“No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service”: Where did it come from?

I’ve spent a fair amount of time on this blog (and related Twitter account) debunking the false idea that going barefoot is unhealthy and unhygienic. Not only is this untrue, but, in most cases, going barefoot is probably healthier and more hygienic than wearing shoes.

So, where did this idea come from? The culprit seems to be those dreaded “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs.

It is unclear when these signs first came about, but use of them started to become widespread sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. So, for nearly 200 years, U.S. businesses got along fine allowing barefoot customers into their stores. Like most countries, the U.S. faced its share of epidemics and public health crises in the 1700s and 1800s, but no one ever blamed bare feet for spreading them. (And this was in a time when health care was so crude, doctors killed President James Garfield by continually poking at his survivable gunshot wound with their fingers.)

As people migrated to cities in the early 1900s, bare feet became a sign of poverty, but this only meant that the wealthy kept their feet permanently stuffed in shoes to show off their status. There is no evidence that shopkeepers banned bare feet as a way to keep poor people out of their stores.

So, what happened in the 1960s to change attitudes towards bare feet? First, the Civil Rights Act was passed and signed into law in 1964. The act banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. As I’m sure you’re aware, the passage of this law was necessary because many businesses in the southern U.S. banned African American customers, or made them use separate (and usually inferior) facilities. However, the law did not address discrimination based on attire. The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws had left many southern African Americans impoverished and unable to afford shoes. Thus, by requiring customers to wear shoes, Dixie businesses could effectively prevent many African Americans from shopping in their stores.

Second, is the rise of the counterculture movement. This movement had ties to the Civil Rights movement, but also included Vietnam War protesters and ‘hippies’ who rebelled against anything associated with the so-called “establishment.” The counterculture movement had no love for the business community (and vice versa), so businesses were wary of allowing them into their stores. Fortunately for the business owners, members of the counterculture movement often eschewed shoes, shirts or clothes in general, making them easy to identify. Thus, businesses had an easy way to keep them out of their stores: banning any customer who entered sans shoes or shirt. And, “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” was born.

But, the question is: Why does this alliterative slogan still exist today? Additional civil rights legislation was passed, the Vietnam War ended, and most hippies got their youthful rebellion out of their systems and eventually joined the establishment they were rebelling against, including stuffing their feet into a pair of expensive dress shoes as they headed off to work each morning.

Yet, the signs remained. What seems to have happened is that business owners either forgot why they originally put the signs or simply started rationalizing their continued existence. When “To keep out those dirty hippies!” was no longer a valid excuse, it was replaced by “Barefoot customers could get hurt and sue” or “Bare feet spread germs.” Both of which are nonsense. But, hey, it’s on a sign, it must be true, right? Some businesses even had the gall to add “By order of the Department of Health” to the signs. This is despite the fact that no federal or state health department has ever created a regulation banning barefoot customers in places of business.

Thus, the signs engendered the idea in the American public that bare feet are unsafe and unhealthy. Cut feet! Stubbed toes! Imagine that a 500-pound television falls off the top shelf and onto your feet. Bare feet will be crushed, but any pair of shoes will surely protect you!

Fortunately, these signs have slowly been disappearing in recent years, and negative attitudes toward bare feet are on the decline. Most businesses are tolerant of barefoot customers. But, the stigma these signs created remains. It’s up to us to do everything we can to change that.

The results of the Lets Go Barefoot survey on barefooting

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my tweets about my survey on going barefoot. Before I get to the results, there are several things you need to keep in mind:

1. The results are not generalizable in any way beyond the population who took the survey. Not only was the number of respondents too small to have any statistical validity, but responding was voluntary, meaning the survey has significant self-selection bias.

2. The survey suffers from response bias. Most of the respondents were (I assume) followers on my Twitter feed, which means that they are likely enthusiastic proponents of going barefoot. Therefore, it is unlikely the results are representative of everyone who goes barefoot, let alone the population at-large.

3. The survey was primarily done as a way to get a clearer idea of people’s motivations for going (or not going) barefoot, so that the questions can be improved, perhaps enabling a broader survey in the future.

