Born to Live Barefoot

Whether you realize it or not, when you buy a ticket on any airline, you are agreeing to their “contract of carriage,” a long and detailed legal document spelling out all their rules and regulations for the transportation of passengers and baggage. According to a recent article in USA Today, “Contracts of carriage: Deciphering murky airline rules,”

These contracts are pretty much designed to protect the airlines, not passengers.

All U.S. based airlines’ contracts of carriage contain some reference to barefoot Continue reading “Traveling Barefoot on Airline Flights”

The benefits and joys of going barefoot do not have to be compromised just because the seasons change and the weather starts getting colder.

But going barefoot in the cold weather of winter can sometimes be a challenge. One way it’s a challenge is when someone has worn shoes for many years, their feet have gotten used to always being enclosed in a warm covering. So even in relatively mild temperatures, their feet without shoes will probably feel “cold” to them, even inside their home.

The other way it’s a challenge is, even if feet have been acclimatized to handle Continue reading “Going Barefoot in Cold Weather”

First, let’s talk about hookworms themselves, in general.

Hookworm is the common term referring to certain helminths (tiny parasitic worms) that can infect humans and animals by directly penetrating the skin. There are other helminths that can infect humans as well, but not through skin contact, as they must enter the body through ingestion or other bodily openings. Hookworm derives its name from the adult worm’s slightly bent over head resembling the shape of a hook.

There are two main types of hookworm species that could potentially Continue reading “Bare Feet and Hookworms – What Are the Facts?”

I almost never have any issues or confrontations about my bare feet within the community that I live. But a few years ago, a rare exception to this did occur at a local restaurant. I was so surprised and taken aback that I wrote the following letter (slightly modified from its original version) to the editor of my local paper, which they published:
Continue reading “The Health Code Myth”

If you live in the U.S., you’ve no doubt seen signs on most escalators that list various safety warnings, including “No Bare Feet.” Makes sense, right? Most people would take that for granted, with all those gnarly looking moving parts, those teeth that open up at the top only to bite down fast and hard at the bottom could chew up a bare foot in seconds. As long as you’re not barefoot when going up and down on that mechanical monster, you’re safe. No, the sign doesn’t exactly say that, but that’s the message it sends.

But the ironic thing is, just about every documented injury on an escalator Continue reading “Barefoot on Escalators”