[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The habit of taking shoes off in Japan came from the fact they traditionally sat on the floor, slept on pallets on the floor, and ate at tables a few inches off the floor.

Meanwhile there are wide swathes of the world (including half of the U.S. and much of Europe), where those who habitually remove shoes will be regarded with incredulity. It's not simply that they don't take their shoes off in these places, but they don't understand why anyone would, and regard it as bizarre. The first time it happened to me (in Scotland 20 years ago) went like this:

[I start taking my shoes off at door.]
Host: What are you doing?
Me: Taking my shoes off.
Host: WHY?!
Me: Uh, it's polite?
Host: [Laughs and shakes head.] No. Keep them on.
Host [Later to wife]: He was taking his shoes off!
Wife: WHY?!

And this was an affluent family in a nice, new house full of nice things. They regarded me taking my shoes off as weird and unexpected as if I'd taken my shirt off.

How odd. In all my travels around Great Britain I have never been made fun of for taking my shoes off and the locals have all taken their shoes off. Now, maybe it is because I have only been to Wales and England, or maybe it is because the Scots are dirty savages that live in stone huts with dirt floors.

I can’t understand why people would walk around their house (on carpet or hardwood) in shoes that have been strolling around outside. Outside there is poo, pee, spit, oil, fuel, gum not to mention for 7 months of the year our roads and streets are covered in snow/ice/slush and salt. Yuck.

I get that in warmer climates than ours it is not abnormal to wear shoes indoors. When I went to visit a buddy in South Africa we wore out shoes indoors. His house is an open concept with tile floors, easy to sweep/hard on the back.

If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, do what my mother in law does/did bring a pair of indoor shoes. She swears Birkenstocks are the best to wear for PF, but I don’t condone Birkenstocks.