# Barefooters unite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176 "2015-07-04T00:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/21 "2015-07-04T23:46:44Z")
When I was in grad school, there was a student who was chronically barefoot (weather permitting), even outside on pavement or asphalt. His feet were disturbingly black and filthy. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/22 "2015-07-04T23:49:00Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > ::: snip :::: > > Barefoot may feel great now, but in time there’ll be a price to pay. So far so good… 😛 71 & 9 months Height = 6’4" Weight = North of 330 lb. Effects of barefoot = none. Effects of rocks in spite of steel toed work boots, Aircraft hanger doors, my inattention, the US ARMY and other things beyond my control, ( kicked a wall during a night mare etc. ) = A few of major dollars. Does a pissed off Badger or mean horse count? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/23 "2015-07-05T00:17:36Z")
Indoors, sure. Outdoors – I dunno, you bare footers must live in a better manicured world than I do. Too many painful things to step on outside, and even the grass has its share of sticks and thorns due to my somewhat negligent lawn care skills. So at best, I might gingerly walk around the patio and some of the better cared for parts of the lawn, but after that, I put on some footwear. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/24 "2015-07-05T00:49:12Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Bluegrass is super nice underfoot. Zoysia and fescue, popular in dry climates, will cut bare feet to ribbons. Boy do I believe it. Across the bay they have a Scratch-Ankle Festival every year because the grass is like razors. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/25 "2015-07-05T03:29:41Z")
Despite encounters with sprinklers, goat heads, liquid ambar seedpods and the like, I continue to go barefoot as often as I can. I like to tell people that it’s a good way to “absorb micro nutrients from mother earth”…once in a while someone will actually believe me! ---
**Author:** ![Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barefoot_Black_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/26 "2015-10-05T23:08:44Z")
Yes, 100% barefoot, can’t remember the last time I bought shoes. Sure people make fun of me and point and laugh and make jokes about my big black bare feet but, I don’t care. I can’t change them! I’ll even curl up all my toes just to make them uncomfortable when they make jokes. ha! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/27 "2015-10-06T00:18:10Z")
Barefoot at home all year round. Sandals, usually, if I have to go outside (I found some nice plastic-y slip-on Birkenstocks\* when I was last in Hawaii, and those are my sandals of preference now). I wear shoes if going out to eat in a decent restaurant or something similar, and on the days when I do volunteer tree care (urban street trees) because one needs to have closed-toe shoes for safety. Since I am retired, I don’t have to worry about what I wear to work. \*They’re called the [Arizona](http://www.birkenstock.com/collection-en-category-seasonallesSS.htm?PHPSESSID=fqev2d4ej2bchcodtis1hi15k4#close). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/28 "2015-10-06T00:25:43Z")
Here in the tropics it’s shoes outdoors or away from home, including at the beach or swimming. In my home it’s 99% barefoot. Back when I lived in more northern climes it was shoes 100% of the time. And still is when I’m on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/29 "2015-10-06T00:26:28Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Not me; I won’t even do it around the house. But I’ve had a few friends who have done so - one even in the usual PA winter. > > Congrats to those who can and don’t think less of me because I can’t. 🙂 Don’t worry, that’s not the reason we think less of you. :o > [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > Oh yes, barefoot just about all the time. And wearing flip flops only when I absolutely must go shod. > There is one perk of living in the far south with all this abundant heat and that is I can wear flip flops damn near all year round. Great username/thread topic combo! As for me, barefoot as much as possible in the summer, some outside & always inside. Unfortunately, that’s coming to an end as it’s getting cold, so socks for inside. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/30 "2015-10-06T00:29:59Z")
Going to get the paper in the morning is getting a trifle chilly, but my 11E^10’s don’t mind. It’s walking across the incredible bumper crop of acorns that’s painful. ---
