We Americans instinctively avoid looking into the gaps in the doors in public restrooms. We don't want to see what's going on in the stall, as much as the person in the stall doesn't want others to see what's going on.
Exactly correct. You might see something in the gap out of the corner of your eye, but only to verify that someone is actually in there and you have to use another one.
In my experience, as an American, the shoe thing is 50/50. I never wore shoes in the house growing up. I wear shoes in the house now, but they are my “inside shoes” that I never wear outside. Essentially, they’re just slippers.
You know whats bad. I grew up with no shoes on in the house, especially not upstairs. Slippers only. But since owning my own home I look for indoor/outdoor slips. Uggs make a sturdy pair. I can’t go outside to put garbage in cans or let the dog out in the backyard.
It feels like shoes off is becoming more common for primarily carpeted homes, but hard flooring is becoming more popular too. I think this has maintained the balance of shoes off to shoes on households.
Always worn sock feet around the house, and honestly never seen people wear anything other than socks or slippers at home. As a guest in a home it’s different, like going to relatives or friends’ you might naturally leave your sneaks on if it’s not raining or muddy out, depending on the occasion.
From my experience living in the Midwest (Missouri) pretty much my entire life with the shoe thing is that most people will take their shoes off in their own home more often than not. When going to someone else’s house it varies from person to person or situation to situation but it’s more common to leave them on unless the home owner ask you to remove them.
Also from Missouri! I try to take off my shoes as often as I can in the house but my parents don't care, so I guess it can also differ between people in the same household
im from southern america, oklahoma and texas 50/50 but anyway i have met extremely few people in these parts that insist on shoes off, even during casual hangouts at someones house. often if it doesnt involve long term couch sitting specifically, then the shoes will be staying on for most people. its so common that ive even gotten used to having my shoes on most of the day in my own home, although i know that one is less common, but yes my shoes are quite comfy. also, not sure if the UK has the equivalent of house shoes for the more middle class american, but those are also quite common in place of just wearing your socks. hope that was helpful to anyone
in the upper midwest, no one keeps their shoes on indoors. Every single house up here has a tiled area by the door as well as a little bench thing to place your shoes under. Up here its considered straight up disrespectful to put shoes on carpet.
I'm from Michigan where the winter weather is quite bad. So taking off your shoes in someone's house is a must, otherwise you're tracking a lot of snow, mud, salt into the house. At least in winter.
Drug ads don't appear on kids' shows, but appear noticeably more on old people shows. Personally, I wish they'd just ban direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. From what I've read, it's a multi-billion dollar business, expenses which need to be made up for in revenue, they typically advertise the more expensive treatments, and they're just bloody annoying.
As a mom of 2 boys here in the US, I can confirm that commercials are very, very much geared toward a target audience for each channel and TV show. Children's shows will often have ads for toys, diapers, snacks, computer games/apps, and products for moms. Drug commercials are often on during grownup shows. You can even spot advertising geared towards the elderly on certain channels and shows.
The American rules about wearing shoes in the house are heavily influenced by culture and the climate. Here in the Midwest, a lot of us are in the shoes off contingent because the weather here can be messy for a good part of the year. Some guests take umbrage if they're asked to remove their shoes when visiting someone, so the rule is usually enforced with family and close friends only. I think it also depends on your home layout; it's easier to do shoes off if you have a foyer or mudroom with room to deposit your shoes.
I’m from the Midwest and we never took our shoes off unless the weather was bad and your shoes/boots were messy. I think it has more to do with family traditions. If your parents had you take off your shoes then you grow up and have your kids and your family take off their shoes and it just perpetuates generation to generation.
Same here in Maine, between mud season AKA Spring and Winter with the sand and salt, outdoor shoes off at the door and house slippers inside. Otherwise I would spend an insane amount of time sweeping and mopping my floors, the sound of grit on my floors sends me into an OCD spinout LOL that being said not everyone does that here.
In my experience there’s three occasions where taking shoes off is expected in the US. New house. The shoes/ boots are so dirty that describing them as dirty would be an improvement brought about by a good clean. Rugs have just been shampooed.
In Türkiye taking your shoes off on entering a home is normal. Most people have several pairs of guest slippers. When I have been to the dentist in Türkiye they give you disposable plastic overshoes.
I grew up in a shoes-on household and I only remember being asked to remove my shoes coming into someone's house once. It felt way too intimate. As an adult, I remove my shoes if asked to, but I prefer to wear shoes outside my own home, and I prefer that others leave their shoes on in my home. In my own home I usually wear slippers, but sometimes I go out to the porch or the yard in my slippers, too.
i think it depends on where in America you are. in hawaii, everyone is expected to take their shoes off before entering the house. here in the Midwest, it depends on the family. my family takes our shoes off at the door because we don't want to be tracking everything from the outside around our house, especially since we have indoor only cats and we try to protect them from the outside germs that some of them have never been exposed to. we also don't want to track dirt everywhere inside. we also change into comfy clothes once we get home
I think, in my experience as an American, shoes on or off is dependent on the flooring. In houses with carpet shoes off is quite normal. In houses with wood, shoes on is very common. It comes down to the cleanability of the floor and the comfort of the guest. If a house has hardwood floos, they are easy to clean and the guest might feel more comfortable with their shoes on. Where as carpet is difficult to clean if you track in dirt or mud and feet are more comfy/warm on carpet.
We always had carpet, and we wore shoes whenever we were fully dressed, especially in the daytime when someone (a friend, neighbor, whatever) might stop by for a visit. We did go barefoot when wearing pajamas.
Of course, the young people these days go out to the store in pajamas, so it's little wonder if they also take their shoes off in front of company and show up to weddings wearing flip-flops.
@@jonadabtheunsightly it’s a class thing as well as the type of flooring and region you’re from. Wealth coastal California home with tile and stone floors? Shoes on. Trailer park in Florida next to a swamp with shag carpet from the 70s, shoes on. Farmhouse in the countryside of Western New York with heart of pine wood floors and braided rugs, you better believe it’s shoes off.
Those to continuously forget about the 330 million Americans. With so many people of course you are going to get some that do something one way but the majority I’ve experienced through life has been shoes off.. 🤷♂️🤦♂️🤣 this stuff is pretty dang funny with what some foreigners believe after hearing about it once or seeing something on TV or in a movie. Plus most Americans would wear slippers. At least my family and friends always have most of the time..
I agree with this. hardwood floors are cold in the Winter, and I would very much like to keep my shoes on vs. taking them off, unless they're tracking snow/mud in, in which case I'll swap to slippers or some other footwear to keep my feet warm and not need to touch hardwood or, God forbid, tile, which can be really freezing cold in the Winter.
I think in most parts of the US, taking your shoes off in the house is seen as something you only do in your own home, but not something you'd ask visitors to do or even want them to do unless they were very close friends or family who often visit and were staying for more than just a few minutes at a time. I think most of us would feel like we were being overly familiar just to go into someone's house we might not be that close to and take our shoes off. I personally would not want that in my house for hygiene reasons. That said, if I go to someone's house that requests it, I'm most certainly going to be respectful of how they want to do things in their own home and do as they ask.
@@alboalt3411 Maybe so but not my house, not my rules. I try to respect how other people want things done in their own home, even if I think it's unnecessary or weird. My friend's Russian wife has a big thing about shoes in the house. I don't like doing it either, but I do it when I go over to visit him because it's what she wants and he obliges her and asks everyone nicely to do it.
@Albo alt Yep, agree 100%. There was a Sex & the City episode about that exact concept lol. If you're so neurotic about your floors remaining spotless (which aren't that difficult to clean...), then why are you having people over in the first place? Someone could just as easily spill a glass of wine or drop a plate of food despite having their shoes off. It's also like insinuating that your guests are dirty or careless and won't wipe off their shoes on the mat and must be treated like irresponsible messy children.
I’m not even sure what guests would do with their shoes in a city apartment. My building has lots of Asian residents and their friends seem to always take off their shoes and leave them in the hallway outside their doors. But I have to assume other peoples’ guests leave theirs on because they’d quickly fill up the small entrance foyer if you had more than 2 or 3 people over.
It's pretty much the opposite where I grew up. You generally really have to think a whole lot of someone to tell them you can keep their shoes on. And they have to think a lot of themselves to do it. I.e. think a doctor/priest leaving their shoes on, or a real estate agent etc.
Bathrooms: I recall as a young child (late 60’s/early 70’s) my mom having to pay to enter the toilet stall in many public places - though definitely not all. Then they were phased out. Shoes: I never knew “shoes off at home” was even a thing until my dad started dating my stepmom, who grew up in Sweden. They wear clogs around the house, then put on shoes/boots to go outside. I got used to going around in my socks at her house, but kept my shoes on at home. Then I married my husband, who grew up in India. There, the roads and sidewalks are dirtier than those in the U.S. or in Europe. The cultural norm of leaving your “outside shoes” or “street shoes” on a mat just inside the front door makes total sense. People may go barefoot, or may switch to “inside shoes” - usually flip-flops or slides. Another thing: in some households in India, people wear “bathroom shoes” (the ones I’ve seen are made of wood.) There’s definitely a compartmentalization: these shoes are used on this type of surface; those shoes are used on that type of surface, with as little cross-contamination as possible. I must say, it does keep the floors cleaner. In the Upper Midwest where I’ve lived (Minnesota and Wisconsin,) it’s essentially universal to switch shoes (or stay in stockingfeet) for the half of the year when otherwise your boots would be trailing ice/snow/salt everywhere. In the summer, practices vary by household. Thanks for this video, Laurence! It was great seeing this collab 👍💐 T
I remember those. A big silver coin slot. You slipped the dime in, turned the lock, the mechanism would close the dime slot so no one could walk in and the door would lock on your side. The problem was multi layered. I remember people who didn't have a dime or didn't want to pay crawled under the too short door (ew) or they would wait til the door opened and went in before it closed and locked. Because there was no timing mechanism, it was easy to circumvent. Pay toilets were mostly in busy locations, turnpikes and such, so it was easy to just wait for an opening stall. Many cities outlawed them after protests and seeing them as unfair to women especially since guys can go anywhere. I would think that had a lot to do with the feminist movement in the 60s and 70s.
@@pikayla5749 Yes, exactly! Your description was perfect. It was quite typical for one woman to hold the stall door open for the next. And I think you’re right about the basis for overturning that system - it truly did place more burden on women than on men. Besides having fewer options, mothers still escort young children more frequently than fathers - and this was even more lopsided back then. Thanks for the guided tour down Memory Lane 💐
After reading this I compared memories with my husband. We're in our 60s, he's from upstate NY, and I'm a Floridian. We both remember crawling under the pay stall doors for our mothers to get things started for everyone. They just washed us off when we were finished.
There are reasons to keep them on in some areas. My maternal grandparents lived in an area where there were tiny scorpions. My mother’s stepmom actually stepped on one of them and accused my grandfather of flicking cigarette ash. We never required things either way from guests. I mean we had pets that were inside and outside, and we didn’t wash their feet constantly.
I think the shoes on or off inside the house thing has a strong weather component to it. Northern parts of the country or rainier parts of the country that see snow and rain will likely take your shoes off before you come into the house because otherwise you're trekking all kinds of mud and such inside. Now that I live in the south, it's common to not ever take your shoes off inside the house.
For me, the shoe issue has to deal with the comfort level you have with the house. My own house and my close friends and family I take the first opportunity to take my shoes off. If I’m at a strangers house I think it would be considered rude to take them off cause your like making yourself at home. Just like I wouldn’t start raiding their fridge. Some people ask you to take off your shoes before coming inside, but I think that’s pretty rare, at least the area I live.
@@JavaRivers I think so yes. It’s kind of an interesting thing to think about cause I don’t often have strangers come over. If someone I didn’t know came to my house we would probably stay in the foyer area anyway and I wouldn’t expect them to stay long. Most professionals that come to a house (like electricians etc) usually have shoe covers that they will wear if they’re going to be walking all around the house in order to do their job.
One interesting thing about the prescription drug TV commercials is that those are a relatively recent thing. At some point a few decades ago, these TV commercials didn't exist, and I believe it's because it was illegal to advertise drugs on TV. At some point the law changed, and then a deluge of prescription drug ads followed.
I enjoyed TV much more in the days before some advertising was even allowed. I am mentioning specifically, ads for prescription drugs, liquor, feminine care products, prophylactics, and law firms! Now those items are on TV and in your face all the time, and are the reason I wear out the MUTE button on our remote controls.
I grew up in Florida, and when not in school we mainly went barefoot or wore flipflops inside and out. As an adult I've lived mostly in the Northeast. I've never been asked to take my shoes off in someone's home, but most people just take off shoes or boots if there's snow, and walk around in socks. In my home I wear bedroom slippers inside because we have wood floors and my feet get cold. I've never asked anyone to remove their shoes.
When I was a kid, we didn’t wear shoes in the house because we’re Asian, our neighbor did wear shoes in the house. She complained once that she had to hire a company to come deep clean her carpets once a year or so. We said we never did that because our carpets just didn’t get that dirty since we weren’t tracking dirt from outside all over the house. She later changed her carpets and stopped wearing shoes in her house. At first, she stubbed her toe because she wasn’t used to it. But then, she bought house slippers and after that, visitors were asked to take their shoes off. She said it was much cleaner.