With all of the said, some of the findings, at the least, provide some interesting food-for-thought. Let’s go through them question-by-question:

1. The first question was a demographic question about the respondent’s biological sex. The results are as follows:

Male: 64.4 percent

Female: 35.6 percent.

What’s interesting about this is early in the survey results, the ratio was about 1:1. But, as more results came in, most of them came from men. What makes this especially interesting is that my followers on Twitter are overwhelmingly female. Therefore, the results seem to suggest that, while the majority of people who go barefoot at least some of the time are women, men who go barefoot are much more likely to be passionate about it.

Again, the disparity in sex may be due to the small sample size, but, because any survey on going barefoot has to be voluntary, it’s something to keep track of in the future.

2. The second question was about the respondent’s age group. The results:

40-45: 25.4 percent

30-35: 17 percent

16-18: 11.9 percent

18-22: 11.8 percent

50-65: 10.2 percent

35-40: 8.5 percent

25-30: 6.8 percent

45-50: 5.1 percent

< 16: 3.4 percent

22-25: 0 percent

=> 65: 0 percent

What immediately jumped out at me is that none of the respondents were in the 22-25 age range, especially because people in the age range are among the most social media savvy and because 11.8 percent of respondents are in the 18-22 range. If this finding isn’t by random chance, I think there are two possible explanations:

1. People in the 22-25 age range are out to make a good impression in a variety of ways. They trying to establish themselves in their careers, they’re trying to find a mate, etc. So, any desires they have to go barefoot may be at the back of their minds: They need to “dress to impress” at all times, or at least think they need to. If this is the case, then future surveys should expect to almost always find a low number of respondents from the 22-25 age group.

2. Those who are currently 22-25 are in the back end of the millennial generation, a generation known for its helicopter parents who try to protect their children from any possible hazard they could encounter, including forcing them to wear shoes every waking hour of the day. If this is the case, future surveys should have more responses from the 22-25 age group. However, a survey done five years from now would likely have a low response rate from the 27-30 age group.

3. The third question was about where the respondent is from. Unfortunately, this was a waste of a question as the low number of responses meant that there wasn’t anything interesting to be found.

Now let’s get to the meat-and-potatoes of the survey:

4. Which of the following best describes your general attitude about going barefoot?

The most popular response, by far, was “I go barefoot as often as possible, but will wear shoes if I need to” with 62.7 percent of respondents selecting this option. The remaining results:

“I go barefoot whenever I think I can get away with it”: 15.3 percent

“I usually prefer going barefoot to wearing shoes, but prefer to wear shoes sometimes”: 13.6 percent

“I go barefoot whenever it’s socially acceptable “: 6.8 percent

“I like going barefoot and wearing shoes about equally”: 1.7 percent

The remaining options, including the Other category, did not receive any responses.

These results indicate that everyone who responded to the survey at least has a neutral attitude towards barefooting, with most having a positive view of it.

5. Why did you start going barefoot?

Every answer in the category was selected by at least one person, with several people using the Other option.

“I find shoes to be uncomfortable or painful”:  22 percent

“I want to be connected with nature”: 20.3 percent

“I’ve gone barefoot as long as I can remember”: 17 percent

“I learned about the health benefits of being barefoot”: 17 percent

“I was curious to see what going barefoot is like”: 8.5 percent

Other: 8.5 percent

“My doctor recommended that I go barefoot”: 3.4 percent

“I don’t go barefoot”: 1.7 percent

“My friend(s) or family member(s) encouraged me to go barefoot”: 1.7 percent

The responses for the Other category were as follows:

“i learned about barefootrunning [sic]”

“For the thrill I received from overcoming my childhood phobia of being barefoot.”

“Going barefoot feels good!”

“just a preference”

“I think it’s silly to wear shoes if they’re not required, especially considering the health benefits of barefooting.”

First, you may notice that 1.7 percent of respondents said they don’t go barefoot. However, this conflicts with the results from other questions, so that choice may have been selected by mistake. Also, I found it encouraging that there are some doctors introducing their patients to barefooting.

