# Bare Feet



## riderless (Jul 21, 2013)

Some Australians have this awful habit of walking around in bare feet outside.
I've seen them in take away shops, shopping malls, walking their dog on the pavement, at the park, at the beach, then today I saw them at a gas station. Imagine the filth on their feet! Oil, petrol, slush Yuk! And then they drag it back to their car, then walk into their house. Imagine the carpet at their home, and I can't begin to imagine how dirty their bedroom/sheets is as they go to bed with unwashed feet.

Then someone will say I've got OCD or something like that...


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## riderless (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm careful about touching anything in a public place...example toilet door knobs, escalator railings...could be viewed as extreme I know...:afr


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## 161 (Jul 12, 2011)

i imagine they would shower before going to bed.....perhaps not, i am under 30 though only clicked on the thread because i was curious what it was about so i will depart this thread


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## DarrellLicht (Mar 9, 2013)

Imagine the built up callouses on the soles of their feet.. "Look out for that broken glass! oh, never mind"...

I lived in a smaller town where one gentleman would often get harassed at the grocery store for walking around barefoot... I could understand in a climate like Australia, but Alaska? ...craaazy man...


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

No shoes no shirt no service.

Nothing wrong walking barefoot at the beach


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## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

I go barefoot around the house all the time and in my yard when the weather is nice, but never in public places. It seems pretty unhygienic.

When I was in the locker room at my gym the other day this old man was changing and he went over and used the urinal in his sock feet before getting dressed. I'm paranoid about even having my shoelaces drag the ground in a public restroom, forget about being in socks or barefoot.


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## krites (Nov 12, 2013)

riderless said:


> Some Australians have this awful habit of walking around in bare feet outside.


Are you sure those Australians aren't perhaps South African expats? Because over here it's a very common thing as well. And yes it's disgusting - especially people walking around barefoot in shopping malls. I can still understand barefoot people walking from the beach to the ice-cream stall across the street but inside a middle/upper-class type mall? Come on.

That mental image you describe of how dirty their feet and carpets must be is all too familiar


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## AnnaNora (Feb 15, 2014)

dont give m wrong I love walking around barefoot. in my house walking my pooch in the woods behind our house even in our neighborhood. 
But to a gasstation, shop or even restaurant I think thats not ok.. It is the same when a guy walks in with no shirt.. it is just not acceptable


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## Mochyn (Jan 6, 2014)

riderless said:


> I'm careful about touching anything in a public place...example toilet door knobs, escalator railings...could be viewed as extreme I know...:afr


 I don't think that's extreme, wearing gloves all year round when in a public place, now that's extreme.

I'm careful about touching stuff in public too, like the counter at the bank or in shops, everyone automatically leans on it  I work with too many people that never wash their hands :no


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## visualkeirockstar (Aug 5, 2012)

I use to play around the house barefoot.


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## Grog (Sep 13, 2013)

Depends where but I quite often have naked feet like beach, mangroves ,bush and home mostly places where no one has walked before me . but shops , public places and when the ground is to hot I wear thongs ( double pluggers mate , no less ) 

Ooh and public toilets I like to take my thongs off and jump in puddles .


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## Hush7 (May 11, 2013)

I don't understand. Rider is always barefoot... :um


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## Owl-99 (Mar 7, 2012)

This is because Aussies are plebs.


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## riderless (Jul 21, 2013)

Hush7 said:


> I don't understand. Rider is always barefoot... :um


You know what? I just noticed that.
I'm speechless Hush. You are the bomb!
I'm forced to change my avatar or other wise be called a hypocrite.!


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## CrunchyNoodles (Jan 7, 2014)

I find other people's feet a bit repulsive. I assume anyone who walks around barefoot in public probably has nits. The smell of patchouli is also usually a giveaway for bad hygiene.


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## Hush7 (May 11, 2013)

riderless said:


> You know what? I just noticed that.
> I'm speechless Hush. You are the bomb!
> I'm forced to change my avatar or other wise be called a hypocrite.!


No! No, no, no, no, NOOO! I love your pink ogre avatar. He's so cute. Put him up as your profile picture so I can still see him? 

I get a bit paranoid about having dirty feet. If I wear sandals during the summer, I always have to wash my feet at night. The only time I'm barefoot in public is when I'm at a sandy beach but I haven't been to a beach in years. :blank

Edit: Forgot to mention that I don't like my feet touching dirty dressing room floors. I don't think they ever get cleaned.


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## riderless (Jul 21, 2013)

H7
Your wish is your command!


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## Ineko (Jan 5, 2014)

I noticed after moving to Texas *gag* that the kids/teens walk around barefoot everywhere in like 90+ heat, its gross!


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

I actually hate wearing shoes. I'm what you would call a barefooter.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

riderless said:


> I'm careful about touching anything in a public place...example toilet door knobs, escalator railings...could be viewed as extreme I know...:afr


Yeah, I'm normally the same, out in nature though, bare feet is nothing.