No one where I live in the Midwest keeps their shoes on in the house unless someone says otherwise. It would be considered rude to track in dirt or possibly other “stuff”into the house.
Shoes in the house in the US is regional and class specific. Drier and warmer regions like California and Florida tend towards shoes on. Partly because there is less mud and crud but also because home flooring in those areas tends towards tile and stone, which cleans up easily and can take dust and sand. Again this is also class based, so trailer parks in Florida might keep shoes on but a mansion in Miami could be shoes off. As you go to colder and muddier climates it becomes shoes off. Especially if the house is carpeted. Even homes with wood floors don’t handle mud and gravel well and most people put rugs down on their wood floors. Again it’s also class based. One thing you find in NY is that the lower class will wear shoes in the house but then not the middle class for the reasons already described. I grew up in a no-shoes house. But as you go up in wealth shoes come back into the house for different reasons. One is that wealthy people have so many and such nice shoes they don’t really get dirty ever. If you go from your penthouse to your limo to a fancy restaurant and back again your shoes never touch actual pavement and get dirty. Also the flooring materials go up in quality as does the housekeeping and maintenance. They can afford to walk on Persian carpets over marble floors in a $4,000 pair of Santoni , so they do. Think of it like the Queen. She didn’t romp around Balmoral in her stockings did she? So even some houses in the UK are shoes on 😂
My parents splurged on at the time expensive light beige carpet(and covered up some gorgeous hardwood floors). You better believe we took our shoes off in the house!
I had an Asian friend when I was a kid and picked up the habit of not walking around in my shoes inside the home from visiting with him. The only difference is I don't leave my shoes outside where strangers can mess with them, I wear them into my home then immediately take them off and leave them somewhere near the front door because I don't want my shoes stolen or tampered with in any way.
I never wear my shoes in my own house but I would feel rude taking them off in someone else's house unless we were really good friends or close family. I've only known one person who made visitors take their shoes off, and people weren't very happy about it lol
We don't take off our shoes out here in Cali when entering someone else's home or your own home. Only Asians, Africans and Middleeastern folks do. If you're Black, Hispanic or White, your shoes are coming in with your feet when you come into any home!!
I am personally a shoes off in the house kind of person, but it's funny, because I wasn't raised that way. We were raised that shoes in the house were fine, but we also didn't just hang out with shoes on. Now I always ask when I get to someone's house if they'd like me to take my shoes off, because I know people have strong preferences on both sides. In my home I always hope that people will take their shoes off or at least ask if they should, but I would feel rude just flat out telling people to take their shoes off.
Depends on flooring, if I'm on carpet i will 100% take my shoes off unless its already dirty. If it's clean i take my shoes off because i don't want to dirty the place. If it's dirty i don't have to worry about that and i don't want to dirty my socks.
Wait, you’d feel rude if *you* took your shoes off in someone’s house? I totally get not making guests do that but I’d be surprised if someone got mad at me for trying to keep their house cleaner 😂
I think in the US we don't usually wear shoes in our own homes but if we are visiting someone we leave them on unless asked to remove them. I do know some people who have inside shoes they wear in their home, it has something to do making you feel ready to go and making you more productive in getting what you need to get done, done.
We don't take off our shoes out here in Cali when entering someone else's home or your own home. Only Asians, Africans and Middleeastern folks do. If you're Black, Hispanic or White, your shoes are coming in with your feet when you come into any home!!
I wonder if part of the shoes thing is that a lot of times Americans have people over for BBQs and other like backyard events. So if you're expecting to go in and out a lot there's no reason to take your shoes off. And that still kinda translates to other parties just for the feel of it
In America, a typical commercial break on a kids' TV network goes as follows: 1. "We'll be right back to the show, on *channel name.* 2. You'll see a commercial or two for other content on that channel, aimed directly at the kids 3. Several commercials aimed at parents of the kids in the target demographic, none of which are for drugs 4. Another commercial or two for other content on that channel, again aimed at the kids 5. "We're back to the show, on *channel name!"* Disney Channel is an exception. Most of their commercials are for their own content, but every now and then you'll see one that says " *Company name* is a proud sponsor of Disney Channel", and maybe the channel announcer will say the company slogan. Drug commercials are typically played during shows aimed at the older demographic, since they're the ones most likely to use a lot of drugs.
I grew up in California, and no one I knew took shoes off in the home. Like it was strange to me this first time I saw that. We actually thought it was a Japanese tradition thing. Now as an adult on my own apartment, I never wear any foot covering unless I go out.
About the shoes: I live in the Southeastern US. We would never remove our shoes at a party. That being said I don't normally wear shoes in my house. So when close friends and family come over they don't have to wear their shoes either. It's normally considered rude to take your shoes off unless invited to do so. Most of us wear tennis shoes (trainers).
I was just about to say, the only time people might take their shoes off here (AL) would be if women were wearing heels or if someone was wearing flip flops or sandals.
They tried pay toilets in America but because urinals didn't have it because of no doors they got sued for civil rights violations and the losses lawsuit succeeded it requireing either no pay toilets or you have to pay to use the urinals as well which would involve adding lots of doors.
I remember when I was really young, like 4 or 5, 1972-1973 U.S., that a department store, in our then thriving downtown, had pay toilets. They were a dime but I also remember seeing parents telling their kids to climb under and unlock door from inside. Lol It's easy in the U.S. since we have large toilet stall gaps from door to floor 🫣
I’m American and I wear slippers or socked feet around the house. I do know people who wear their shoes all day, I’ve never seen them out of shoes. A lot of people I know also feel really weird & embarrassed about taking their shoes off in public or friends/family’s houses. Love your channel! Thanks for all your hard work 😁
My grandpa never takes his shoes off. Even within his house relaxing he must have slippers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him walk just in socks. I prefer to be barefoot though 🤷🏻♀️
Some people have really sweaty feet. I noticed it in my son when he was little. Couldn’t wait to go barefoot after school. In fact won’t wear slippers inside during the winter.
I remember seeing public pay bathrooms when I was little, during the late 60s - early 70s. They weren't uncommon enough to generate surprise when encountering them, just frustration and anger at their injustice. They accepted a dime then - so we "spent a dime" instead of "spending a penny." It must have been a recent-ish change, since many seniors still complained that it used to cost a nickel. It was such a *ahem* relief when they finally disappeared! Those stall door gaps have always creeped me out. ick ick ick I've had friends ask their guests to remove their shoes here in Detroit, in N and S California, Seattle (even when it hadn't rained), Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida. These were urban, rural, and suburban settings. When a reason was offered, it usually had to do with brand new or foolishly pale-colored carpeting. It's been shown that the soles of one's shoes do pick up a surprising am't of horrid germs, and bring them indoors, so there's also that. I never mind when asked to take off my shoes, and have occasionally brought a pair of "party slippers" (something fancy with curly toes) to a friendly gathering which would run into the wee small hours. There should be no ads for prescription drugs, hospitals, clinics, doctors, nor lawyers - and billboards should also be banned! The *video* ones are satan's work.
I took my shoes off when I lived in AK, but here in Ga, I tend to leave them on unless it is raining. I get sore feet, so I just keep my shoes on when doing chores.
My sister's family is mixed in the shoe department. Her husband grew up in a family where they left shoes on. My family grew up taking them off. One of my nephews says he wears shoes inside to keep his feet warm. One of his sisters can't stand shoes and loses them the second they hit the door. It seems to me that in America the shoe culture is a minor concern while in other cultures it is more major. And with the diversity in America that means you will see a diversity of importance ascribed to shoe positioning.
@@FalconOfStorms actually, it is my the shoe insider who is the family control freak. The rule to be aware of is the "no wet stuff in the house" policy. Swimsuits, snow boots, rain boots, wet clothes are taken care of at the door (in the case of a swim suit on a sunny day, they are sent back outside to dry in the sun. It's a whole thing.) Shoes are optional as long as they aren't rediculously dirty. One time I asked the one who likes his shoes on why he keeps them on in the summer. He said, "If I leave them on when I'm inside then I don't have to wait to go outside just to put them on again." That made me laugh because that is why I don't put shoes on unless I have to. I just go shoeless outside!
@@annatlast my god the depravity in your family. Feet cold: house shoes or slippers or even decent socks. Need to go outside quickly/briefly: sandals or clogs/crocs left at the front door or on the porch. Going outdoors for a longtime or leaving the house: shoes, sneakers, boots, etc. Put a bench near the front door with an entry rug and some storage and you’re set for all eventualities. The reality of shoes/no shoes in the house is really a complex calculation based on the region you’re in and the climate, the neighborhood even, your home’s flooring materials, and your social class and even ethnicity. Coastal California home in wealthy neighborhood with tile and stone flooring: shoes on no prob, but not in the carpeted bedroom or private bathrooms. Trailer park in a swamp in Florida with 70s shag carpet and 27 cats, shoes on, but that’s more for your protection… the home is already a write-off. Colonial farmhouse in Western NY with heart of pine wood floors and antique braided rugs: you shouldn’t have to be told that’s shoes off. NYC penthouse with a white yak-wool hand made wall to wall carpet and a neurotic almost-billionaire owner and you’re delivering bottles of bleach from Amazon Now after you’ve walked on the sidewalks which have feces from the homeless smeared on them? You tell me what you think 😂
I think the shoe wearing and shoes off depends on how messy it gets outside in winter. And I think it carries on throughout the year. If you have a mud room, you are more than likely taking your shoes off. If you live in a warmer, drier climate, your shoes are on for longer. I take my shoes off the moment I get home. I change clothes and get comfortable.
In the Pacific Northwest, most of the houses I encounter are shoes off. I grew up in the Northeast, where there is snow all winter, but we had a mudroom, where we took off our boots and put on indoor shoes. Where I live now in Seattle, it could be the Pacific Rim cultural influence, but is more likely the fact that the ground is wet YEAR ROUND. And lots of rental units have carpet right up to the front door (which I never understand - in the northeast, every house has a tile or linoleum entryway, even if they don't have a mudroom). In any case, I am now firmly in the shoes off camp, to the point that visiting my folks and seeing them walk around on an antique carpet in shoes makes me crazy.
In Arizona if you dont wear some kind of footware on your feet then you end up wiping foot sweat all over the carpet and its very obvious when you go into houses where they dont wear something on their feet inside, the smell of sweat is worse than a litterbox.
I believe it was supposed to be a safety thing in case something happens to somebody in the toilet that as you're going by you can see the guys passed out or something happening to him and then help can arrive
My father was a fisherman. He drilled into us that you HAVE to keep your shoes on, because there was always a remote chance that you might pick up a fishhook in your foot. I think part of it was growing up in the late 70's, during the energy crisis, my parents kept the house pretty cold, and you kept your shoes on just to keep your feet warm. I always keep my shoes on, unless I'm sleeping or bathing. And mostly I wear sneakers.
Born, raised, and still live in the southeastern US. I have always worn my shoes in the house. Growing up i ran across a few households where i was asked to remove my shows before entering, but it was a rarity. I personally wear my shoes at home until im sure there will be no reasons to take me outside of the home for the evening. Im often still in my work boots at 8 or 9pm. I just stumbled across your channel and like it. Im looking forward to checking out more of your content
Fun fact about the shoes thing for certain areas of the U.S.: having shoes on was drilled into the public at large (at least in the South) in the late 1800s. The weather was moderate, so a lot of folks would walk outside without shoes and pick up hookworms through the bottom of their feet. Medical care being what it was back then, they would never know that they had it. They would just get slower and fatigued more easily. A scientist figured out what was going on and started the public health campaign. I'm sure part of the mindset for keeping your shoes on extended to indoors on some subconscious level. That being said, I thought taking your shoes off inside was strictly a Japanese thing growing up. We always did it if there was something on our shoes so as not to track it into the house, but shoes were meant to be put away in your own room/closet - not left as clutter by the door. As an adult now, I have indoor shoes separate from my other shoes. They never go outside, and I am never barefoot. Since I am never barefoot, I don't really care that I wear my other shoes up until I can deposit them in my closet.
My family and friends are overwhelmingly with the shoes-on crowd. When visiting other people’s homes, I default to keeping shoes on. Shoes-off households will usually mention that they’d like us to take shoes off. Based on my experiences, no more than 10% of households expect shoes to be taken off.
I put shoes on when I get dressed in the morning and I don't take them off until I'm getting undressed at night. I never knew any family that did the shoes off in the house thing until I was an adult.
In the US we did used to have pay toilets, mostly in private businesses (usually upscale stores) and train/bus/subway stations. They were ENORMOUSLY unpopular and were phased out in the 1960's. People used to make a habit of holding the door open for the next person waiting, so they wouldn't have to pay, unless there was an attendant to stop you. As for shoes, I think it's about 50/50 on households that wear them in their homes and those that don't. It's also split up within families. My father always wore his shoes from the time he got up until he went to bed. The rest of us went barefoot or wore socks. I think some of the reluctance to remove your shoes in someone else's home is the fear that your feet might not smell the greatest, despite showering and wearing clean socks. There are few smells more objectionable than smelly feet, so personally I'll take dirty carpets and floors any day over wanting to hold my nose or my breath during someone's entire visit.
Fairs, and festivals had pay toilets in the 1970's & 1980's, but now there's usually a porter that collects optional tips, and most people usually drop change into the container.