Finally, the fact that 17 percent said they’ve gone barefoot as long as they can remember suggests that parents/guardians may have significant impact on our attitudes towards going barefoot, which seems to be supported by answers to some of the questions below. Consider how many of the anti-barefoot crowd talk about bare feet being “gross.” However, disgust is a learned emotion. So, it’s likely that the idea that bare feet are “gross” is ingrained from an early age. So much for rebelling against your parents.

Respondents were allowed to select as many answer choices as they wanted for each remaining question:

6. Where do you go barefoot?

“Inside my home”: 98.3 percent

“Outside on my property”: 95 percent

“Walking around my neighborhood”: 84.8 percent

“Outdoor parks”: 84.8 percent

So far, so good, right? Alas, while almost everyone who responded enjoys going barefoot outside and in their own home, there’s a huge drop-off when it comes to going barefoot inside other places:

“Retail stores”: 39 percent

“Restaurants”: 25.4 percent

“School, college or university”: 23.7 percent

“Work”: 23.7 percent

“Place of worship”: 22 percent

“Offices”: 17 percent

Other: 11.9 percent

“I wear shoes everywhere”: 0 percent

The responses for the Other category were as follows:

“on vacation, or citytrips”

“work, but only when people can’t see me”

“everywhere except work”

“Driving, hiking”

“other people’s homes”

“Anywhere outside”

“Everywhere I can”

So, it seems that most respondents think of going barefoot outside and inside (except their own homes) differently. The remaining questions start to get at why that is.

7. Which common claims about barefooting have you heard?

This question takes a look at how pervasive certain claims about barefooting are. These claims are either factually incorrect or aren’t supported by empirical evidence.

Bare feet are against “health codes”: 67.2 percent

It’s illegal to drive barefoot: 63.8 percent

Bare feet spread germs: 62.1 percent

The arches of your feet need the support that shoes provide to function properly: 62.1 percent

It’s illegal to go barefoot in restaurants: 60.3 percent

It’s illegal to go barefoot in stores:  56.9 percent

Going barefoot increases the risk of infection: 53.5 percent

Allowing barefoot customers increases businesses’ liability risk: 43.1 percent

Going barefoot increases the likelihood of getting athlete’s foot: 40 percent

You can catch cold from going barefoot: 36.2 percent

Foot odor is caused by going barefoot: 25.9 percent

I haven’t heard any of these claims: 3.5 percent

The responses here are pretty chilling given that this is from a barefoot-friendly sample. It would be a reasonable assumption to make that these myths are more pervasive among people who don’t go barefoot. Thus, it seems likely that, for many people, such false and unsupported information about going barefoot is considered “common knowledge.” This prevalence is probably a major reason that going barefoot is often looked upon with scorn.

8. Who did you hear these claims from?

So who is spreading this bad information? The results are concerning:

Friends: 64.4 percent

Employees in stores or restaurants: 59.3 percent

Parents: 52.5 percent

Other family members: 37.3 percent

News stories: 30.5 percent

Co-workers: 22 percent

Doctors: 22 percent

Teachers: 17 percent

Police or public officials: 11.9 percent

Other: 6.8 percent

Religious leaders: 5.1 percent

Research papers: 3.4 percent

I’ve haven’t heard any of these claims: 3.4 percent

The responses for the Other category were as follows:

Stories largely from US sites

general public

Internet

Online

Friends, employees and parents all made these claims to at least 50 percent of respondents. And, again, this is from a pro-barefooting sample. The fact that employees ranks so high is particularly troubling. It’s pretty clear that many businesses either deliberately misinform the public (because they are too cowardly to admit their own prejudices?) or do a poor job of informing their employees on store policies and government regulations.

