been running a long time and constantly hear about doctors putting patients with arch issues on orthotics which is like giving someone with a weak leg crutches. You need to exercise and build the muscles, not crutch them.

Rant over

A lot of foot problems are actually caused because of our modern shoes that are preventing our legs to work normally

Hip and back problems as well. Although sedentary lifestyles (office & nonoffice) play a bigger role in that.

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I'm glad I realized this before I had any leg pain. I've been walking with only barefoot shoes for a year now and my posture is so much better and I have core strength I never had before. My legs are wider and I have way better balance.

Because I can't get my husband to take his shoes off right when he comes inside after 13 years together, so I've given up and just started wearing shoes inside myself šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

I generally donā€™t just because i enjoy the freedom of wiggley toes, but Iā€™m not adverse to it either.

Theres no snow or mud where I am and most of the places I walk in are cleaned daily (Work, shops). Honestly its just not a big deal for me here in Australia, shit people walk down the street or in stores with no shoes at all, so who cares eh. Bit of dust gets on the floor at home big deal, ill clean it on a weekend.

Because I had shoes on before arriving home and I don't remember about them until much later.

Well, personally, I have foot problems, so walking barefoot is painful. So I wear flip flops around the house.

Because I have multiple doors in my house which lead outside. I normally take my shoes off when I come inside, but sometimes I come in one door and then want to leave via a different door only to realise my shoes are at the other end of the house.

I just forget to take them off

Having said that in my country it's normal to wear house shoes in the house.

Dog pee.

Id like to add dog poo in the form of mud and dirt tracked in from the backyard by said dog during the 6 months it rains nonstop where im at

I live in the PNW and have dogs, so I feel your pain.

These days I just try to get them to step in the puddles for some kind of rinse before they come in the house. Lol

Years ago I had a glass light cover shatter in the hall between my bed and toilet. Thought I got it all swept up. Two weeks later, a 2am half asleep piss trip ended in 10 minutes of digging a glass shard out of my foot and stopping the bleeding. I now wear something with a sole very nearly at all times.

  1. Leftover habit from never having bare feet touch the ground from my army days.

  2. Kids leave and drop things all over house (Lego bricks).

  3. I wear huge clown shoes. No room near the door to leave them.

  4. Shoes off to flip-flops on. Feet feel protected.

I have bad plantar fasciitis so I wear special old person orthotic shoes. And most of my house is hardwood so generally if Iā€™m on my feet Iā€™ll wear my shoes inside to prevent foot pain.

šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø Itā€™s not like I donā€™t wipe my feet off on the doormat rug

Youā€™re the only guy I understand here. The plantar fasciitis can definitely be painful without the shoes/orthotics. But for me, even that canā€™t negate the discomfort of being constrained in hot sweaty shoes all day

I'll say that I don't usually wear shoes in the house, but it's also a lost cause since I have two big dogs.

Why do people go barefoot in public

Why do people wear shoes in the office

Why dont3 I ask women if they're pregnant

Because arbitrary customs that exist which might have a good reason behind them but largely have become things that are considered polite or rude, both of which are societal concepts which themselves are worthy of questioning

  1. Because they've given up on life.

  2. Because everyone else wear shoes in the office. That being said. I don't wear shoes in my office. Because no one does. (It's also a small office)

  3. I don't know why YOU don't. I don't Because it's none of my business and the risk of being wrong heavily outweights the reward of being right.

It's not arbitrary. If you start wearing shoes inside the floor will get dirtier. And now I can't not wear them because I will get dirt all over my socks from the dirt the shoe wearer tracked inside.

Office workers might have to move around and walk a lot. Shoes help with that. It's the exact reason we invented them in the first place.

Just because you don't know, doesnt mean it's arbitrary

Because in public, the ground is probably more gross than your feet (dogshit, car oil), but in your home, your shoes are probably more gross than your own feet.

Similarly, in public, seeing other people's feet is gross. But not as much at home.

Bro the dirt under your shoes don't give af whether you're being polite about going inside the house with them or not

Why does this keep coming up? Are there really an appreciable number of people who do this?