My grandmother told me about her uncle's first trip to Chicago in the 1920's or 1930's. He had a couple of new experiences. He came upon an intersection and there was a traffic light. He had no idea if "Red" meant stop or go, so he just closed his eyes and floored it. It's hard to imagine life before "red" means stop. His other new experience was a pay toilet. He had to pay a nickel to get into the stall. He finished but then he needed another nickel to get out, so he just crawled under the door to get out. Pay toilets have been officially illegal in the US for a long time, but some mom and pop convenience stores won't give you the key to their toilet unless you buy something. I always buy a snack or drink when I stop at a store to use the restroom at small stores on trips, unless I buy gas. They made their money off me to cover the little water and paper towel I used.
At the laundromat I go to you have to use a card to use the washing machine and also use the restroom. It charges you a penny each time you going to the restroom.
Yeah. I was born in the early 60s. I recall going to the ladies room in a department store as a little girl and seeing the locks 🔒 on the restroom stall doors. Them I recall how the restroom 🚽 stall doors in that same department store looked after the lock contraptions were taken off the door. I can’t recall my age in either case. But I was very young.
Most gas stations don't set the prices of their fuel and make very little off of per gallon sales. My family's station only profited 2 to 5 cents per gallon depending on the amount sold. Our store was destroyed, but because of that I always buy merchandise from convenience stores when I purchase fuel. They really only have gas as a service or to bring in customers.
@@RealDealDude Recently, and I mean some time this year, a gas station ⛽️ owner got in a lot of trouble for selling gas way below the going rate when the prices were high and a lot of ppl were struggling with the high prices.
When we were in Boston a few years ago the new, state of the art, public bathroom was quite the sight. I don’t remember if it was a quarter or 50 cents. It was worth it, and clean! It might be here on TH-cam. It open and closed on its own and opened no matter what after a certain amount of time, I forget how long. It closes behind you automatically and sprays water everywhere to clean. Somehow the toilet seat was dry 🤷🏻♀️ I used it just because I was a tourist.
I have only discovered "Lost in the Pond" recently. I enjoy it tremendously. I am Canadian, so your commentary about America is fun. My dad is Irish, my mom was first generation Ukrainian. I am an army brat, so I've travelled a lot - to the extent that I am aware of four different histories of Canada: Quebec English, Quebec French, BC/Ontario Maritimes, and the Prairies. The differences between, say, Texas, California, New York, Idaho and Massachusetts ring clearly in my mind. Lawrence, your reviews of the differences in the US and the UK are absolutely hilarious and they highlight the differences I see in Canada. Thank you for the humour and the the insights.
I’ve always been in the shoes off camp, and I think a large part of that is the amount of rain and nasty weather we get in the Pacific Northwest; there’s ALWAYS mud/dirt/grime on your shoes after being outside, so naturally you wouldn’t want to track it through the house. That’s also why I tend to take my shoes off at other people’s houses; I was taught that it was polite bc then you’re not making the person’s house dirty. But that being said, I definitely know people who wear shoes inside, and it should also be mentioned that a lot of people have designated “house shoes,” which are often sandals or slippers, that are never worn outside
The only people I’ve ever known ( I’m American) to take their shoes off when visiting were people who came from a different culture ,like Japanese etc, or descended from those cultures bust are Americans. When living in Wyoming and Alaska I got used to people taking their boots off when coming into someone’s home in the Winter just so you didn’t track tons of snow in.
No one has ever taken their shoes off in any household I've visited, or lived in, BUT...my next house will require it. I will supply fluffy socks. I see the benefits, and I'm changing my habits.
@@thedukeofchutney468 I'm from the south and have never heard that before. I think I'd be uncomfortable running around someone else's home in my shoeless feet.
The water level in toilets is all down to the design of said toilet. The common American household toilet has the "greedy cup" siphon in the bowl, whereas the common British toilet has it in the tank. Their are tons of videos about the differences which are great since it helps to visually see the differences and what a "greedy cup" siphon is.
Some toilets in Holland have a shelf with about a one or two water depth that you shit on. This is apparently to allow for close inspection of your feces. I found that a bit weird.
Germany has a shelf in their toilet bowls. One may need to scrub it after the flush if you've pooped. not enough water to rinse the smear away. I don't like European toilets.
My dad's family is from Belgium, and I had an aunt and uncle visit us about five or six years ago for a wedding. I know they were enamored with seeing a parking lot filled with yellow school buses, which weren't actually being used because it was the middle of June (that's one of the biggest differences in America - school usually starts in August and ends in late May or early June; in Belgium it usually runs through the end of June and starts back up in September). Like many others who visit for the first time, they were awed by its sheer size.
I’m just an old American guy 70 yrs old (and yes I’ve been to the UK multiple times) but when I was a kid it was common to go to. Public toilets and have to put coins in the lock to use the facilities.
I'm 30 and I've been to ONE place that has had that in all my travels over the US. It was also the only place so run down that I felt like I would get shot when I walked out.
About the same age, recall pay toilets in the US. Didn't last long. Haven't seen for decades. BTW, the reason for the gap at the bottom (my understanding) is because kids lock themselves in and can't get out. Never had anyone creeping on me.
The shoes thing I've noticed is far more common in the south. I was raised in Northern Minnesota, we don't wear them in the house. But I live in Texas now and every house I've been in down here shoes on.
I actually found you through the beesleys. So subscribing and finding these was great. So proud and happy to see youtubers supporting each other. Always great
I was born in 1960 and when I was a little kid, there were some toilets that you did have to pay to use. (US). I remember you had to put coins into the door to gain access to the toilet. I remember adults saying..."is it a free or pay toilet?" (I think some law passed in the '60s to make it where you couldn't charge a fee. ) If you wanted to use a toilet at a gas station, you had to go inside and ask for a key to use a toilet and it was frowned on if you didn't buy something before asking for the key and you were shamed into making a purchase before asking for the key. This gradually went away in the '70s and 80s. You never see it anymore. I think a lot of things have changed over the last 60 years in the US. A lot of things that they say are weird about America, and then explain how they are in Europe ...I remember it was here here in my childhood.
I was going to add this, too. It used to be a dime, and there was this coin-laundry-type device on the door. However, the doors usually didn't reach the floor, so as a kid I'd slide under and use them without paying. After all, I could use a dime to buy an Abba-Zabba bar!
I think paying to toilet at the gas stations went away when the gas station attendants got tired of cleaning the poo off the bathroom door and the smell of pee off the gas pumps.
If I go to someone's house, I never take shoes off unless it's a specific rule of the home. In my 43 years in the US, I've known maybe 3 houses that don't do shoes in the house. At my house, I wear crocs or flip flops (separate from my outside shoes - basically a version of slippers) inside and do kick them off when I curl up on the couch or whatever. But they are always right by me and I wear them when I walk around. This is the norm in my experience, but like you all said, my experience isn't universal.
@@LaurieLeeAnnie I was thinking after I posted this that it might have to do with where you live, like climate. I'm in Oregon so we don't do boots and snow, but I would bet that the snowier your region, the more it would be the norm, but idk. Taking your shoes off when you come into someone's home, especially if it's not your immediate family, would give people pause in my area. Tbh I see why taking shoes off makes sense, we just...don't
DATES: The Chinese have the best system. - Year/Month/Day - Let's face it, they have been doing this for over 6,000 years so they win! SHOES: Here in Thailand it's common to pass a house with many pairs of shoes outside the front door. Even some shops, dental clinics, insist on switching to their slippers, at the entrance. My girlfriend leaves her shoes "tied up" and worms her way in and out of them. I prefer to secure my shoes correctly, every time. At the temple, I will sometimes not enter the holiest shrine because of the hassle of removing my shoes. My best friend here in Bangkok is American. He was talking about his first car the other day. Like Pharmaceuticals, car models have different names in both U.S., U.K. and even Europe. It's confusing! Great video y'all!
I just went to thanksgiving at some friends of my aunt’s house. I didn’t know them that well. I did know some of the people there pretty well but my point is that I didn’t take off my shoes the entire time and I was there for more than four hours! For me, it’s a situation where it would depend on how well I know the people whose house it is. Taking off your shoes denotes a certain familiarity, kind of like helping yourself to the contents of someone else’s fridge. Or like taking off your shoes at work; I don’t know if that makes sense. Or maybe it’s that it kind of implies you’re staying a while when you don’t know if you’re welcome to. I just wouldn’t take my shoes off without asking. That’s just been my experience.
Exactly this. If I go to a relative’s or friend’s home, I usually take my shoes off. It’s a familiarity thing. It’s also a neat-freak thing with my wife, who does not allow shoes to be worn in the house - tracking in dirt and germs and all. I wear sock feet (or bare feet in summer) in our house no matter who’s around, and my wife often wears slippers. At homes of people we know less well, shoes usually stay on, though we may ask the house rules on footwear. For cultural reference, we’re in the Northeast, so weather is a factor - we don’t want to track in snow or mud to someone’s house.
I pause at the door as if to ask. Funny our neighbors rather they stay on and they have very white carpet! When I had carpets I'd rather they come off. My last house it was white too. I made a cute sign said "socks welcome", had a clothes line of socks in picture. Plus a basket with slippers n socks of various type and sizes.
It's just common sense really to take off your shoes. We walk around outside and let's face it, some people have filthy habits like spitting, throwing god knows what on the streets and sidewalks. I don't want to track that filth onto someone's floors and carpets. I wear slippers at home and if going to someone else's home I carry a small pair of slip-ons in my bag, out of respect for my host. Mind you, common sense is not really very "common" anymore!
@@pinky2245 there is no such thing as common sense, as this video specifically addresses. Common sense requires a common set of social and societal habits, which doesn't exist across all cultures. They just said that taking off shoes in the UK can be seen as rude, so if you went there and took off your shoes people would think you are rude. I do not require nor care if people take off their shoes in my home. I let people do what is comfortable for them because I want them to feel comfortable when they come over. Now that last part may be one example of something I would call common sense, to let people do what makes them most comfortable when a guest in our homes.
I grew up in So. Calif and never removed my shoes--wasn't done. I moved to the Pacific Northwest and as the years go by, removing shoes is now a must everywhere I go. It keeps the house clean, no mud, water or whatever you step on outside and in the stores are traipsed through your clean home.
@@webbtrekker534 Yeah, I'm 4th generation Oregonian and among my family, friends and others, I've never had a single place where we had to take off our shoes.
We've always kept shoes on indoors, but I happen to like being barefoot, so that's what I do. I'm from the Southern U.S. I do think taking shoes off indoors may have to do with how far north one is, or rather, what the usual weather is like where you are. Of course if it's very muddy or snowy out, shoes come off to avoid tracking up the floors.
@@Khronogi My last house in the midwest had a carpeted living room. We, and everyone else I know, wore shoes indoors and just vacuum the floors frequently - like you should be doing anyways. My house in Texas is mostly wood and tile, and we mop frequently. I've never been to somebodies house that had dirt on their floor. I think normal people clean their homes regularly so aren't so worried about people tracking in light dirt. Heavily soiled shoes, (walked through mud on the way in) of course always get removed.
dude, I sub to the Beasleys and Shaun as well as a few others (not including, 8/9 cats, late night shows, etc). My mothers side from England and Scottland. Dads from Norway and Finland. You tube is great for getting a very small feel of what life and people are like...across the pond. Thank you so much for work.
I've lived in the US my entire life, and I'm just now learning that people keep their shoes on at home. One of the things I can't wait to do when I get home is take off my shoes.
most people take them off at home (unless you live in a place that has scorpions). the leaving shoes on thing mostly happens when youre a guest visiting someone else that youre not super close to. it kinda has the same sort of feeling as raiding someones fridge almost
I love the Beesleys. Thank you for getting together with them. They live your videos and it was through them that I got to know you. I now follow your videos frequently.
I've never seen a prescription drug commercial targeting children, but do remember one from years ago aimed at teenagers for a prescription acne treatment.
For Date formats, I always use Year-Month-Day, or ISO 8601. Mainly because of how it is handled with computers, that sorting files with those names will always be in the correct chronological order. With the side effect of not being confused with either Day-Month-Year or Month-Day-Year, as long as you use a 4-digit year.
The format you use is the most logical one and I think best due to it being able to be easily read by both computers, as well as humans alike. For many official documentation, it's common to start with the most general, then progressively get more specific anyway (think "Smith, John"), so why not maintain that pattern for dates? Parts of Asia, including China and South Korea, traditionally use this year, month, day order, as well, so it bugs me when I've seen some British people in Comments sections of movie trailers complain that only Americans put the month before the day and proceed to call Americans stupid for it, while the reason for their frustration in the first place was due to them being confused about the date despite the movie trailer mentioning the release month earlier. (Please pardon my rant.)
The shoe thing varies. I’m from the Midwest and typically shoes are removed. That being said, it is also customary to make your guests feel comfortable. In other words do not require a guest to do something that might make them uncomfortable. I have had people ask whether or not they should remove their shoes. My response is to smile and say, “Do whatever you’re comfortable doing.”
Yeah. I grew up in Texas, shoes stayed on. Lived a long time in California where it was 50/50. Now live in Canada and just like the north US and midwest, shoes come off.
Where in the Midwest? I am from Missouri and no one ever removed their shoes in the house. I also have lived in Illinois, Colorado, California, New Mexico, New Jersey and Minnesota, and again, no one ever removed their shoes at home. Until TH-cam I never knew anyone did that except in Japan.