9. If you do not go barefoot in stores or restaurants, why not?

Given that less than 40 percent of respondents said they go barefoot in stores or restaurants, this was a particularly prescient question. The results:

“I’m worried about being kicked out”: 50.9 percent

“I go barefoot in stores and/or restaurants”: 33.9 percent

“I’m worried about stares and comments from other customers”: 17 percent

Other: 15.3 percent

“I believe it’s disrespectful”: 13.6 percent

“I believe it’s against ‘health codes'”: 3.4 percent

“I believe it’s unsanitary”: 1.7 percent

“I need to wear shoes for other reasons and it’s easier to keep them on”: 1.7 percent

The responses for the Other category were as follows:

“dangerous, you could step on something”

“I have been kicked out of places”

“I go barefoot in stores alone, but my wife makes me wear shoes”

“To avoid possible confrontation from staff, which would embarrass fellow guests.”

“Public floors are dirty”

“Not worth the energy of trying to enlighten people who won’t change no matter what.”

“My spouse would not approve.”

Clearly fears about getting kicked out are the overriding reason here. When you discount those who do go barefoot in stores or restaurants, a full 77 percent of respondents say this fear is what prevents them from going barefoot.

I was also struck that 13.6 percent of respondents think it’s disrespectful, again from a pro-barefooting sample. This indicates that the idea that bare feet are “improper” in certain contexts is relatively pervasive.

10. If you do not go barefoot at your job, why not?

This was questions was aimed at getting an idea of how common and strict workplace dress codes are. In the future, I would like to know what industries respondents work in and what type of job they have to find out which have the strictest and most lenient dress codes.

The results:

“My job requires me to wear specific footwear”: 28.8 percent

“I go barefoot at my job”: 27.1 percent

“My company/organization’s dress code explicitly bans bare feet”: 20.3 percent

“I don’t have a job”: 15.3 percent

Other: 15.3 percent

“Bare feet aren’t banned, but I’m worried about the potential consequences of going barefoot”: 11.9 percent

“I asked my boss and s/he told me I need to wear shoes”: 3.4 percent

“I tried going barefoot and was reprimanded by my boss”: 1.7 percent

“I believe going barefoot at work is disrespectful”: 1.7 percent

“I believe going barefoot at work is unsanitary”: 1.7 percent

The responses for the Other category were as follows:

“i need to wear safety shoes”

“I have to wear shoes that cover the top of the foot, but kick them off when I can get away with it”

“I am allowed to stay barefoot within my own department, but was asked to wear shoes in other areas and for meetings.”

“Don’t know actually..”

“I regularly remove my flip-flops under my desk at work and walk around the office barefoot. I’ve never shown up without footwear, however.”

“I’ll go barefoot if I’m working late.”

In hindsight, I wish I had divided the most popular choice into two options to know which jobs require a specific type of footwear for safety reasons (e.g. special shoes are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and which jobs require a specific type of footwear for appearance reasons (e.g. the office has a business professional dress code requiring dress shoes). It was not a surprise to me that nearly half of all responses fell into this category or the “No Bare Feet” category. I have worked in the office where “No Bare Feet” was the only footwear requirement.

I invite you so share any thoughts or insights you have about these findings in the comments.

The podiatrist problem redux

I’ve written previously about the support of shoes over bare feet in the medical community when there is little, if any, empirical evidence that supports wearing shoes habitually. However, I think it’s worth revisiting after two excellent posts from last week from Barefoot Voice and Ahcuah.

The first post explores the ridiculousness of defaulting to shoes simply because there isn’t a consensus on the issue of bare feet versus shoes. Imagine if I told you that I had invented a new device that improved the use of your hands. You’d immediately ask me to prove my device is superior. But, instead of doing so, I insist that you should use my device because there’s no proof that bare hands are superior. Your reasonable reaction would be to say that that is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard. Yet, many in the medical community apply the exact same logic to footwear: Wear shoes until it’s proven that bare feet are better.

The post also points out that, even if it was proven that shoes are a superior choice for a particular individual, that doesn’t mean they are best for everyone. Eyeglasses are helpful for someone with poor vision, but if an optometrist prescribed eyeglasses to patients with 20/20 vision, he’d be on a bullet train to losing his license.