I wonder, if a pile of germs were dropped on a piece of lush fertile forest field and left for several days. Would it out break and infect the forest? Would walking barefoot infect the foot?

Now... if we dropped a pile of germs on a sterile counter top and left for several days, would the culture spread and would a bare arm landing on the surface catch those germs?

I think mythbusters did a show on the 5 second rule once.

Anyways, yeah... even a wooden table, versus a veneer table. I bet the wood being a natural material fends for itself better in some regards.

Was watching a lecture on bio-sciences. Supposedly there is so much mold in the air we breathe it's inescapable. That's why high tech facilities have clean rooms.

So... where do germs survive, concentrate and thrive the most? That's probably the only question. My guess is there is equilibrium in nature, and in sterile modern environments there is disequilibrium.

Sort of makes one wonder a little, I guess...


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## Daveyboy (Jan 13, 2013)

Hush7 said:


> The only time I'm barefoot in public is when I'm at a sandy beach but I haven't been to a beach in years. :blank


:blank.. You should go this summer.. 
....and selfies in the sand.. 

When I was a kid I was barefoot all the time.. Even rode my bike barefoot..

Not anymore.. I don't like the feel of dirt or wet grass on my feets..

Sometimes barefoot around my place. but mostly slipper socks....never wear shoes/sneakers inside..


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## Hoyden (Aug 31, 2011)

When I was 18/19 I liked wearing long flowing skirts and going barefoot... at least until I stupidly walked across a freshly tarred road. Since then my feet are always covered.

Hot tip: when in India wear closed in shoes, sandals and thongs aren't enough.


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## apx24 (Jan 31, 2012)

I never go barefoot, not even in the house. I always have to wear slippers and socks indoors, and shoes and socks outdoors. I even sleep wearing socks most of the time, though in summer I sometimes sleep barefoot if it's too hot.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*I hate socks!*

I walk in sandals in snow or rain and wear shorts and t-shirt

I love sailing.

No scarf! No hat! No coat! Even when it's winter. I get laughed at in public. I feel sorry for or laugh at those who are scared if wet or windy. I'm a thunderstorm man.

Any clothing beyond shirt, shorts and sandals get me dripping with sweat. My country is cold.


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## Still Waters (Sep 18, 2008)

I never really go barefoot,inside I usually wear slippers. I don't even like the feel of just walking around in socks,it makes me cringe. It's usually only babies and little kids that have cute feet -I dislike even seeing feet on TV. Oh I almost forgot,I detest seeing people in the passenger seat of a car with their bare feet propped up on the dash-never understood why anyone would do that.


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## riderless (Jul 21, 2013)

Still Waters said:


> I never really go barefoot,inside I usually wear slippers. I don't even like the feel of just walking around in socks,it makes me cringe. It's usually only babies and little kids that have cute feet -I dislike even seeing feet on TV.* Oh I almost forgot,I detest seeing people in the passenger seat of a car with their bare feet propped up on the dash-never understood why anyone would do that*.


Glad I'm not the only one appalled by that.


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## TheRob (Dec 30, 2006)

Still Waters said:


> I never really go barefoot,inside I usually wear slippers. I don't even like the feel of just walking around in socks,it makes me cringe. It's usually only babies and little kids that have cute feet -I dislike even seeing feet on TV. Oh I almost forgot,I detest seeing people in the passenger seat of a car with their bare feet propped up on the dash-never understood why anyone would do that.


A couple of years ago a co-worker of mine posted a picture from a long plane flight to Zurich in which the passenger behind her decided to set her bare feet on the arm rest. That didn't go over well with my co-worker, nor the flight crew.


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## probably offline (Oct 8, 2012)

I hate the feeling of having crumbs, or anything like that, under my feet. I rarely walk barefeet. I also think it hurts like hell to walk barefoot outside.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

I'm a little torn on the subject.

I'm somewhat supportive of barefoot living; I think it is healthy to have your bare feet grounded on soil/grass. We're so removed from the natural world, and I respect those who incorporate some re-wilding. I'm always barefoot at home and in the garden (if there's no prickles etc).

Still, it does irritate me when I see people barefoot at the supermarket/restaurant etc.

I think I just hate a lot of Aussie culture in general. Summer/sun, barefoot, surfing, BBQs, the endearment of boganism... yes, and the bare-feet out the window in a passenger seat eating an ice-cream after "garn' for a surf" etc... Seeing someone barefoot just reminds me of all this, rather than the new-agey primitivism thing I kind of like.


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## In a Lonely Place (Mar 26, 2012)

uke

I particularly hate mens feet, men wearing flip flops or those trendy ones with a leather strap uke









Often worn with silly three quarter length trousers to accentuate the gammy feet.

uke


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## howard26 (Jun 28, 2008)

No one sees my feet. If I am around anyone, i wear socks. When i used to go barefoot, and people looked at my feet, i felt like it was an invasion, or i was totally nude. Weird, huh? Also, i do not want to see men in open toe sandals. Barf. Once in a fast food place, this guy had discolored, overlapping, thick, unkept toenails on full display. My eyes kept going there like his feet were a magnet. I felt my food coming up, really, and decided to leave. YUCK . When i go outside at home, i have to wear these crocks. One time a neighbor caught me outside, and i was super embarrassed and uncomfortable. I tried to dig my toes into the grass, and hide them behind a wall. I actually like going barefoot, but not around people.