There are a couple reasons for the gap in the stall doors. One is air flow, and the other is safety. If the doorknob breaks then you're trapped, or if you have a medical emergency it is much easier for 1st responders to get to you and for someone to notice you are having medical problems.
I'm an American, and I always leave my shoes on. For one thing, it means people won't have to smell feet. Secondly, I always rock flip-flops or Vans slip-ons unless I'm forced by social convention to do otherwise, so I'm almost always comfortable. I don't know why it's the case, but pretty much every family I knew while growing up did the same, and it didn't matter if it was wood flooring or carpet. People do replace carpets on a fairly regular basis here, so maybe that's part of it. This is all if your shoes are fairly clean and the weather is decent. If you have sh*t, mud, water, or anything else on them, you take them off. That being said, it was not particularly uncommon to go to a house where you would take off your shoes. I think a lot of people in the States ask the host, at least I usually did if it was my first time at someone's pad. On the contrary, I find wearing socks to bed absolutely vile. Only naked feet should be in beds.
Thanks for doing this Lawrence! A few things I need to say about your channel: 1) I loved when you and your wife reacted to James the first time. His excitement was awesome. 2) I'm impressed with how great your production value has become and appreciate your dedication to high quality. 3) Another group of Brits I watch and love, threw shade at you when they reacted to one of your videos. I went on a HUGE rant to them. I seriously think they probably saw what I said because they reacted to you again and I could see their demeanor change. When they found out you were from Grimsby, they started talking about that and pretty soon they were watching more of your channel (even saying "I like this guy's channel" and 4) I appreciated you going to PA and talking about it and Gettysburg etc. My family settled there in Western PA in the 1740s and I'm first generation born in California. My dad LOVED studying the Civil War (we weren't too far away from Gettysburg). He went to Virginia to a fort that was the site of one of the final battles that turned the war around for the North. I appreciate you taking an interest in that portion of our history in the same way that my dad did. Moreover, it doesn't seem like a lot of youtubers (especially with a British background) do videos about PA. I really enjoyed that and wish you would have gone to the Western part of the State as well. Maybe you did and I just didn't catch a lot of it (Johnstown, etc). Thanks for all of the entertainment--you do great work! (So Cal here, btw)
@@rhoetusochten4211 Yep! I starting watching them long before Lost In The Pond. That's so funny you noticed the same thing when they mentioned Grimsby! LMAO! Cheers, my friend (:
Bathroom stalls can vary. Sometimes you'll get the nice, fully enclosed ones with floor-to-ceiling walls and doors. Much more common though are the ones that stop short, and the height on these (that is the distance between the floor and the bottom of the wall/door) is sometimes worrying. Depends on how much a business wants to spend, I guess. As for the shoes, it depends. If you're at home they're generally off. If you're visiting someone you generally keep them on. If it's a close relative (your parents for example) you might take them off, but if it's not then it depends on their house rules. Some people have a strict "no shoes" rule that is surprisingly not limited to immediate family and extends to all visitors.
When someone "requires" no shoes, I politely decline and leave. I have my way of doing things, others habits are fine for them but I am not one to join in just because someone else chooses to. When someone comes to my house and takes off their shoes uninvited, they don't get invited back. Unless a close family member.
@@JoKeR93007 Ah jeez. I'd be taking my shoes off to be polite. I never imagined anyone was taking offense to it. What if you were invited into a shoes-off home that offered shoe covers?
@@JavaRivers as long as I could keep shoes on I would be happy to comply with covers, kinda like home repair folks do these days. I kick shoes off at VERY CLOSE family and friends on occasion, but certainly not at a casual friends, or a friend of a friends. I am old and come from a more consevative area and time and I feel a little uncomfortable with very casual behavior until I know someone well. I prefer a more genteel approach. I wouldn't want to live in the far past but I would prefer some aspects of it. I guess there is good and bad in both approaches.
I have a friend born and raised in Britain. He moved here to New York in the mid 90s and became a citizen about 20 years ago. The thing that he found most shocking was the amount of commercials if you were watching tv. He explained to a group of us that there each tv has to be licensed which you pay for. That money funds some of the channels eliminating the need for as many breaks.
Yeah, I keep my shoes on. I don’t see the point of taking them off, they’re on “inside” most of the time anyway. I go from inside my house, to inside my garage, to inside my truck, to the 20ft of sidewalk, to the inside the building I’m visiting and then the same thing in reverse. Lawn and outdoor work shoes live in the garage, however.
As we kid, we would wear shoes in the house, but it seemed as Asian culture expanded or like K Pop and all got more popular we started to adapt to taking shoes off at the door. When visiting others, though, we leave shoes on unless the host requests shoes off.
I learned recently that other people ALWAYS take off their shoes, which was new to me. Here’s my reasons why I wear shoes: 1) Texas scorpions 2) easier to work between inside and outside. Putting shoes on and off constantly is annoying 3) being comfortable with strangers. I find it strange not dressing up for guests. 4) our way of life is very much off the floor. 5) usually wearing shoes around the house isn’t something I do for comfort, but utility. I usually wear Vans. My uncle wears tennis shoes. My grandfather wears leather walking shoes for support (bad hips). My mother has house slippers. 7) it’s impossible to keep the outside from getting it. If you’ve got kids playing or some work to do. Taking off shoes is more inconvenient in many cases. Humans walked this earth barefoot for a long time. I think I can wear some shoes inside. I always respect others rules for taking off shoes, but I found my socks just getting dirty.
The reason for the section on the bottom being so big is if a child is unable to unlock the door and in the case of evacuation and other emergencies someone can look to see if anyone is there.
I've been watching you for ages Lawrence and I just started watching the Beesleys this year. Love you guys all of you. Sending love from Detroit Michigan❣️🤓 It's also cool that you're exactly 10 days younger than me Lawrence🦂♏ 🤓❣️
The no shoes varies from household to household. Honestly, you just have to play it by ear. I believe it was influenced by the Japanese. I grew up on a farm where we would take off our mud boots or snow boots in the mud room and put on regular shoes or just your socks, depending on your preference.
I grew up on a farm and we had "clean" everyday shoes that we really didn't care either way if we had them on around the house and then we had dirty farm shoes that stayed outside at all times. It was also a drafty old farmhouse so wearing shoes inside was sometimes helpful because it could get cold.
Where I grew up in the Midwest in generally changes from household to household about the shoes, some people don't want shoes worn in their houses and some people don't care if you do that's why I was always taught that it's polite to ask when entering a strangers home unless you already know their preference. Personally I grew up with a family that didn't care but now I prefer people take their shoes off when they enter my home but you can also keep them on if you want but absolutely no shoes on furniture.
I always take off my shoes in my own house, but don't tell others to take them off if they come in (though there is some angst about their shoes walking through). I don't take off shoes in another's house, unless it's something they expect.
Most places i go to in the United States, people encourage the shoes to be off for my friends and family. Especially in the winter so do not track in muddy snow. Only exceptions is when i go to large parties in the summer where they may be people on the back yard deck and coming in and out for food to grill. Most people that have wall to wall carpeting i find ask for shoes to be off. i would always ask. i take my shoes off even if in and out for a few minutes in my apartment. i do not like to mop the floors of kitchen or vacuum the den or living room areas so often.
i should mention it may be a northeastern United States common practice to take shoes off more often than not because our winters with snow and muddy Spring and Autumns.
The shoes on/off issues often comes down to families. My family has generally always been shoes on. I tend to put my shoes on each morning and wear them most of the day, whether I leave the house or not. They are tennis shoes normally (or trainers for the Brits - we also call them sneakers). I do have friends that expect shoes to be off when visiting - and you are always mindful and respectful of each home. Sometimes it comes down to whether a house is carpeted or not. If the home has tile or wood or laminate flooring, there is less care about whether someone removes their shoes or not. I do have personal preference because I do not like being barefoot and It is much more difficult to stub my toes with shoes on.
We were never expected to take our shoes off inside, but then when we were kids we mostly went barefoot in summer. Now I have nerve damage in my feet, and proper shoes with special inserts prevent pain and nasty falls. If someone asked me to take off my shoes, I think I would politely excuse myself and leave, I am frankly terrified of another fall...
Same here. We grew up wearing them all day and I prefer shoes on. After dealing with plantar fasciitis, I'm even less likely to go barefoot or in socks, but absolutely will if I'm in another house where everyone removes shoes at the door.
I'm from the Midwest (Kansas) and have always worn shoes in the house. I did not encounter anyone who took off their shoes until my younger brother married a woman from Korea. We did not have carpet. Friends who lived on a farm had a mud room to remove their boots, but they put on clean shoes (not house slippers) to wear in the house.
It was unsettling, in America, when they began to bring that door gap thing in. I don't know when that was - late 80's to the mid-90's? As an infrastructure thing, it was a slow creep.
I'm 65 and do remember pay toilets (10 cents) in some public places, as a child in the Midwest. Luckily as a child you're small enough to crawl under the stall door to unlock it for the whole family to have there turn. I'd forgotten all about those. Thank goodness they are a thing of the past!
Most states have laws that require places that serve food to have free public toilets, so that alone must have made the market fall out from under the pay toilet. I do remember the horrors of gas station restrooms, though. Haven't been in one for maybe 35-40 years. McDonald's is cleaner.
Oh, I definitely bat an eyelash about the gaps in the toilet stalls. Born and raised in America, lived here all my 35 years, and I still think it's _super_ bizarre and uncomfortable, like my privacy is being invaded. I *do not* use public restrooms for that very reason unless it is an absolute emergency, like there's no way I can hold it, and even in those cases, I try my very best to find a restroom that is a single-occupancy bathroom, where I can lock the door and do my business with some privacy.
I was similar when I was young. Then I spent eight years in the military. Some of the facilities we had to utilize numbed that feeling into non-existance. Now, when I "gotta' go" I go, no qualms. Unless it is disgustingly filthy, then that is a no go, unless it is going to happen anyway...
@@JoKeR93007 yeah, sometimes you got to go when you got to go LOL! Sure, the Privacy aspect is important but, cleanliness is Next to Godliness, and this fella ain't sitting on a dirty toilet,period!
Wow having lived in England as a lad I have no idea what you are talking about. Shoes were worn inside, maybe it was poorer in the 1960s then but I get Brit culture shock watching this. Folks would have frozen. This like 1990s continental
I grew up being able to watch Canadian TV and learn about some of these differences like the dates, boxing day, colour vs color, Canadian Thanksgiving (in October) and Canada (independence?) Day.
LOL When I first heard about Boxing Day, I thought it was about real boxing-the sport. Could not figure out why Britain would devote an entire day to that sport and what the connection to Christmas was I could not guess. As for shoes off at the door it has always been a regular thing. How many gatherings I recall meant traversing over a pile of shoes/boots at the front door. Even in summer I may take off my shoes. Personally, I don't wear my outside shoes inside very often.
Honestly, I thought taking your shoes off was just a Japanese/ Asian thing. Maybe that's because I can't recall ever seeing people taking their shoes off in tv or movies that take place in Great Britain or Europe, but it is very common to see if it takes place in Japan. That being said, I have never been to a relative's, friend's or stranger's house where it was even hinted at taking my shoes off. As far as wearing shoes at home, I rarely do because I work from home and the only time I usually leave is on the weekend. I wear socks most of the time but will wear house shoes during the winter. If I leave and come back, I'll keep my shoes on if I know I'm going to leave again. Otherwise, I'll take them off. Besides commercials for medications, we also have an overabundance of ads for law firms and car dealerships. I want to put my fist through the wall every time I hear the words "Camp Lejeune." All three are extremely annoying and make me never to want to take any medicine, hire an attorney or buy a car.
OOOOh Laurence! Hey, this was a good one! (not that the others are not, they are all!) The drug ads are relatively new for us, as well. And we are sick of them, too! We can only hope this evolves.
I love the Beesleys and I also love Mr H and Friends! I subscribe to both channels. I watched Laurence's collab with Mr H and friends as well! Fantastic! I love collabs especially good ones like these!
Having been born in Japan, I'm accustomed to taking shoes off when entering a home. I live in California, where it's not uncommon for urban folks to ask guests to remove their shoes (retaining socks) on entering their home... but it's not a predominant practice - particularly in rural or inland communities. Regarding bathroom stalls - we're seeing an increase in the number of genderless restrooms (at least in Northern California) - and in those situations, we're seeing the use of gap-less stalls. Otherwise gaps in the door and the space under the door is the norm in the US. I believe he gap on the door is due to inexpensive construction. I believe the space under the door is to facilitate cleaning/mopping.
This was fun! I was told the big gap at the bottom of the stall in public restrooms, is in case someone has a medical emergency. If the door goes all the way down and they have collapsed in the floor, it’s impossible to get the door open from the outside in the tiny space. With the gap there, they can pull the unconscious person under the door.🐝🤗❤️
@@deborahdanhauer8525 It's just a joke feeding into the American stereotype for fuck sake. Why is it everyone else in the world can be self deprecating but Americans can't laugh at themselves?
@@sandersson2813 It’s become a sport to hate on Americans. And when we take exception to that, we are accused of being too sensitive, or not being able to take a joke. If you’re an American, being hated on stopped being funny many years ago.
9:20 Prior to the 20th century, both the United States and the United Kingdom utilized the same date format, which was derived from the United Kingdom. However, the United Kingdom decided to change its format in order to align with other European countries, while the United States had no pressing reason to make the switch. That being said, I can see how using the format of day-month-year makes more logical sense.