The second post discusses 11 reasons why podiatrists are against being barefoot. In essence, the list boils down to podiatrists drawing poor conclusions based on shoes being the norm. They start with the point-of-view that shoes can’t be the cause of the foot problems. After all, everyone wears shoes, but not everyone has foot problems. But, this is like saying a dangerous road isn’t the cause of car accidents because only 20 percent of people driving on the road have an accident. The fact that 80 percent of drivers were able to escape without an accident doesn’t dismiss those who had an accident.

The other big issue is population bias. What this means is that podiatrists are only seeing patients who have foot problems. Very few, if any, people who have never had a foot problem go to podiatrists just to get a checkup. The first thing a podiatrist likely looks for is anything about the patient that is different from the norm. If the patient goes barefoot, then the podiatrist may conclude that: 1. Bare feet are the cause of the patient’s problem and 2. Going barefoot is bad for everyone. But these conclusions are poor science because the podiatrist’s patient population is not representative of the population as a whole. (Anecdotally, the last time I went for a physical exam, the doctor commented on how healthy my feet are, and I’ve heard the same from others who go barefoot.)

Imagine an auto mechanic who exclusively works on General Motors vehicles. One day a customer brings in a Ford. The Ford only has 20,000 miles on it, but is in terrible shape: the engine has seized, the transmission is busted, the body work is rusted. The mechanic might conclude: “Wow, Ford builds terrible cars.” But, this is a scientifically weak conclusion. He’s basing it on a sample of one. Maybe this Ford is the only car in the entire fleet that had these problems. The same applies to podiatrists who generalize based only on their own patients.

14 myths about going barefoot

1. It’s illegal to go barefoot in stores and restaurants.

Reality: There are no laws in the U.S. that require customers to wear shoes in stores and restaurants. Some stores have their own policies banning bare feet, but they are just that: store policies.

2. We need to wear shoes for support.

Reality: The human foot has evolved over millions of years, and people lived barefoot during most of this time. The human foot is perfectly suited to support most people without any help. Meanwhile, shoes can cause foot problems like hammer toes, plantar fasciitis and fallen arches, while also potentially damaging your posture and causing long-term health problems in the ankles, knees, hips and back.

3. Going barefoot increases the risk of infection.

Reality: A cut foot can get infected whether you’re barefoot or in shoes. In fact, shoes probably increase the likelihood of infection because the warm, moist interior of a shoe is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. The only way to reduce the risk of infection is to medicate and bandage the cut.

4. People who go barefoot are more likely to get athlete’s foot.

Reality: Athlete’s foot, like other forms of bacteria, thrives in warm, moist environments. Most environments bare feet encounter don’t meet this criteria, but the inside of a shoe does. The best way to acquire athlete’s foot is to borrow someone else’s shoes or socks.

5. You can get hookworm from going barefoot.

Reality: This is true, but only in places where there are open sewers. In the U.S. and other developed countries, this risk is virtually nonexistent.

6. Every store has a policy banning bare feet.

Reality: Most stores do not. Usually when an employee confronts a barefoot customer about his or her bare feet, it turns out the employee is ignorant about store policy. Even stores that display “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs rarely enforce them. Most businesspeople are too smart to turn away paying customers; ones that do usually don’t stay in business long.

7. Bare feet may have been fine in the past, but today the ground is covered with hazardous debris.

Reality: Not really. At least not in any place I’ve ever lived. One thing you quickly find out when you start going barefoot is that the ground is actually much cleaner than you ever would’ve imagined.

8. You shouldn’t go barefoot because feet are ugly.

Reality: “Ugly” feet are typically ones that are deformed as a result of spending most of their days crammed into ill-fitting shoes.

9. You shouldn’t go barefoot because feet smell bad.

Reality: Foot odor is caused by wearing shoes. When feet sweat and become damp, foot-odor-causing bacteria thrives.

10. Shoe companies wouldn’t make shoes if there wasn’t a reason to.

Reality: There are certain situations when it is preferable to wear shoes, when the ground is too hot or cold, or unsanitary, for instance. But this doesn’t mean you should wear shoes at all times, just as you don’t wear gloves all the time just because you may need them in the winter or when you’re trimming your hedges. Like many articles of clothing, shoes were primarily designed as a status symbol. The aristocracy wore shoes to separate themselves from the barefoot peasants. This created demand for shoes from the poor so that they wouldn’t be labeled as such.

