Old Dogs, New Trick

image from site, findingberlin.com, under shoe tossing in Berlin. This is a job for duct tape

For those who are unaware, "dogs" is old timey slang for your feet, or you feets, if you prefer.

Recently, I was catching up on the trials and tribulations of The Class Factotum , who writes an informative and very entertaining blog. Far easier to read than mine. It covers everything from spousal abuse for fun, to tyrannical pets, and fake blind lady curmudgeons.

In the episode I was reading, tying shoes was the issue du jour. You never know what is going on there. They live in an area where people wash their cars in beer, so anything can happen.

I followed the link in her story which went to TED.com, and a guy actually discussed the whole shoe-tie thing in a video, but you can't really see what he's doing. It seems that some laces are more prone to come undone than others. With a little effort I was able to figure it out.

It's true! There is the old way, and a better way to tie a shoe.

The whole trick is when you make that first loop, force yourself to bring the other part around the opposite direction from what you habitually do. For the first time ever, I worked all day without having to tie the loops in an extra knot, and my shoes never came untied.

You know you have it right when the bow wants to lie horizontally across the top of the shoe, rather than the usual tendency for it to go along the longitudinal axis of your footwear.

I'm very surprised and pleased. All these years of wrong way tying.

Never have these shoes stayed tied. Never ever. Until today.

It gets a little confusing because I sometimes tie right handed, and sometimes left. Same concept applies. Maybe when this knowledge gets out there, tie shoes will make a comeback instead of falling prey to the vel-cro lobby and lazy slip ons.

As the photo, above, tends to scream out--perhaps some basics on how to lace shoes should make the rounds, as well as how to tie them.