I grew up in Oregon where we don't take our shoes off in the house. I've lived in California, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Washington state, where they don't take their shoes off. But I've also lived in Chicago and Alaska, where they do take their shoes off. The more snow there is in a region, it seems they're more likely to take shoes off, but in most of America they don't.
I had to turn on subtitles for them and that was great! For some reason, Laurence also became harder to understand while watching the whole conversation...So funny!
When I was growing up all Department Stores had pay toilet stalls. It was 10 cents. There was a little thing that unlocked the handle. The law was they had to provide 1 free stall & the line for that 1 stall was very long. I feel like pay stalls began to disappear in the 1980s and now they're gone completely.
I encountered a pay toilet only once in the 70s. I was shocked. I was only a child and I passed on using it. I remember phone booths. They were often badly maintained, vandalized and extremely dirty here. They often had graffiti, broken windows and mystery smudges everywhere. By the 80s phone booths were rare but we still had pay phones. They were better because they had air flow.
What a fun collab! Nice to see the people I'm subbed to are aware of each other. Also we've always worn shoes at home in my families. I wouldn't sat its on purpose. Sometimes you don't plan on staying there more than a couple hours, or you forget, etc. Also if I ever have company, one of the first things I do is put on shoes. Feels way too personal and weird to not being wearing shoes while entertaining guests.
We Americans instinctively avoid looking into the gaps in the doors in public restrooms. We don't want to see what's going on in the stall, as much as the person in the stall doesn't want others to see what's going on.
Definitely. I look away as I walk down the row. I wish we had private toilets.
Exactly correct. You might see something in the gap out of the corner of your eye, but only to verify that someone is actually in there and you have to use another one.
Exactly! It makes Americans think that UK people are all lookie-loos. There's an unwritten Bathroom Etiquette!
Yep. But I still scope out the stall with the least gap. Some are ridiculous.
I feel like that should be common sense
In my experience, as an American, the shoe thing is 50/50. I never wore shoes in the house growing up. I wear shoes in the house now, but they are my “inside shoes” that I never wear outside. Essentially, they’re just slippers.
Yes, same!
You know whats bad. I grew up with no shoes on in the house, especially not upstairs. Slippers only. But since owning my own home I look for indoor/outdoor slips. Uggs make a sturdy pair. I can’t go outside to put garbage in cans or let the dog out in the backyard.
It feels like shoes off is becoming more common for primarily carpeted homes, but hard flooring is becoming more popular too. I think this has maintained the balance of shoes off to shoes on households.
Shoes on in 90% of homes I’ve gone into (including my own). If someone asks me to take them off, of course I comply.
Always worn sock feet around the house, and honestly never seen people wear anything other than socks or slippers at home. As a guest in a home it’s different, like going to relatives or friends’ you might naturally leave your sneaks on if it’s not raining or muddy out, depending on the occasion.
From my experience living in the Midwest (Missouri) pretty much my entire life with the shoe thing is that most people will take their shoes off in their own home more often than not. When going to someone else’s house it varies from person to person or situation to situation but it’s more common to leave them on unless the home owner ask you to remove them.
Same here
Also from Missouri! I try to take off my shoes as often as I can in the house but my parents don't care, so I guess it can also differ between people in the same household
im from southern america, oklahoma and texas 50/50 but anyway i have met extremely few people in these parts that insist on shoes off, even during casual hangouts at someones house. often if it doesnt involve long term couch sitting specifically, then the shoes will be staying on for most people. its so common that ive even gotten used to having my shoes on most of the day in my own home, although i know that one is less common, but yes my shoes are quite comfy. also, not sure if the UK has the equivalent of house shoes for the more middle class american, but those are also quite common in place of just wearing your socks. hope that was helpful to anyone
in the upper midwest, no one keeps their shoes on indoors. Every single house up here has a tiled area by the door as well as a little bench thing to place your shoes under. Up here its considered straight up disrespectful to put shoes on carpet.
I'm from Michigan where the winter weather is quite bad. So taking off your shoes in someone's house is a must, otherwise you're tracking a lot of snow, mud, salt into the house. At least in winter.
Drug ads don't appear on kids' shows, but appear noticeably more on old people shows. Personally, I wish they'd just ban direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. From what I've read, it's a multi-billion dollar business, expenses which need to be made up for in revenue, they typically advertise the more expensive treatments, and they're just bloody annoying.
As a mom of 2 boys here in the US, I can confirm that commercials are very, very much geared toward a target audience for each channel and TV show. Children's shows will often have ads for toys, diapers, snacks, computer games/apps, and products for moms. Drug commercials are often on during grownup shows. You can even spot advertising geared towards the elderly on certain channels and shows.
"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
@@TheLordOfNothing😂😂😂 I know right
The American rules about wearing shoes in the house are heavily influenced by culture and the climate. Here in the Midwest, a lot of us are in the shoes off contingent because the weather here can be messy for a good part of the year. Some guests take umbrage if they're asked to remove their shoes when visiting someone, so the rule is usually enforced with family and close friends only. I think it also depends on your home layout; it's easier to do shoes off if you have a foyer or mudroom with room to deposit your shoes.
I’m from the Midwest and we never took our shoes off unless the weather was bad and your shoes/boots were messy. I think it has more to do with family traditions. If your parents had you take off your shoes then you grow up and have your kids and your family take off their shoes and it just perpetuates generation to generation.
In our house we don’t ask elderly relatives or guests we aren’t close with to take off their shoes.
Same here in Maine, between mud season AKA Spring and Winter with the sand and salt, outdoor shoes off at the door and house slippers inside. Otherwise I would spend an insane amount of time sweeping and mopping my floors, the sound of grit on my floors sends me into an OCD spinout LOL that being said not everyone does that here.
In my experience there’s three occasions where taking shoes off is expected in the US.
New house.
The shoes/ boots are so dirty that describing them as dirty would be an improvement brought about by a good clean.
Rugs have just been shampooed.
In Türkiye taking your shoes off on entering a home is normal. Most people have several pairs of guest slippers.
When I have been to the dentist in Türkiye they give you disposable plastic overshoes.
I grew up in a shoes-on household and I only remember being asked to remove my shoes coming into someone's house once. It felt way too intimate. As an adult, I remove my shoes if asked to, but I prefer to wear shoes outside my own home, and I prefer that others leave their shoes on in my home. In my own home I usually wear slippers, but sometimes I go out to the porch or the yard in my slippers, too.
Same
basically this
Same.
i think it depends on where in America you are. in hawaii, everyone is expected to take their shoes off before entering the house. here in the Midwest, it depends on the family. my family takes our shoes off at the door because we don't want to be tracking everything from the outside around our house, especially since we have indoor only cats and we try to protect them from the outside germs that some of them have never been exposed to. we also don't want to track dirt everywhere inside. we also change into comfy clothes once we get home
@@psalm91rdwlkfpgrl ground is ground. We need to be protected from cats, not the other way around.
I think, in my experience as an American, shoes on or off is dependent on the flooring. In houses with carpet shoes off is quite normal. In houses with wood, shoes on is very common. It comes down to the cleanability of the floor and the comfort of the guest. If a house has hardwood floos, they are easy to clean and the guest might feel more comfortable with their shoes on. Where as carpet is difficult to clean if you track in dirt or mud and feet are more comfy/warm on carpet.
We always had carpet, and we wore shoes whenever we were fully dressed, especially in the daytime when someone (a friend, neighbor, whatever) might stop by for a visit. We did go barefoot when wearing pajamas.
Of course, the young people these days go out to the store in pajamas, so it's little wonder if they also take their shoes off in front of company and show up to weddings wearing flip-flops.
@@jonadabtheunsightly it’s a class thing as well as the type of flooring and region you’re from. Wealth coastal California home with tile and stone floors? Shoes on. Trailer park in Florida next to a swamp with shag carpet from the 70s, shoes on. Farmhouse in the countryside of Western New York with heart of pine wood floors and braided rugs, you better believe it’s shoes off.
Those to continuously forget about the 330 million Americans. With so many people of course you are going to get some that do something one way but the majority I’ve experienced through life has been shoes off.. 🤷♂️🤦♂️🤣 this stuff is pretty dang funny with what some foreigners believe after hearing about it once or seeing something on TV or in a movie. Plus most Americans would wear slippers. At least my family and friends always have most of the time..
I agree with this. hardwood floors are cold in the Winter, and I would very much like to keep my shoes on vs. taking them off, unless they're tracking snow/mud in, in which case I'll swap to slippers or some other footwear to keep my feet warm and not need to touch hardwood or, God forbid, tile, which can be really freezing cold in the Winter.
I think in most parts of the US, taking your shoes off in the house is seen as something you only do in your own home, but not something you'd ask visitors to do or even want them to do unless they were very close friends or family who often visit and were staying for more than just a few minutes at a time. I think most of us would feel like we were being overly familiar just to go into someone's house we might not be that close to and take our shoes off. I personally would not want that in my house for hygiene reasons. That said, if I go to someone's house that requests it, I'm most certainly going to be respectful of how they want to do things in their own home and do as they ask.
@@alboalt3411 Maybe so but not my house, not my rules. I try to respect how other people want things done in their own home, even if I think it's unnecessary or weird. My friend's Russian wife has a big thing about shoes in the house. I don't like doing it either, but I do it when I go over to visit him because it's what she wants and he obliges her and asks everyone nicely to do it.
@Albo alt Yep, agree 100%. There was a Sex & the City episode about that exact concept lol. If you're so neurotic about your floors remaining spotless (which aren't that difficult to clean...), then why are you having people over in the first place? Someone could just as easily spill a glass of wine or drop a plate of food despite having their shoes off. It's also like insinuating that your guests are dirty or careless and won't wipe off their shoes on the mat and must be treated like irresponsible messy children.
@@KJones-qs7ju "someone can just as easily spill wine or drop food" yeah maybe if they're extremely and uncommonly clumsy.
I’m not even sure what guests would do with their shoes in a city apartment. My building has lots of Asian residents and their friends seem to always take off their shoes and leave them in the hallway outside their doors. But I have to assume other peoples’ guests leave theirs on because they’d quickly fill up the small entrance foyer if you had more than 2 or 3 people over.
It's pretty much the opposite where I grew up. You generally really have to think a whole lot of someone to tell them you can keep their shoes on. And they have to think a lot of themselves to do it. I.e. think a doctor/priest leaving their shoes on, or a real estate agent etc.
Bathrooms: I recall as a young child (late 60’s/early 70’s) my mom having to pay to enter the toilet stall in many public places - though definitely not all. Then they were phased out.
Shoes:
I never knew “shoes off at home” was even a thing until my dad started dating my stepmom, who grew up in Sweden. They wear clogs around the house, then put on shoes/boots to go outside. I got used to going around in my socks at her house, but kept my shoes on at home.
Then I married my husband, who grew up in India. There, the roads and sidewalks are dirtier than those in the U.S. or in Europe. The cultural norm of leaving your “outside shoes” or “street shoes” on a mat just inside the front door makes total sense. People may go barefoot, or may switch to “inside shoes” - usually flip-flops or slides. Another thing: in some households in India, people wear “bathroom shoes” (the ones I’ve seen are made of wood.) There’s definitely a compartmentalization: these shoes are used on this type of surface; those shoes are used on that type of surface, with as little cross-contamination as possible. I must say, it does keep the floors cleaner.
In the Upper Midwest where I’ve lived (Minnesota and Wisconsin,) it’s essentially universal to switch shoes (or stay in stockingfeet) for the half of the year when otherwise your boots would be trailing ice/snow/salt everywhere. In the summer, practices vary by household.
Thanks for this video, Laurence! It was great seeing this collab 👍💐
T
I remember those. A big silver coin slot. You slipped the dime in, turned the lock, the mechanism would close the dime slot so no one could walk in and the door would lock on your side. The problem was multi layered. I remember people who didn't have a dime or didn't want to pay crawled under the too short door (ew) or they would wait til the door opened and went in before it closed and locked. Because there was no timing mechanism, it was easy to circumvent. Pay toilets were mostly in busy locations, turnpikes and such, so it was easy to just wait for an opening stall. Many cities outlawed them after protests and seeing them as unfair to women especially since guys can go anywhere. I would think that had a lot to do with the feminist movement in the 60s and 70s.
@@pikayla5749 Yes, exactly! Your description was perfect. It was quite typical for one woman to hold the stall door open for the next. And I think you’re right about the basis for overturning that system - it truly did place more burden on women than on men. Besides having fewer options, mothers still escort young children more frequently than fathers - and this was even more lopsided back then.
Thanks for the guided tour down Memory Lane 💐
After reading this I compared memories with my husband. We're in our 60s, he's from upstate NY, and I'm a Floridian. We both remember crawling under the pay stall doors for our mothers to get things started for everyone. They just washed us off when we were finished.
There are reasons to keep them on in some areas. My maternal grandparents lived in an area where there were tiny scorpions. My mother’s stepmom actually stepped on one of them and accused my grandfather of flicking cigarette ash. We never required things either way from guests. I mean we had pets that were inside and outside, and we didn’t wash their feet constantly.
I think the shoes on or off inside the house thing has a strong weather component to it. Northern parts of the country or rainier parts of the country that see snow and rain will likely take your shoes off before you come into the house because otherwise you're trekking all kinds of mud and such inside. Now that I live in the south, it's common to not ever take your shoes off inside the house.