11. Going barefoot spreads germs.

Reality: Germs are primarily spread via your hands. Your hands are the most likely part of your body to touch another person and the most likely to touch your mouth and nose, enabling germs to enter the body. Furthermore, the inside of your shoe almost certainly contains more germs than anything you would step on with your bare feet.

12. You can catch cold from going barefoot.

Reality: It isn’t possible to “catch” cold whether you go outside barefoot, with wet hair or any of the other silly myths. If you get sick after going barefoot, it’s likely a coincidence, and you probably acquired the germs elsewhere, most likely via your hands (see above).

13. You can get a staph infection from going barefoot.

Reality: To acquire a staph infection, you have to come into contact with someone who is already infected. This happens quite frequently in hospitals, and it may be best to avoid walking around barefoot in a hospital. Outside of a hospital, the risk of getting a staph infection from going barefoot is virtually nonexistent.

14. Businesses ban bare feet because they are at risk for liability if something happens to a barefoot customer.

Reality: No they aren’t. Lawsuits related to injuries suffered while barefoot are virtually nonexistent in U.S. history. Insurance companies do not lower their rates if businesses ban bare feet. However, there have been many lawsuits filed for injuries suffered while wearing shoes, especially high heels and flip flops. Most footwear-related injuries are suffered by women wearing high heels, yet I’ve never heard of a business that banned customers from wearing them. Likewise, the most common customer injuries are back injuries resulting from lifting something heavy, yet businesses do not require customers to wear back braces.

Why don’t more doctors support going barefoot?

American society widely holds the (mostly incorrect) view that going barefoot is unhealthy. Unless you live in an area with poor sanitation, the biggest problem you’re likely to face is a stubbed toe or a cut foot. And that’s only when you’re a beginner barefooter; those risks will become minimal as you get used to barefooting and your soles toughen up.

Meantime, shoes are usually the cause of foot problems like hammer toes, plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, corns, bunions and athlete’s foot, and studies have found that people who live in countries where barefooting is common have healthier feet than people who live in countries where it is not.

Yet, the myth persists that going barefoot is unhealthy, and people think they need shoes to support their feet and to protect themselves from diseases. Given the amount of medical evidence that supports going barefoot, you might think that most doctors would recommend going barefoot over wearing shoes. But, although there are some exceptions, this is definitely not the case. The “foot pain” section on the website for the hospital at my alma mater includes this highly subjective recommendation: “Avoid walking barefoot, which increases the risk for injury and infection.”

So, why don’t more medical professionals recommend going barefoot? Maybe it’s better to wear shoes after all. Not so fast. There are some very clear reasons why doctors recommend shoes in the face of medical evidence suggesting they shouldn’t.

Because habitually wearing shoes has become so normalized in the U.S., it is difficult for most doctors to imagine a patient who habitually goes barefoot. Thus, they assume that people only go barefoot infrequently, causing their soles to be soft and tender. And when the soles are soft and tender, it is easy to get a cut or a blister on the sole of the foot.

Another key factor is individual causality. Despite evidence showing the long-term damage shoes cause to the population at-large, it is impossible to prove at the individual level that the counter-factual does not exist. What this means is that, if someone who habitually wears shoes develops, for example, plantar fasciitis, one cannot say for sure that he or she would not have developed plantar fasciitis had he or she gone barefoot instead. After all, although shoes increase the risk of plantar fasciitis, they do not guarantee it. As such, it is very unlikely that a doctor could be medically (or legally) liable for recommending his patient wear shoes if he or she develops plantar fasciitis.

On the other hand, if a doctor advises a patient to go barefoot and that patient cuts his foot on a piece of glass, the causal link is clear and the counter-factual is disproved. If the patient hadn’t gone barefoot, he wouldn’t have cut his foot. Thus, it is possible the doctor could be found liable for the injury.