**Author:** ![Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barefoot_Black_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/31 "2015-10-06T00:36:17Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > When I was in grad school, there was a student who was chronically barefoot (weather permitting), even outside on pavement or asphalt. His feet were disturbingly black and filthy. LOL! I’d hate to hear what you’d say about how my barefeet look! I got 100% barefoot for years - indoors, outdoors, public, private - don’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![brovolone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/32 "2015-10-06T03:15:50Z")
I love being barefoot. I’ve heard that walking barefoot improves balance, posture and circulation. Surely there are more benefits. It just feels good to me. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/33 "2015-10-06T03:51:20Z")
I have long and unusually dexterous toes. Wearing shoes for me is not unlike wearing boxing gloves. Unfortunately, a few years ago they found that one of my legs is longer than the other by enough to require a build-up on one shoe, so I can’t spend as much time barefoot as I’d like. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/34 "2015-10-06T12:03:09Z")
Another fan of barefoot here. I blame growing up in Florida, where as kids we’d ditch our shoes early in the day in the summer. And I went barefoot in the house all the time. In the summer, I’m barefoot or wearing sandals. I am callus-woman, though they’re well-tended and buffed calluses. 😛 In the fall-winter-spring, I wear shoes (ok, mostly boots), and the lady who does my pedicures has a \*much \*easier time. I have Morton’s toe, and my doc would like me to wear shoes, but really it feels better to not wear shoes since one of the toes has gone all claw-like. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/35 "2015-10-06T12:59:22Z")
Not sure how I missed this thread the first time around… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Barefoot\_Black\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barefoot_Black_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/36 "2015-10-06T13:01:34Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Another fan of barefoot here. I blame growing up in Florida, where as kids we’d ditch our shoes early in the day in the summer. And I went barefoot in the house all the time. > > In the summer, I’m barefoot or wearing sandals. I am callus-woman, though they’re well-tended and buffed calluses. 😛 > > In the fall-winter-spring, I wear shoes (ok, mostly boots), and the lady who does my pedicures has a \*much \*easier time. > > I have Morton’s toe, and my doc would like me to wear shoes, but really it feels better to not wear shoes since one of the toes has gone all claw-like. atlanta georgia here! barefoot 100% of the time. even in the fall-winter-spring. haven’t bought shoes in countless years. as a kid, ran around barefoot and shirtless everywhere. now if have strangely big feet so shoes are not worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/37 "2015-10-06T16:41:30Z")
I did it sometimes in very hot weather, but got tired of getting filthy dirty, stepping on tiny things that hurt, and then…I developed fallen arches and can no longer go around without some good arch support, which i can’t just strap on to bare feet, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/38 "2015-10-06T16:52:20Z")
Indoors, I pretty much never wear shoes. It’s either barefooted or be-socked. Outdoors? If I’m schlepping out in the yard to take out the garbage or whatever, I’ll often go barefooted, but, otherwise, I wear shoes. In college, I’d often play ultimate frisbee barefooted, but that’s about it for going barefoot outside except for beaches. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/39 "2015-10-06T17:29:17Z")
I used to go barefoot any chance I had and would even mow the yard barefoot, which freaked more than one neighbor out over the years. _“I always thought you were pretty intelligent until I saw you doing that.”_ The only downside I saw was the occasional stumped toe or imbedded grassburr. But then on vacation several weeks ago I jumped off a dive boat (barefoot) and landed in much shallower water than I anticipated, fracturing my heel (calcareus) and doing a lot of soft tissue damage. Finally off crutches I’ve tried to walk barefoot around the house again but the tile floor is just too hard now and a pair of sandals is necessary to limit the pain. Maybe I’ll get back to nude feet again sometime or maybe after broken toes and ankle sprains and neuropathy and this crack my feet have finally gotton old. Which would be a bummer. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176/40 "2015-10-06T19:07:39Z")
I’ve got some old boots for when I’m mowing the grass, but normally, I’m completely barefoot at home. If I’m going shopping, I’l put on some Tevas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefooters-unite/724176.md?page=3)