Or if you have those goat head stickers like we do in Arizona.
My children that live in Florida always leave shoes at the door to prevent sand from being tracked into the house!
Living in Oklahoma, I ware my shoes into my bedroom where I remove them and usually ware socks only when home!
Prefer the convenience of sitting on my bed to both remove and put on my shoes.
Also, I am coming into my house from the garage, not outside where the dirt is.
For me, the shoe issue has to deal with the comfort level you have with the house. My own house and my close friends and family I take the first opportunity to take my shoes off. If I’m at a strangers house I think it would be considered rude to take them off cause your like making yourself at home. Just like I wouldn’t start raiding their fridge. Some people ask you to take off your shoes before coming inside, but I think that’s pretty rare, at least the area I live.
i think in Hawaii the culture is you always take your shoes off when entering a house, so i think in America it's very regional
And it goes the other way around, I take it? If a stranger's in your house do you prefer they leave their shoes on?
@@JavaRivers I think so yes. It’s kind of an interesting thing to think about cause I don’t often have strangers come over. If someone I didn’t know came to my house we would probably stay in the foyer area anyway and I wouldn’t expect them to stay long. Most professionals that come to a house (like electricians etc) usually have shoe covers that they will wear if they’re going to be walking all around the house in order to do their job.
One interesting thing about the prescription drug TV commercials is that those are a relatively recent thing. At some point a few decades ago, these TV commercials didn't exist, and I believe it's because it was illegal to advertise drugs on TV. At some point the law changed, and then a deluge of prescription drug ads followed.
I enjoyed TV much more in the days before some advertising was even allowed. I am mentioning specifically, ads for prescription drugs, liquor, feminine care products, prophylactics, and law firms! Now those items are on TV and in your face all the time, and are the reason I wear out the MUTE button on our remote controls.
I grew up in Florida, and when not in school we mainly went barefoot or wore flipflops inside and out. As an adult I've lived mostly in the Northeast. I've never been asked to take my shoes off in someone's home, but most people just take off shoes or boots if there's snow, and walk around in socks. In my home I wear bedroom slippers inside because we have wood floors and my feet get cold. I've never asked anyone to remove their shoes.
When I was a kid, we didn’t wear shoes in the house because we’re Asian, our neighbor did wear shoes in the house. She complained once that she had to hire a company to come deep clean her carpets once a year or so. We said we never did that because our carpets just didn’t get that dirty since we weren’t tracking dirt from outside all over the house. She later changed her carpets and stopped wearing shoes in her house. At first, she stubbed her toe because she wasn’t used to it. But then, she bought house slippers and after that, visitors were asked to take their shoes off. She said it was much cleaner.
No one where I live in the Midwest keeps their shoes on in the house unless someone says otherwise. It would be considered rude to track in dirt or possibly other “stuff”into the house.
Shoes in the house in the US is regional and class specific. Drier and warmer regions like California and Florida tend towards shoes on. Partly because there is less mud and crud but also because home flooring in those areas tends towards tile and stone, which cleans up easily and can take dust and sand. Again this is also class based, so trailer parks in Florida might keep shoes on but a mansion in Miami could be shoes off. As you go to colder and muddier climates it becomes shoes off. Especially if the house is carpeted. Even homes with wood floors don’t handle mud and gravel well and most people put rugs down on their wood floors. Again it’s also class based. One thing you find in NY is that the lower class will wear shoes in the house but then not the middle class for the reasons already described. I grew up in a no-shoes house. But as you go up in wealth shoes come back into the house for different reasons. One is that wealthy people have so many and such nice shoes they don’t really get dirty ever. If you go from your penthouse to your limo to a fancy restaurant and back again your shoes never touch actual pavement and get dirty. Also the flooring materials go up in quality as does the housekeeping and maintenance. They can afford to walk on Persian carpets over marble floors in a $4,000 pair of Santoni , so they do. Think of it like the Queen. She didn’t romp around Balmoral in her stockings did she? So even some houses in the UK are shoes on 😂
My parents splurged on at the time expensive light beige carpet(and covered up some gorgeous hardwood floors). You better believe we took our shoes off in the house!
I had an Asian friend when I was a kid and picked up the habit of not walking around in my shoes inside the home from visiting with him. The only difference is I don't leave my shoes outside where strangers can mess with them, I wear them into my home then immediately take them off and leave them somewhere near the front door because I don't want my shoes stolen or tampered with in any way.
You were Asian? Are you still Asian? This is humour.
I never wear my shoes in my own house but I would feel rude taking them off in someone else's house unless we were really good friends or close family. I've only known one person who made visitors take their shoes off, and people weren't very happy about it lol
We don't take off our shoes out here in Cali when entering someone else's home or your own home. Only Asians, Africans and Middleeastern folks do. If you're Black, Hispanic or White, your shoes are coming in with your feet when you come into any home!!
I am personally a shoes off in the house kind of person, but it's funny, because I wasn't raised that way. We were raised that shoes in the house were fine, but we also didn't just hang out with shoes on.
Now I always ask when I get to someone's house if they'd like me to take my shoes off, because I know people have strong preferences on both sides.
In my home I always hope that people will take their shoes off or at least ask if they should, but I would feel rude just flat out telling people to take their shoes off.
Depends on flooring, if I'm on carpet i will 100% take my shoes off unless its already dirty. If it's clean i take my shoes off because i don't want to dirty the place. If it's dirty i don't have to worry about that and i don't want to dirty my socks.
Wait, you’d feel rude if *you* took your shoes off in someone’s house?
I totally get not making guests do that but I’d be surprised if someone got mad at me for trying to keep their house cleaner 😂
@@zeo5009 lol, they might feel weird that you presume to dedicate part of their house to store your shoes, lmao.
I think in the US we don't usually wear shoes in our own homes but if we are visiting someone we leave them on unless asked to remove them. I do know some people who have inside shoes they wear in their home, it has something to do making you feel ready to go and making you more productive in getting what you need to get done, done.
We don't take off our shoes out here in Cali when entering someone else's home or your own home. Only Asians, Africans and Middleeastern folks do. If you're Black, Hispanic or White, your shoes are coming in with your feet when you come into any home!!
I wonder if part of the shoes thing is that a lot of times Americans have people over for BBQs and other like backyard events. So if you're expecting to go in and out a lot there's no reason to take your shoes off. And that still kinda translates to other parties just for the feel of it
@@Will_Parker Were just always ready to head to the hills if the fascists get control.
In America, a typical commercial break on a kids' TV network goes as follows:
1. "We'll be right back to the show, on *channel name.*
2. You'll see a commercial or two for other content on that channel, aimed directly at the kids
3. Several commercials aimed at parents of the kids in the target demographic, none of which are for drugs
4. Another commercial or two for other content on that channel, again aimed at the kids
5. "We're back to the show, on *channel name!"*
Disney Channel is an exception. Most of their commercials are for their own content, but every now and then you'll see one that says " *Company name* is a proud sponsor of Disney Channel", and maybe the channel announcer will say the company slogan.
Drug commercials are typically played during shows aimed at the older demographic, since they're the ones most likely to use a lot of drugs.
I grew up in California, and no one I knew took shoes off in the home. Like it was strange to me this first time I saw that. We actually thought it was a Japanese tradition thing.
Now as an adult on my own apartment, I never wear any foot covering unless I go out.
About the shoes: I live in the Southeastern US. We would never remove our shoes at a party. That being said I don't normally wear shoes in my house. So when close friends and family come over they don't have to wear their shoes either. It's normally considered rude to take your shoes off unless invited to do so. Most of us wear tennis shoes (trainers).
I was just about to say, the only time people might take their shoes off here (AL) would be if women were wearing heels or if someone was wearing flip flops or sandals.
rude to take your shoes off? that's pretty wild to this midwesterner, id say the opposite is true here
They tried pay toilets in America but because urinals didn't have it because of no doors they got sued for civil rights violations and the losses lawsuit succeeded it requireing either no pay toilets or you have to pay to use the urinals as well which would involve adding lots of doors.
Also a lot of people just used the outside.
I remember when I was really young, like 4 or 5, 1972-1973 U.S., that a department store, in our then thriving downtown, had pay toilets. They were a dime but I also remember seeing parents telling their kids to climb under and unlock door from inside. Lol It's easy in the U.S. since we have large toilet stall gaps from door to floor 🫣
@@jikook7457
I sent my baby brother under the door once myself.
@calvingreene90 I seem to remember my aunt "suggesting" it once or twice lol
@@jikook7457 Also, when you would exit the stall you would hold the door for the next person.
I’m American and I wear slippers or socked feet around the house. I do know people who wear their shoes all day, I’ve never seen them out of shoes. A lot of people I know also feel really weird & embarrassed about taking their shoes off in public or friends/family’s houses. Love your channel! Thanks for all your hard work 😁
My grandpa never takes his shoes off. Even within his house relaxing he must have slippers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him walk just in socks. I prefer to be barefoot though 🤷🏻♀️
Some people have really sweaty feet. I noticed it in my son when he was little. Couldn’t wait to go barefoot after school. In fact won’t wear slippers inside during the winter.
When I was in the business world, I wore dress shoes and pantyhose. These came off as soon as I got over the threshold.
I remember seeing public pay bathrooms when I was little, during the late 60s - early 70s. They weren't uncommon enough to generate surprise when encountering them, just frustration and anger at their injustice. They accepted a dime then - so we "spent a dime" instead of "spending a penny." It must have been a recent-ish change, since many seniors still complained that it used to cost a nickel. It was such a *ahem* relief when they finally disappeared!
Those stall door gaps have always creeped me out. ick ick ick
I've had friends ask their guests to remove their shoes here in Detroit, in N and S California, Seattle (even when it hadn't rained), Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida. These were urban, rural, and suburban settings. When a reason was offered, it usually had to do with brand new or foolishly pale-colored carpeting. It's been shown that the soles of one's shoes do pick up a surprising am't of horrid germs, and bring them indoors, so there's also that. I never mind when asked to take off my shoes, and have occasionally brought a pair of "party slippers" (something fancy with curly toes) to a friendly gathering which would run into the wee small hours.
There should be no ads for prescription drugs, hospitals, clinics, doctors, nor lawyers - and billboards should also be banned! The *video* ones are satan's work.
I took my shoes off when I lived in AK, but here in Ga, I tend to leave them on unless it is raining. I get sore feet, so I just keep my shoes on when doing chores.
My sister's family is mixed in the shoe department. Her husband grew up in a family where they left shoes on. My family grew up taking them off. One of my nephews says he wears shoes inside to keep his feet warm. One of his sisters can't stand shoes and loses them the second they hit the door. It seems to me that in America the shoe culture is a minor concern while in other cultures it is more major. And with the diversity in America that means you will see a diversity of importance ascribed to shoe positioning.
Is there anyone walking around in just one shoe? Seems like that would be a nice compromise
@@daniellemurphy9755 maybe the four year old... And probably wearing my shoe! Lol!
Noting anti shoe-insiders is a good way to mark control freaks who must be avoided.
@@FalconOfStorms actually, it is my the shoe insider who is the family control freak. The rule to be aware of is the "no wet stuff in the house" policy. Swimsuits, snow boots, rain boots, wet clothes are taken care of at the door (in the case of a swim suit on a sunny day, they are sent back outside to dry in the sun. It's a whole thing.) Shoes are optional as long as they aren't rediculously dirty. One time I asked the one who likes his shoes on why he keeps them on in the summer. He said, "If I leave them on when I'm inside then I don't have to wait to go outside just to put them on again." That made me laugh because that is why I don't put shoes on unless I have to. I just go shoeless outside!
@@annatlast my god the depravity in your family. Feet cold: house shoes or slippers or even decent socks. Need to go outside quickly/briefly: sandals or clogs/crocs left at the front door or on the porch. Going outdoors for a longtime or leaving the house: shoes, sneakers, boots, etc. Put a bench near the front door with an entry rug and some storage and you’re set for all eventualities.
The reality of shoes/no shoes in the house is really a complex calculation based on the region you’re in and the climate, the neighborhood even, your home’s flooring materials, and your social class and even ethnicity.
Coastal California home in wealthy neighborhood with tile and stone flooring: shoes on no prob, but not in the carpeted bedroom or private bathrooms.
Trailer park in a swamp in Florida with 70s shag carpet and 27 cats, shoes on, but that’s more for your protection… the home is already a write-off.
Colonial farmhouse in Western NY with heart of pine wood floors and antique braided rugs: you shouldn’t have to be told that’s shoes off.
NYC penthouse with a white yak-wool hand made wall to wall carpet and a neurotic almost-billionaire owner and you’re delivering bottles of bleach from Amazon Now after you’ve walked on the sidewalks which have feces from the homeless smeared on them? You tell me what you think 😂
I think the shoe wearing and shoes off depends on how messy it gets outside in winter. And I think it carries on throughout the year. If you have a mud room, you are more than likely taking your shoes off. If you live in a warmer, drier climate, your shoes are on for longer. I take my shoes off the moment I get home. I change clothes and get comfortable.
same here
In the Pacific Northwest, most of the houses I encounter are shoes off. I grew up in the Northeast, where there is snow all winter, but we had a mudroom, where we took off our boots and put on indoor shoes. Where I live now in Seattle, it could be the Pacific Rim cultural influence, but is more likely the fact that the ground is wet YEAR ROUND. And lots of rental units have carpet right up to the front door (which I never understand - in the northeast, every house has a tile or linoleum entryway, even if they don't have a mudroom). In any case, I am now firmly in the shoes off camp, to the point that visiting my folks and seeing them walk around on an antique carpet in shoes makes me crazy.
