"Why yes, my overpriced fake leather nostolgiabait shoes that have nothing in it, dont come in wide, and gives people pla tar fasciitis is muxh better than the other overpriced fake leather hipsterbait shoe!!!!"
And then kids will literally screech in the damn store if they dont get their shitty nike shoe, becayse its about the NAME of the BRAND!!!
FUCK OFF SNEAKERHEADS YOU ALL SUCK!!!
Wear minimalist sandals or go barefoot if you can. Why sweat in socks and worry about getting your shoes dirty, when your feet can temperature regulate in the air, you can wash them off when you get home, and your skin naturally repairs itself from microscopic abrasion unlike shoes? You will build up your foot muscles and protect your joints long term by learning how to properly walk. It's cheaper and it feels better.
Kid named foot parasite
As long as you aren’t walking through literal shit and garbage and dirty needles it’s fine. People are irrational about bare feet beyond reason. The history and eradication of foot borne parasites is the history of irrigation, not of shoes. You are very unlikely to get a parasite walking around in an area with sewage kept off the streets. The more calloused your feet are, the more protected you are too.
You know where fungus loves to grow? Warm, moist environments like sweaty shoes…
Hookworm and tetanus would be the short answers
Hookworm is largely nonexistent in developed countries if you live in one. Otherwise just don’t walk around in human shit and if you do, wash it off right away. Even then it is not a problem if you have thick calloused skin without open wounds. Not advocating walking around NYC with no shoes on, but you can walk in less populated areas and it’s just fine.
Gonna go ahead and say most people would consider stepping in shit, human or otherwise, to be bad even if they do have foot callouses. Thats a pretty huge self own to say you dont mind walking around barefoot in shit. So we've narrowed it down to being good in places without a lot of population and also no animals.
Also wanna know why it's not widespread in developed nations anymore. Shoes became widely available to the lowest classes. That's why it was an issue in the south in the 50s when all those pictures of barefoot kids is from.
Where did I say I don’t mind walking in shit? I said it’s not a problem unless you are literally walking through sewage because you’re in an undeveloped urban area without sewers. And even then - if you knowingly just stepped in shit… if you wash it off, you’re fine. In the worst case, which won’t happen anyway - we have antibiotics which were not available in centuries past.
Also, this only applies to human shit. You won’t catch hookworm from nonhuman shit.
It especially doesn’t matter if you aren’t walking in an urban area. Say, in your backyard where you aren’t shitting.
Unless the above applies to you, then you are completely fine to go barefoot almost anywhere.
When is the last time you washed your shoes? Do you wear them inside?
Right here, in your last comment
And then again literally in this comment
Still don't wanna step in shit.
I wear work boots, so when theybget dorty or covered in literalnor metaphorical shit.
No I have slippers to not track dirt and shit into the house.
I was talking to my spouse about how weird it is that we all wear shoes even when the terrain doesn't call for it. If I'm going for a hike then yeah, I'm going to grab some boots. If I'm walking downtown then I'm going to make sure I have something on my feet to protect from broken glass. But like, a stroll around my neighborhood? A day in the park? It seems like it's just something we've become so accustomed to that we never question it.
And I stand by the opinion that my feet have much better grip than any water shoes out there.
Bare feet are a big vector for parasites and disease.
It’s actually more of a health thing.
This is repeated a lot but it’s not really a concern in developed countries.
One time when I was a kid, someone gifted me a pair of "water shoes" that I took to the beach one time and then threw away. Turns out they had slick plastic on the bottom, like literally any dampness on a rock was like stepping on a banana peel, I almost seriously injured myself. ridiculous
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Completely agreed, shoes off at the park for maximal relaxation. For the water, it depends. I would wear sandals in a river where can be sharp rocks. Depends on the water
For a while I went barefoot a lot. It kind of rocked. I just had a pair of flip flops for going into businesses. Especially in the woods it was nice to feel the Earth beneath me, but even in the city a little glass didn't really matter once I had calluses. But this was in a place without a significant risk of parasites and a pretty clean city.
Yup this is the way. People who have never tried it don’t realize how resilient your feet and skin become
are the sidewalks made of grass or something?
Why can’t you walk on the sidewalk?
broken glass, very hot pavement in the warmer months... plus you're gonna stub your toe on the curb or something. lol
I've heard that walking on hard surfaces without support can actually be harmful to your feet/body. Like walking on sidewalk or concrete inside a store all day, for example. Is this incorrect? Because after years of standing and walking on concrete in vans which are low drop shoes has fuuuuuucked my body up.
If your feet are weak from a lifetime of wearing shoes, then they will not be able to support an arch and it could lead to acute injuries like plantar fasciitis. It just means you have to slowly transition and do exercises to build up your foot strength.
Where can I find these....exercises?
I’ve watched and read a lot of content over the years so I don't have one reference in particular for you. In general you would look up “barefoot exercises” or “intrinsic foot exercises” (intrinsic = within the foot) or sometimes “toe yoga”
https://youtu.be/SbQ2RYxbppE https://youtu.be/gkImPA_R7uI https://youtu.be/ygNkXWTV65Q
In general, feet should be able to form an arch, the toes should be able to splay, and the big toe should be able to actively move independently of the other toes, and vice versa. When I started, my toes were almost glued together. It was hard to even move them apart passively.
There are a few small but helpful subreddits like BarefootRunning and BarefootHiking.
I don't know anyone besides myself with normal looking unshod toes https://www.bosenogice.si/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-1.png
I wear rubber slippers all the time or go barefoot. Just the other day I finally found a 40 dollar pair of barefoot sneakers (most are really pricy) and they're super
I hear Xero sandals are pretty good. I believe they have models in the $40-50 range.
I live in Brooklyn Im not going outside with my toes out much less let my foot hit the ground
Don't know why but "toes out" really got me lol
Yeah maybe don’t walk around Brooklyn barefoot