Plantar fasciitis is typically a far more serious medical problem than a cut foot, but, if the doctor is concerned about liability, he will probably elect to send the patient down the road to plantar fasciitis to avoid the road to a cut foot.

A myth-based attempt at humor

I recently came across this video from something called Eyeboogie called “Going Barefoot Could Kill You.” Although the video is clearly supposed to humorous, the humor is based on myths about barefooting that many believe to be true. So, let’s use it as an opportunity to dispel the myths.

1. Tetanus is what the video claims can kill you. And it’s true that tetanus is fatal about 11 percent of the time. But it’s virtually impossible to contract tetanus if your tetanus vaccination is up-to-date. If you’re vaccination isn’t up-to-date, then it probably isn’t advisable to go barefoot. But, if it is, tetanus is a non-issue. Tetanus bacteria thrives on surfaces that lack oxygen (e.g. metal), and can only enter the human body through a puncture wound.

Tetanus is most commonly transferred to the human body via a cut from a rusty nail. I’ve never stepped on a rusty nail, but I did cut my hand on one as a child. This didn’t cause me to start wearing gloves all the time to avoid getting tetanus. I avoid it by going to my doctor and getting a tetanus booster shot every 10 years.

2. Next, the video claims going barefoot causes athlete’s foot. It claims you can get it by going barefoot in the park, which is factually incorrect. Athlete’s foot fungi requires a warm and moist environment to thrive. Hmmm, what’s a warm and moist environment? Oh right, THE INSIDE OF A SHOE. The best way to contract athlete’s foot is to borrow the shoes of someone who is already infected.

3. The video also claims you can contract plantar warts from walking in the park. This is also highly dubious. While plantar warts can infect surfaces, because they are spread through autoinoculation, you are most likely to get them through direct contact with someone who already has plantar warts.

4. The video also states that you can get hookworm from “contaminated” soil. This is true when the soil is contaminated with raw sewage. If you live in, for example, Monrovia, Liberia, hookworm is a legitimate concern and you should probably avoid going barefoot. If you live in Anytown, U.S.A., it’s not.

5. The video then states that you shouldn’t mow your lawn barefoot. It notes that “80,000 Americans head to the emergency room after using a lawnmower,” and says that the most common injuries involve fractures to the feet. This is just silly as a reason to avoid going barefoot. First, I’d bet that the overwhelming majority of those 80,000 people were wearing shoes at the times of their injuries. Second, unless the shoes you’re wearing are made of steel, it’s doubtful they’d protect your feet from injury in the event they contact a spinning lawnmower blade.

Super Fresh is sadly misinformed on state codes

Super Fresh is a New Jersey-based grocery store chain that is struggling financially and has had to close many of its stores in recent years. Yet, at least one of the company’s remaining locations feels the need to turn away paying customers, and it does so by perpetuating false information.

This sign is posted on the door of a Super Fresh grocery store located in Ocean CIty, Md.

At the front of the store is a sign that reads: “Under Maryland code, your shirt and shoes are required before you enter into Superfresh [sic].” Before we address the legal fallacies of the sign, let’s take a look at the hilarious construction of the sentence.

First, the name of the store is two words: Super Fresh, not Superfresh. Second, if you read the sentence literally, it suggests that the customer must give the store his or her shoes and shirt before entering, not that he or she must wear shoes and a shirt to enter the store. Third, the sentence as written implies that the nonexistent “code” is written specifically for Super Fresh.

But, what the author of the sign is clearly attempting to say is that shirts and shoes must be worn in the store, as mandated by the state code. Of course, Maryland does not have a code requiring shirts and shoes in grocery stores (or any other place of business), nor does any other U.S. state.

Super Fresh is allowed to bar barefoot customers from its stores. But, if it does, it’s the store’s policy, not the state’s policy.

I have sent an email to Super Fresh regarding the sign. I will update this post with the company’s response if I get one.

Going barefoot at chain stores

A lot of people automatically assume that national and multinational chain stores must have policies against barefeet. But, in most cases, the reason these businesses grow to be so large is because they’re operated by smart businesspeople who understand that different markets have different sensibilities.