Absolutely the same here. We have a mudroom and remove our shoes there as soon as we enter the house.
In Arizona if you dont wear some kind of footware on your feet then you end up wiping foot sweat all over the carpet and its very obvious when you go into houses where they dont wear something on their feet inside, the smell of sweat is worse than a litterbox.
I believe it was supposed to be a safety thing in case something happens to somebody in the toilet that as you're going by you can see the guys passed out or something happening to him and then help can arrive
My father was a fisherman. He drilled into us that you HAVE to keep your shoes on, because there was always a remote chance that you might pick up a fishhook in your foot. I think part of it was growing up in the late 70's, during the energy crisis, my parents kept the house pretty cold, and you kept your shoes on just to keep your feet warm. I always keep my shoes on, unless I'm sleeping or bathing. And mostly I wear sneakers.
This was the case in my house, too. We lived in a fixer upper house that was always under construction, and my parents kept it cold.
By shoes did you mean house slippers?
Born, raised, and still live in the southeastern US. I have always worn my shoes in the house. Growing up i ran across a few households where i was asked to remove my shows before entering, but it was a rarity. I personally wear my shoes at home until im sure there will be no reasons to take me outside of the home for the evening. Im often still in my work boots at 8 or 9pm.
I just stumbled across your channel and like it. Im looking forward to checking out more of your content
Fun fact about the shoes thing for certain areas of the U.S.: having shoes on was drilled into the public at large (at least in the South) in the late 1800s. The weather was moderate, so a lot of folks would walk outside without shoes and pick up hookworms through the bottom of their feet. Medical care being what it was back then, they would never know that they had it. They would just get slower and fatigued more easily. A scientist figured out what was going on and started the public health campaign. I'm sure part of the mindset for keeping your shoes on extended to indoors on some subconscious level.
That being said, I thought taking your shoes off inside was strictly a Japanese thing growing up. We always did it if there was something on our shoes so as not to track it into the house, but shoes were meant to be put away in your own room/closet - not left as clutter by the door. As an adult now, I have indoor shoes separate from my other shoes. They never go outside, and I am never barefoot. Since I am never barefoot, I don't really care that I wear my other shoes up until I can deposit them in my closet.
My family and friends are overwhelmingly with the shoes-on crowd. When visiting other people’s homes, I default to keeping shoes on. Shoes-off households will usually mention that they’d like us to take shoes off. Based on my experiences, no more than 10% of households expect shoes to be taken off.
I put shoes on when I get dressed in the morning and I don't take them off until I'm getting undressed at night. I never knew any family that did the shoes off in the house thing until I was an adult.
In the US we did used to have pay toilets, mostly in private businesses (usually upscale stores) and train/bus/subway stations. They were ENORMOUSLY unpopular and were phased out in the 1960's. People used to make a habit of holding the door open for the next person waiting, so they wouldn't have to pay, unless there was an attendant to stop you. As for shoes, I think it's about 50/50 on households that wear them in their homes and those that don't. It's also split up within families. My father always wore his shoes from the time he got up until he went to bed. The rest of us went barefoot or wore socks. I think some of the reluctance to remove your shoes in someone else's home is the fear that your feet might not smell the greatest, despite showering and wearing clean socks. There are few smells more objectionable than smelly feet, so personally I'll take dirty carpets and floors any day over wanting to hold my nose or my breath during someone's entire visit.
Fairs, and festivals had pay toilets in the 1970's & 1980's, but now there's usually a porter that collects optional tips, and most people usually drop change into the container.
Nailed it.
My grandmother told me about her uncle's first trip to Chicago in the 1920's or 1930's. He had a couple of new experiences. He came upon an intersection and there was a traffic light. He had no idea if "Red" meant stop or go, so he just closed his eyes and floored it. It's hard to imagine life before "red" means stop.
His other new experience was a pay toilet. He had to pay a nickel to get into the stall. He finished but then he needed another nickel to get out, so he just crawled under the door to get out. Pay toilets have been officially illegal in the US for a long time, but some mom and pop convenience stores won't give you the key to their toilet unless you buy something. I always buy a snack or drink when I stop at a store to use the restroom at small stores on trips, unless I buy gas. They made their money off me to cover the little water and paper towel I used.
At the laundromat I go to you have to use a card to use the washing machine and also use the restroom. It charges you a penny each time you going to the restroom.
Yeah. I was born in the early 60s. I recall going to the ladies room in a department store as a little girl and seeing the locks 🔒 on the restroom stall doors. Them I recall how the restroom 🚽 stall doors in that same department store looked after the lock contraptions were taken off the door. I can’t recall my age in either case. But I was very young.
Most gas stations don't set the prices of their fuel and make very little off of per gallon sales. My family's station only profited 2 to 5 cents per gallon depending on the amount sold. Our store was destroyed, but because of that I always buy merchandise from convenience stores when I purchase fuel. They really only have gas as a service or to bring in customers.
@@RealDealDude Recently, and I mean some time this year, a gas station ⛽️ owner got in a lot of trouble for selling gas way below the going rate when the prices were high and a lot of ppl were struggling with the high prices.
When we were in Boston a few years ago the new, state of the art, public bathroom was quite the sight. I don’t remember if it was a quarter or 50 cents. It was worth it, and clean! It might be here on TH-cam. It open and closed on its own and opened no matter what after a certain amount of time, I forget how long. It closes behind you automatically and sprays water everywhere to clean. Somehow the toilet seat was dry 🤷🏻♀️ I used it just because I was a tourist.
I have only discovered "Lost in the Pond" recently. I enjoy it tremendously. I am Canadian, so your commentary about America is fun. My dad is Irish, my mom was first generation Ukrainian. I am an army brat, so I've travelled a lot - to the extent that I am aware of four different histories of Canada: Quebec English, Quebec French, BC/Ontario Maritimes, and the Prairies. The differences between, say, Texas, California, New York, Idaho and Massachusetts ring clearly in my mind. Lawrence, your reviews of the differences in the US and the UK are absolutely hilarious and they highlight the differences I see in Canada. Thank you for the humour and the the insights.
I’ve always been in the shoes off camp, and I think a large part of that is the amount of rain and nasty weather we get in the Pacific Northwest; there’s ALWAYS mud/dirt/grime on your shoes after being outside, so naturally you wouldn’t want to track it through the house. That’s also why I tend to take my shoes off at other people’s houses; I was taught that it was polite bc then you’re not making the person’s house dirty. But that being said, I definitely know people who wear shoes inside, and it should also be mentioned that a lot of people have designated “house shoes,” which are often sandals or slippers, that are never worn outside
The only people I’ve ever known ( I’m American) to take their shoes off when visiting were people who came from a different culture ,like Japanese etc, or descended from those cultures bust are Americans. When living in Wyoming and Alaska I got used to people taking their boots off when coming into someone’s home in the Winter just so you didn’t track tons of snow in.
It's basically a 'if they do it so do you'. Also justifiably around carpets.
Generally from what I've seen the rules are changing. Essentially if there's carpet then shoes come off, if it's hardwood then you keep em on.
We usually do in Hawaii.
No one has ever taken their shoes off in any household I've visited, or lived in, BUT...my next house will require it. I will supply fluffy socks. I see the benefits, and I'm changing my habits.
@@thedukeofchutney468 I'm from the south and have never heard that before. I think I'd be uncomfortable running around someone else's home in my shoeless feet.
How nice you collaborated with the beesleys. They are delightful. Cheers from 🇨🇦
@Honey j
As a Canadian, did you identify more with the American culture or the British? Merely curious! 🙂
The water level in toilets is all down to the design of said toilet. The common American household toilet has the "greedy cup" siphon in the bowl, whereas the common British toilet has it in the tank. Their are tons of videos about the differences which are great since it helps to visually see the differences and what a "greedy cup" siphon is.
I’m a bit uncomfortable with any part of a toilet being referred to as a “greedy cup”.
@@geneinkc I'm dead 💀
Some toilets in Holland have a shelf with about a one or two water depth that you shit on. This is apparently to allow for close inspection of your feces. I found that a bit weird.
Germany has a shelf in their toilet bowls. One may need to scrub it after the flush if you've pooped. not enough water to rinse the smear away. I don't like European toilets.
redundant dolt
I visited a home in Finland where you were expected to remove your shoes, but they provided a generous supply of comfy slippers for guests. Perfect!
My dad's family is from Belgium, and I had an aunt and uncle visit us about five or six years ago for a wedding. I know they were enamored with seeing a parking lot filled with yellow school buses, which weren't actually being used because it was the middle of June (that's one of the biggest differences in America - school usually starts in August and ends in late May or early June; in Belgium it usually runs through the end of June and starts back up in September). Like many others who visit for the first time, they were awed by its sheer size.
I’m just an old American guy 70 yrs old (and yes I’ve been to the UK multiple times) but when I was a kid it was common to go to. Public toilets and have to put coins in the lock to use the facilities.
Yes, sir!!
I'm 30 and I've been to ONE place that has had that in all my travels over the US. It was also the only place so run down that I felt like I would get shot when I walked out.
About the same age, recall pay toilets in the US. Didn't last long. Haven't seen for decades. BTW, the reason for the gap at the bottom (my understanding) is because kids lock themselves in and can't get out. Never had anyone creeping on me.
The shoes thing I've noticed is far more common in the south. I was raised in Northern Minnesota, we don't wear them in the house. But I live in Texas now and every house I've been in down here shoes on.
What a treat to see you all together. I follow both of you. A real delight
I actually found you through the beesleys. So subscribing and finding these was great. So proud and happy to see youtubers supporting each other. Always great
I discovered your channel by watching videos on the beesleys channel. I've been binging all of your videos since. Great stuff!
I was born in 1960 and when I was a little kid, there were some toilets that you did have to pay to use. (US). I remember you had to put coins into the door to gain access to the toilet. I remember adults saying..."is it a free or pay toilet?" (I think some law passed in the '60s to make it where you couldn't charge a fee. ) If you wanted to use a toilet at a gas station, you had to go inside and ask for a key to use a toilet and it was frowned on if you didn't buy something before asking for the key and you were shamed into making a purchase before asking for the key. This gradually went away in the '70s and 80s. You never see it anymore. I think a lot of things have changed over the last 60 years in the US. A lot of things that they say are weird about America, and then explain how they are in Europe ...I remember it was here here in my childhood.
I was going to add this, too. It used to be a dime, and there was this coin-laundry-type device on the door. However, the doors usually didn't reach the floor, so as a kid I'd slide under and use them without paying. After all, I could use a dime to buy an Abba-Zabba bar!
Yes, I remember pay toilets here in Chicago. They were a dime (10 cents).
I think paying to toilet at the gas stations went away when the gas station attendants got tired of cleaning the poo off the bathroom door and the smell of pee off the gas pumps.
Yep. Pay toilets were very common throughout the U.S.
@@kathykrisko3228 Abba-Zabba!🤩
Awesome collab!!! Do more please!! This is great and very interesting to get both perspectives
If I go to someone's house, I never take shoes off unless it's a specific rule of the home. In my 43 years in the US, I've known maybe 3 houses that don't do shoes in the house. At my house, I wear crocs or flip flops (separate from my outside shoes - basically a version of slippers) inside and do kick them off when I curl up on the couch or whatever. But they are always right by me and I wear them when I walk around. This is the norm in my experience, but like you all said, my experience isn't universal.
As a Canadian, that is weird! And would be considered very weird and/or rude!
@@LaurieLeeAnnie I was thinking after I posted this that it might have to do with where you live, like climate. I'm in Oregon so we don't do boots and snow, but I would bet that the snowier your region, the more it would be the norm, but idk. Taking your shoes off when you come into someone's home, especially if it's not your immediate family, would give people pause in my area. Tbh I see why taking shoes off makes sense, we just...don't
🌸 Same here with the shoes. My son and his family take their shoes off, but I've been told I don't have to. Unless I go upstairs.
slippers inside is the move
@Smoked Bear that makes sense, too. It might just not be the norm in my family and as a visitor I'm not privy to others at-home customs.
I've watched the Beesleys for awhile now, good to see them on your channel.
DATES: The Chinese have the best system. - Year/Month/Day - Let's face it, they have been doing this for over 6,000 years so they win!
SHOES: Here in Thailand it's common to pass a house with many pairs of shoes outside the front door. Even some shops, dental clinics, insist on switching to their slippers, at the entrance. My girlfriend leaves her shoes "tied up" and worms her way in and out of them. I prefer to secure my shoes correctly, every time. At the temple, I will sometimes not enter the holiest shrine because of the hassle of removing my shoes.
My best friend here in Bangkok is American. He was talking about his first car the other day. Like Pharmaceuticals, car models have different names in both U.S., U.K. and even Europe. It's confusing!
Great video y'all!