For me, Iā€™m fine with whatever guests want to do (unless visibly wet or dirty) since they are temporary and short term. But otherwise Iā€™ve never really had to ask, because itā€™s so common for taking off your shoes to just be the more comfortable. Itā€™s actually one of my bigger dislikes for going back to the office, that now I have to wear shoes all day and itā€™s so uncomfortable. I canā€™t wait to get home and take them off. Isnā€™t this most people?

Given some comments here, yes, yes there are. Although some people here mention dogs, which made me kinda understand. I guess one more point for not having indoor pets.

I have two sets of indoor slippers, so don't really wear shoes inside per say... though one of the slippers does close around feet somewhat like a shoe.

I have a separate set of onutsuka tigers that are only for in the house. For home gym mostly, but also at my standing desk sometimes it's more comfortable than flat bare feet. And because of these sometimes they just stay on.

I have some slippers but I make them smell like a dead mouse, so I like to leave them alone.

They say, 30 is the age where you have to decide which one you like more: tying your shoelaces or hamburgers.

I chose the latter.

Now I'm almost 44 and even undoing them feels too hard. šŸ™ƒ

Why not? They aren't getting dirty, i don't step in mud or water or stuff like that.

Because slippers are so much comfier and easier to take off when you want to lay down on the couch/go to bed and don't have to take shoes off to put other shoes on when going outside.

Slippers are terrible. They are floppy, and i have to keep my toes curled to keep them from falling off.

I don't have slippers, and my shoes are pretty comfy. If I want to lay on a bed, I'll take my shoes off, it's not hard. I use the same inside and outside shoes, cos I'm way to fking lazy to swap shoes when going in and out, if I had to then I wouldn't wear shoes inside. I'm not saying you should, so please don't reply with 40 paragraphs about why I shouldn't.

I just assumed you meant you had separate outside shoes and indoor shoes since you said "they aren't getting dirty" in your original comment.

If you're walking around your house with shoes you walk around outside in the yes, they are getting dirty. Even if you just use them to walk from your front door to your car and your car to your office.

I can't imagine walking around in my house in my shoes that I go to my office in, they get dirty enough without doing that.

Not saying you should change what you're used to, just saying that's definitely not the norm from where I live and can't imagine a situation where that wouldn't result in daily floor cleaning.

Over here there really isn't anything that would make shoes visibly dirty. The only time is when there's tonnes of rain and I take shoes off when that happens. Do you live in an area where it snows or is muddy? Those are the only reasons for needing to clean the floor often I can think of .

I live in Canada where it does snow in the winter so you have water/salt concerns but even in the summer there is still the risk of dusty dirt coating the bottom of your shoes and other random things, like bugs you step on, gum, gasoline at the gas station, a muddy puddle, etc.

I travel a lot for work and I even take my shoes off before walking around in my hotel room šŸ˜‚ just a culture thing I guess.

For the comform of bare feet

Feet smell bad and are gross

Wearing shoes traps the sweat in and marinates your foot in it. Shoes are why feet smell bad in the first place.

Not really..

The smell is more due to fungus digesting the protein from dead skin, not just because of shoes. If you keep your feet clean and wear a fresh pair of socks with your shoes, fungus can't really grab hold.

Why wear shoes outside? Your feet just need to toughen the fuck up. Humans didn't evolve to need shoes in most environments, most of the time.

This message brought to you by the barefoot runner gang.

Are our feet really suitable for pavements and broken glass everywhere, though?

Actually yes, if we didnā€™t wear shoes all the time. The bottom of your feet will be more hardened from calluses where it meets the ground. Think about it this way, when we are kids we run around shoeless most of the time. For all intents and purposes, shoes have ruined our feet. Either by crushing them together, like womenā€™s pointed shoes and menā€™s cowboy boots as an example, as well as allowing the soles of our feet to soften. As a kid I used to run up and down gravel roads and driveways barefoot without a care in the world, now the bottom of my feet canā€™t handle stepping on gravel without shoes.

When I was a teenager and I lived at the beach I gave up shoes for a whole summer, it was nice and my feet hardened fine, but in the city with all the people who don't watch their step and all the shit, both actual and figurative, on the floor, it's dangerous.

Because they don't own a broom or know how to operate one...

Or because they have or have had kids.