Thus, these companies usually either: 1. Automatically allow any customer to shop no matter how they are dressed (assuming they aren’t nude, of course) or 2. Allow individual store managers to decide on such matters.

In other words, even if you are asked to leave one of these stores for being barefoot or encounter a No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service sign, that doesn’t mean that policy applies to the entire company. If it applies anywhere (remember, employees are often ignorant of their stores’ policies), it probably only applies to that single store. Maybe the Target in your town has a No Bare Feet policy, but it’s likely the one in the next town over doesn’t.

The barefoot-at-work debate is gaining some serious steam

Last week, business website Quartz published a positive story about going barefoot at work. Today, another business website, Fast Company, likely inspired by the Quartz article, also posted a story about going barefoot at work, though it had a more neutral take, suggesting a compromise of shoes with thinner soles than typical dress shoes.

However, the Fast Company story also includes a quote from Dieter Breithecker, head of Germany’s Federal Institute for Posture and Mobilization, who said “Putting the soles of your feet in contact with all the normal sensations helps to relieve internal tension and reduce stress.”

Fast Company’s article was picked up by Glamour, among others.

Of course, there was the predictable backlash against going barefoot at work by those who wish to enforce the status quo. Even a White House staffer for Rep. Darrell Issa felt the need to chime in with her opinion. (On an unrelated note, Darrell Issa made his fortune selling car alarms, which causes me to loathe him regardless of his political views.)

However, the fact that this discussion is even being had is amazing to me. This is because I would’ve considered the workplace to be the last frontier of barefoot acceptance. I would’ve expected this discussion to happen only after barefooting in public at stores, schools and public buildings had become common.

And I certainly doubt going barefoot at work will have widespread acceptance anytime soon. But having this discussion can only be a positive thing, and it could lead to people having a more open-minded attitude about going barefoot outside the workplace.

Is the worm turning on going barefoot?

In one of my first blog posts, I posed the question: why do so few people go barefoot these days? I asked this question because, when I was a child, it was not atypical for me to see dozens of people barefoot in public during the summer months, but these days it’s rare to see anyone barefoot in public except at the beach or a public pool. And, if I do see someone barefoot, it’s likely that it’s the result of uncomfortable shoes or a broken flip-flop; they aren’t barefoot by choice.

However, in summers 2012 and 2013, I have seen about one dozen barefoot people out-and-about with no shoes in sight. That’s still a very small number, but it’s a significant increase from previous summers when I may not have seen one person barefoot.

And there’s other anecdotal evidence supporting this trend, such as stores rescinding their No Bare Feet policies and a growing number of people expressing their desires to go barefoot. Check out my twitter feed to see how people say that they usually go barefoot or would if not for negative stigma associated with it.

But, if the worm is turning, and there certainly isn’t enough evidence to say that it is for sure (unfortunately, there are also plenty of tweets on twitter from people expressing their disgust at seeing someone barefoot), what is causing it to?

The first thing that comes to my mind is the barefoot running trend. I am not a barefoot runner myself (exercise is one of the few things I still wear shoes to do), but I’m glad to know that it has been useful for many people who have experienced pain and injuries from using running shoes.

Are some of these runners realizing that, if going barefoot is helping their running, maybe it could help in the rest of their lives? I don’t the answer to this question, as I don’t know any barefoot runners personally.

I think it’s possible that increased acceptance of going barefoot could be part of a broader trend in the U.S. For about 25 years (from 1980 to 2005, or so), there was an ever-increasing emphasis on safety in American society. And, helped by the once common “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs, going barefoot was one of many activities deemed by society to be “unsafe.” This included everything from harsh laws for non-violent drug crimes to putting “parental advisory” stickers on CDs to taking potentially dangerous toys off the market. Most of this was done under the guise of “protecting children.”

But, eventually, people got over their obsessions with protecting children from every conceivable hazard, and, in recent years, we’ve seen fewer manufactured controversies and the return of adult-orientated programming to televisions and movie theaters.

Perhaps, people are also becoming less uptight about going barefoot.