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## Schmosby (Jan 26, 2014)

I like being barefoot at home, but outside of the house I wouldn't simply due to hazards such as glass and dog mess etc, I really don't like the look of feet though, so I don't really like seeing other people's feet, but they have every right to show their feet if they want, I won't hate them for it.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Or maybe they are the sane ones. Shoes are one of the many modern inventions that are hurting us:

Our genes want us to be barefoot. In fact, it's the only environment they know, having been born into a shoeless existence. On an individual scale, you could say we adapt to our shoes, but not on a genetic level. Evolutionarily, we're still walking on the same bare feet Grok used to get around his environment. In fact, hominids have been obligate bipeds for over two million years. Our feet were arguably the first things to develop. Before the big brains, the complex tool making, and the language, our ancestors were walking upright on feet that looked remarkably similar to our own. But don't tell that to the guys at Nike. They're convinced those millions of years of natural selection still weren't enough to produce a working, functional foot that doesn't require manmade supportive footwear (unless, of course, you buy the Nike Free, in which case the lack of support is suddenly beneficial - awesome logic, huh?).

The Evidence

Before I get carried away on a tangential rant against athletic shoes, I'll try to stick to the topic at hand. We know that shoes alter the structure and function of the foot. I mean, it sounds like plain common sense, but there's also some concrete evidence. Back in 1905, an orthopedist named Dr. Philip Hoffman conducted a "Comparative Study of Barefooted and Shoe-Wearing Peoples" (don't you just love old research?) and published his results in the American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery. He also took a ton of photos.

Here's one of a foot that rarely - if ever - saw the inside of a shoe.










Note the wide toes, and how a straight line can be drawn through the axis. Looks pretty healthy and stable, right?

Now look at this photo of a pair of feet and the shoes they're shoved into.










Notice the narrow structure and the cramped toes, especially the angle of the big toe. It's pointing inward!

Shoe wearing acts quickly, too. Here, Hoffman snapped photos of two sets of feet.









Foot A is that of a child who has worn shoes for a mere three months, while Foot B is that of an adult who's gone barefoot his whole life. Three months was all it took to drastically shape the child's feet. Already his big toe is turning inward.

In the end, Hoffman concluded that of the "one hundred and eighty-six pairs of primitive feet examined, [he] did not find a single foot associated with the symptoms of weakness so common in adult shoe-wearing feet, which are weakened by the restraint the shoe exerts over function." He also noticed that foot development was remarkably similar, in all populations, up until the introduction of foot wear. Shoes, it seems, have an undeniable ability to alter one's natural foot structure.

But wait: there's even more. Researchers in India found (PDF) that flat foot was far more prevalent among people who wore footwear before the age of six. *Kids who ran around barefoot for most of their first six years - the formative years, it turns out - had better developed longitudinal arches and less flat foot. Among children who wore footwear on a regular basis, 8.2% suffered from flat foot (compared to 2.8% of barefoot kids).* No other factors had comparable impacts. Adults didn't have higher rates of flat foot than the kids, unless they reported wearing shoes as children. Why do we wear these things, anyway?

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flat-feet-treatment/


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

I hate socks--they make my feet hot and I can't stand that. 

My feet have to be cold all the time--I even flip up the corner of the sheets so they can be cool all night. 

At home I am barefoot--when out I put shoes on, but they are mostly uncomfortable from my feet being wider than normal. (maybe it's because I don't wear shoes most of the last 25 yrs)

As soon as I can stand it, I switch to flip flops in the sprng, and wear them as long as I can into the fall--enough that people make comments "Oh you're still wearing flip-flops?" .....like I'll catch a cold or something lol.

But, I DO have a problem with germs and completely agree that you wouldn't want to drag everything you step in out in the world, into your own house. So that's why we take our shoes off inside. 

My boyfriend is totally opposite of me--he wears slippers, socks, etc and I rarely see them, but when I do I say,"OMG they are so white from never seeing daylight!" LOL. His toes are also narrow and scrunched together as if he wears high heels, while mine are all spread out like in that picture in the post above.


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## In a Lonely Place (Mar 26, 2012)

^ You call them flip-flops in the States too? Dunno why I thought you called them something like thongs or jellies or something else.

The name Flip-flops is quite annoying and sometimes they make a really annoying slap-slap..slap-slap..noise :no


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

arnie said:


> Our genes want us to be barefoot. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flat-feet-treatment/


I don't care what our genes want; it's f***ing disgusting, unhygienic, and just begs for the spreading of skin diseases and who knows what else.

Do whatever you want around your own home, but random strangers in a store or something? Instant gross-out -- get away from me, cretin.


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