Not work, but places like supermarkets, pubs, restaurents etc.
Acceptable or bannable?

Why ban it?

We have a regular customer in the shoppe who rides around barefoot.

Not acceptable, IMO. Unless……

The aforementioned public building is a pub on the waterfront, such as the Ferry Boat at Helford, the Ferry in Salcombe, the Ship at Newton, the Millbrook at South Pool (keep an eye on the tides, as you'll need some water to gun back down the estuary after a skinful!).

I've done it. Don't see what the problem is.

Euugh… foot ming!

Fit when girls do it (Joss Stone before she went yank)

Less so on men, but perfectly acceptable

Don't see why not. I really cant see any reason why it would be a problem.

Increased risk of infection (fungal or otherwise), increased risk of foot injury, increased risk of slips and falls. And that's without giving it too much thought.

increased risk of foot injury, increased risk of slips and falls

But surely that's up to the people who choose to go barefoot?

Acceptable, if you wanna wear boots in summer be my guest I'll wear my cheap plastic sandals.

But surely that's up to the people who choose to go barefoot?

Yes they would bare the responsibility but the people staffing the public building would still have deal with the "casualty" no matter how stupid they were being and I'm sure they've got better things to do than clear up after some has had an entirely preventable accident.

Ahh you mean proper barefoot. yeah thats weird. Although each to there own. . . .

Don't see why not. I really cant see any reason why it would be a problem

saw a bird go into the loo on a busy train to london recently bare foot….silly,silly mistake….yukk.

bad enough going in them with shoes on!

Seems fine to me, surely only 'squares' or 'suits' would be bothered by it

barefoot mean less fungal infections and less foot ming if you did it more. Main foot ming comes from shoving feet in sweaty stale shoes and socks for hours upon end where they bath in their own fetid sweat juices.

Walk around a lot in barefoot, been into supermarkets, pubs and shops no problems (although the security guard did used to follow me in the supermarket?) will probably do so a lot this summer, just winter is a tad cold.

Also barefoot or totteringly massive high heels, I know which look more accident prone to me. Probably more likely to slip in bike shoes than barefoot.

I also took up running barefoot a bit up until the snow so maybe I am not the best person to be putting my opinion forward.

You sound like just the right person to be putting your opinion forward 🙂

Zola Bud!

Say no more . . . .

Gandhi did it and he's a billion people's hero.

No issue at all, i do it occasionally, don't see the problem really, I was it lots when i was in oz and NZ.

increased risk of foot injury, increased risk of slips and falls

When did STW beocome the nanny state?

No issues at all…

Increased risk of infection (fungal or otherwise), increased risk of foot injury, increased risk of slips and falls. And that's without giving it too much thought.

Infection – only to those who choose to go barefoot – and it's not your foot so why should you choose it? If more people went bare footed mor regularly there would be a LOWER risk as people wouldnt get damp sweaty feet in shoes to then transfer across to the barefooted world.
Risk of foot injury – if you do it often enough you'll get hardened soles good enough for most stuff, but again, that's your choice. Things falling on you – yup, could hurt, but your call again.
Slips and falls – not sure on that one. Barefoot I have far better balance and grip than, for example, wet rubber soles on tiled floors. Thats why we have fingerprints and texture on our toes, to give us better grip (the same way fingerprints give you grip on a wet mug etc).
I know of a group that advocates barefoot hillwalking because it encourages more care to be taken and gives better grip, once the feet are conditioned.

Give over with the over-protection of other people.

This article suggests running barefoot is better for you

What about swimming pools? You can't really ban it there, can you?

Daft idea

barefoot mean less fungal infections

Remind me agai.. what is a verruca?
How many people have them and how are they spread?

I have no problem with people going barefoot, just like I have no problem with people eating off toilet seats if they want to. Would usually avoid it myself though. What's wrong with sandals at least?

Gandhi did it and he's a billion people's hero.

Yep. He went everywhere barefoot. He also had terrible bad breath. That's why he is known as a super-calloused-fragile-mystic-plagued-with-halitosis.

There do seem to be odd double standards though. Plenty of disease is spread by hand contact, but people don't seem too worried by bare hands.

All for it, I was at a festival a few years back where it was really really muddy (like knee deep) Why ruin good shoes? Everyone was freaked out, but the mud was like custard!

Could be worse, socks and sandals…

Ian Munro – Member

There do seem to be odd double standards though. Plenty of disease is spread by hand contact, but people don't seem too worried by bare hands.

+1 for Mr Munro, you don't wipe your arse with your feet…

I don't tend to use my hands either. I find toilet paper is considerably more absorbent.

[Remind me agai.. what is a verruca?

Same as warts, which are spread by hand contact. Very common and nothing but an inconvenience. But when was the last time you had warts, considering we dont go around with gloves on 24/7, and how much of a problem was it dealing with them?

Is this barefoot thing a fetish of yours ?

Never had a wart on my hands, but have had verrucas on my feet and still have a deep one that has never gone away despite multiple acid treatments, freezing and cutting.

That wiki article reckon 7-10% of people do, and that's without going everywhere barefoot.

It also says:

Because plantar warts are spread by contact with moist walking surfaces, they can be prevented by not walking barefoot in public areas such as showers or communal changing rooms, not sharing shoes and socks, and avoiding direct contact with warts on other parts of the body or on other people.

Used to do it loads until I found out six webbed toes ain't the norm.

Big city folk pointing and staring 🙁

GrahamS – I know loads of people who have had hand-based warts at some point in their life, and your deep veruca isn't a problem, they go eventually without treatment. They're spread easily in kids presumably because of the thin skin on the feet, they're much less common in adults, possibly due to the lack of contact (Fewer adults swim?) and also because of the thickened skin on the foot. Which more people would get if they walked bear foot. Hand warts are spread without moist surfaces, but you're not petitioning for glove use are you?

your deep veruca isn't a problem, they go eventually without treatment

Well, I've had mine over five years.
It's not a problem – but it can make me limp a bit.

you're not petitioning for glove use are you

Hygienic people generally wash their hands several times a day though.

But nope. And I'm not saying people should be banned from going barefoot either. I just wouldn't generally choose to do it myself and I'm not convinced it is particularly healthy.

You have a wart that makes you limp?!

Washing your hands doesn't help with warts, since it's your hands that are the cause of the warts, not somethign passed onto your hands. Even if you'd just soaped and scrubbed, then touched someone with your warty hand you'd still pass it on.

I'm not convinced it's any more unhealthy than going to public baths or opening a public door. Each to his own.

You have a wart that makes you limp?!

Yep, not total quasi like, just a bit. It's deep and right on the ball of my foot so it nips a bit. Not nice.

Even if you'd just soaped and scrubbed, then touched someone with your warty hand you'd still pass it on.

But surely if the non-warty person you touched washed their hands soon afterwards then they could avoid infection by the HPV that causes the wart?

BTW do they still have those little foot troughs at the public baths? (not been in years)

Our local one used to have one between the changing rooms and the pool so that everyone was forced to walk through the disinfectant.

Except all the kids used to jump over it obviously 🙄

Maybe I'd be happier about folk in Tescos in bare feet if they employed that system 😀

i pretty much go constantly barefoot in the summer (and if i lived somewhere warm would do so year round), have done for many many years. my feet are definitely fine.

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town/building debates asides, walking in the country barefoot is wonderful. its almost meditative as you have to focus on the terrain so much more than just ploughing through with yer boots on!