I just went to thanksgiving at some friends of my aunt’s house. I didn’t know them that well. I did know some of the people there pretty well but my point is that I didn’t take off my shoes the entire time and I was there for more than four hours! For me, it’s a situation where it would depend on how well I know the people whose house it is. Taking off your shoes denotes a certain familiarity, kind of like helping yourself to the contents of someone else’s fridge. Or like taking off your shoes at work; I don’t know if that makes sense. Or maybe it’s that it kind of implies you’re staying a while when you don’t know if you’re welcome to. I just wouldn’t take my shoes off without asking. That’s just been my experience.
Exactly this. If I go to a relative’s or friend’s home, I usually take my shoes off. It’s a familiarity thing. It’s also a neat-freak thing with my wife, who does not allow shoes to be worn in the house - tracking in dirt and germs and all. I wear sock feet (or bare feet in summer) in our house no matter who’s around, and my wife often wears slippers. At homes of people we know less well, shoes usually stay on, though we may ask the house rules on footwear. For cultural reference, we’re in the Northeast, so weather is a factor - we don’t want to track in snow or mud to someone’s house.
That’s how I feel
I pause at the door as if to ask. Funny our neighbors rather they stay on and they have very white carpet! When I had carpets I'd rather they come off.
My last house it was white too. I made a cute sign said "socks welcome", had a clothes line of socks in picture. Plus a basket with slippers n socks of various type and sizes.
It's just common sense really to take off your shoes. We walk around outside and let's face it, some people have filthy habits like spitting, throwing god knows what on the streets and sidewalks. I don't want to track that filth onto someone's floors and carpets. I wear slippers at home and if going to someone else's home I carry a small pair of slip-ons in my bag, out of respect for my host. Mind you, common sense is not really very "common" anymore!
@@pinky2245 there is no such thing as common sense, as this video specifically addresses. Common sense requires a common set of social and societal habits, which doesn't exist across all cultures. They just said that taking off shoes in the UK can be seen as rude, so if you went there and took off your shoes people would think you are rude. I do not require nor care if people take off their shoes in my home. I let people do what is comfortable for them because I want them to feel comfortable when they come over. Now that last part may be one example of something I would call common sense, to let people do what makes them most comfortable when a guest in our homes.
I grew up in So. Calif and never removed my shoes--wasn't done. I moved to the Pacific Northwest and as the years go by, removing shoes is now a must everywhere I go. It keeps the house clean, no mud, water or whatever you step on outside and in the stores are traipsed through your clean home.
I have lived in the PNW all my life and had to only rarely take off my shoes in a small number of houses.
@@webbtrekker534 Yeah, I'm 4th generation Oregonian and among my family, friends and others, I've never had a single place where we had to take off our shoes.
I grew up in So Cal too. We went barefoot indoors.
We've always kept shoes on indoors, but I happen to like being barefoot, so that's what I do. I'm from the Southern U.S. I do think taking shoes off indoors may have to do with how far north one is, or rather, what the usual weather is like where you are. Of course if it's very muddy or snowy out, shoes come off to avoid tracking up the floors.
Also depends on floor type. If they got carpet I might take shoes off cause dirt.
@@Khronogi My last house in the midwest had a carpeted living room. We, and everyone else I know, wore shoes indoors and just vacuum the floors frequently - like you should be doing anyways. My house in Texas is mostly wood and tile, and we mop frequently. I've never been to somebodies house that had dirt on their floor. I think normal people clean their homes regularly so aren't so worried about people tracking in light dirt.
Heavily soiled shoes, (walked through mud on the way in) of course always get removed.
dude, I sub to the Beasleys and Shaun as well as a few others (not including, 8/9 cats, late night shows, etc).
My mothers side from England and Scottland. Dads from Norway and Finland.
You tube is great for getting a very small feel of what life and people are like...across the pond.
Thank you so much for work.
Growing up in the UK in the 70’s (moved to USA in 82) we never took off are shoes. Lived in Gillingham Kent. I think it’s a modern UK habit.
This is a collab I didn’t know I needed, and I enjoyed it!
I've lived in the US my entire life, and I'm just now learning that people keep their shoes on at home. One of the things I can't wait to do when I get home is take off my shoes.
most people take them off at home (unless you live in a place that has scorpions). the leaving shoes on thing mostly happens when youre a guest visiting someone else that youre not super close to. it kinda has the same sort of feeling as raiding someones fridge almost
Also at home it can depend on if you are or may be going back out “soon”.
Neat! Never been excited for a collaboration before! Now you know Laurence has finally made it! 😉
I love the Beesleys. Thank you for getting together with them. They live your videos and it was through them that I got to know you. I now follow your videos frequently.
I've never seen a prescription drug commercial targeting children, but do remember one from years ago aimed at teenagers for a prescription acne treatment.
LOVE both of your channels!!!! I hope another collab happens!
For Date formats, I always use Year-Month-Day, or ISO 8601. Mainly because of how it is handled with computers, that sorting files with those names will always be in the correct chronological order. With the side effect of not being confused with either Day-Month-Year or Month-Day-Year, as long as you use a 4-digit year.
And...111881 is still a cool date....is it a zip code too?
The format you use is the most logical one and I think best due to it being able to be easily read by both computers, as well as humans alike. For many official documentation, it's common to start with the most general, then progressively get more specific anyway (think "Smith, John"), so why not maintain that pattern for dates? Parts of Asia, including China and South Korea, traditionally use this year, month, day order, as well, so it bugs me when I've seen some British people in Comments sections of movie trailers complain that only Americans put the month before the day and proceed to call Americans stupid for it, while the reason for their frustration in the first place was due to them being confused about the date despite the movie trailer mentioning the release month earlier. (Please pardon my rant.)
@@Wei_Radula_Regiment
Kpop and the global rise of Asian entertainment media is helping to spread this more logical "year month day" date order.
The shoe thing varies. I’m from the Midwest and typically shoes are removed.
That being said, it is also customary to make your guests feel comfortable. In other words do not require a guest to do something that might make them uncomfortable.
I have had people ask whether or not they should remove their shoes. My response is to smile and say, “Do whatever you’re comfortable doing.”
Yeah. I grew up in Texas, shoes stayed on. Lived a long time in California where it was 50/50. Now live in Canada and just like the north US and midwest, shoes come off.
Where in the Midwest? I am from Missouri and no one ever removed their shoes in the house. I also have lived in Illinois, Colorado, California, New Mexico, New Jersey and Minnesota, and again, no one ever removed their shoes at home. Until TH-cam I never knew anyone did that except in Japan.
Agreed, I don’t feel comfortable removing my shoes. I have a sweaty feet problem.
I'm from a rural area of NY. It's customary to ask the host.
I'm in Wisconsin and I will not remove my shoes unless they are wet or dirty. Not common here unless it's snowy.
There are a couple reasons for the gap in the stall doors. One is air flow, and the other is safety. If the doorknob breaks then you're trapped, or if you have a medical emergency it is much easier for 1st responders to get to you and for someone to notice you are having medical problems.
I'm an American, and I always leave my shoes on. For one thing, it means people won't have to smell feet. Secondly, I always rock flip-flops or Vans slip-ons unless I'm forced by social convention to do otherwise, so I'm almost always comfortable. I don't know why it's the case, but pretty much every family I knew while growing up did the same, and it didn't matter if it was wood flooring or carpet. People do replace carpets on a fairly regular basis here, so maybe that's part of it. This is all if your shoes are fairly clean and the weather is decent. If you have sh*t, mud, water, or anything else on them, you take them off.
That being said, it was not particularly uncommon to go to a house where you would take off your shoes. I think a lot of people in the States ask the host, at least I usually did if it was my first time at someone's pad.
On the contrary, I find wearing socks to bed absolutely vile. Only naked feet should be in beds.
Thanks for doing this Lawrence! A few things I need to say about your channel: 1) I loved when you and your wife reacted to James the first time. His excitement was awesome. 2) I'm impressed with how great your production value has become and appreciate your dedication to high quality. 3) Another group of Brits I watch and love, threw shade at you when they reacted to one of your videos. I went on a HUGE rant to them. I seriously think they probably saw what I said because they reacted to you again and I could see their demeanor change. When they found out you were from Grimsby, they started talking about that and pretty soon they were watching more of your channel (even saying "I like this guy's channel" and 4) I appreciated you going to PA and talking about it and Gettysburg etc. My family settled there in Western PA in the 1740s and I'm first generation born in California. My dad LOVED studying the Civil War (we weren't too far away from Gettysburg). He went to Virginia to a fort that was the site of one of the final battles that turned the war around for the North. I appreciate you taking an interest in that portion of our history in the same way that my dad did. Moreover, it doesn't seem like a lot of youtubers (especially with a British background) do videos about PA. I really enjoyed that and wish you would have gone to the Western part of the State as well. Maybe you did and I just didn't catch a lot of it (Johnstown, etc). Thanks for all of the entertainment--you do great work! (So Cal here, btw)
That wouldnt be the Office Blokes, would it?
I remember how their attitude shifted when they heard Grimsby.
@@rhoetusochten4211 Yep! I starting watching them long before Lost In The Pond. That's so funny you noticed the same thing when they mentioned Grimsby! LMAO! Cheers, my friend (:
Bathroom stalls can vary. Sometimes you'll get the nice, fully enclosed ones with floor-to-ceiling walls and doors. Much more common though are the ones that stop short, and the height on these (that is the distance between the floor and the bottom of the wall/door) is sometimes worrying. Depends on how much a business wants to spend, I guess.
As for the shoes, it depends. If you're at home they're generally off. If you're visiting someone you generally keep them on. If it's a close relative (your parents for example) you might take them off, but if it's not then it depends on their house rules. Some people have a strict "no shoes" rule that is surprisingly not limited to immediate family and extends to all visitors.
When someone "requires" no shoes, I politely decline and leave. I have my way of doing things, others habits are fine for them but I am not one to join in just because someone else chooses to. When someone comes to my house and takes off their shoes uninvited, they don't get invited back. Unless a close family member.
@@JoKeR93007 Ah jeez. I'd be taking my shoes off to be polite. I never imagined anyone was taking offense to it.
What if you were invited into a shoes-off home that offered shoe covers?
@@JavaRivers as long as I could keep shoes on I would be happy to comply with covers, kinda like home repair folks do these days. I kick shoes off at VERY CLOSE family and friends on occasion, but certainly not at a casual friends, or a friend of a friends. I am old and come from a more consevative area and time and I feel a little uncomfortable with very casual behavior until I know someone well. I prefer a more genteel approach. I wouldn't want to live in the far past but I would prefer some aspects of it. I guess there is good and bad in both approaches.
I have a friend born and raised in Britain. He moved here to New York in the mid 90s and became a citizen about 20 years ago. The thing that he found most shocking was the amount of commercials if you were watching tv. He explained to a group of us that there each tv has to be licensed which you pay for. That money funds some of the channels eliminating the need for as many breaks.
Yeah, I keep my shoes on.
I don’t see the point of taking them off, they’re on “inside” most of the time anyway. I go from inside my house, to inside my garage, to inside my truck, to the 20ft of sidewalk, to the inside the building I’m visiting and then the same thing in reverse.
Lawn and outdoor work shoes live in the garage, however.
As we kid, we would wear shoes in the house, but it seemed as Asian culture expanded or like K Pop and all got more popular we started to adapt to taking shoes off at the door. When visiting others, though, we leave shoes on unless the host requests shoes off.
I loved both collabs!
One of the first things I learned when living in England (back in the 70's) was the term, "spend a penny".
I learned recently that other people ALWAYS take off their shoes, which was new to me. Here’s my reasons why I wear shoes:
1) Texas scorpions
2) easier to work between inside and outside. Putting shoes on and off constantly is annoying
3) being comfortable with strangers. I find it strange not dressing up for guests.
4) our way of life is very much off the floor.
5) usually wearing shoes around the house isn’t something I do for comfort, but utility. I usually wear Vans. My uncle wears tennis shoes. My grandfather wears leather walking shoes for support (bad hips). My mother has house slippers.
7) it’s impossible to keep the outside from getting it. If you’ve got kids playing or some work to do. Taking off shoes is more inconvenient in many cases. Humans walked this earth barefoot for a long time. I think I can wear some shoes inside. I always respect others rules for taking off shoes, but I found my socks just getting dirty.
Wash your socks. #6 is missing, so make it "I don't like tearing my socks on splinters and carpet tacks"
I agree. I'm in and out so many times in the day. it's annoying like you said.
The reason for the section on the bottom being so big is if a child is unable to unlock the door and in the case of evacuation and other emergencies someone can look to see if anyone is there.
I've been watching you for ages Lawrence and I just started watching the Beesleys this year. Love you guys all of you. Sending love from Detroit Michigan❣️🤓
It's also cool that you're exactly 10 days younger than me Lawrence🦂♏ 🤓❣️
The no shoes varies from household to household. Honestly, you just have to play it by ear. I believe it was influenced by the Japanese. I grew up on a farm where we would take off our mud boots or snow boots in the mud room and put on regular shoes or just your socks, depending on your preference.
I grew up on a farm and we had "clean" everyday shoes that we really didn't care either way if we had them on around the house and then we had dirty farm shoes that stayed outside at all times. It was also a drafty old farmhouse so wearing shoes inside was sometimes helpful because it could get cold.
Where I grew up in the Midwest in generally changes from household to household about the shoes, some people don't want shoes worn in their houses and some people don't care if you do that's why I was always taught that it's polite to ask when entering a strangers home unless you already know their preference. Personally I grew up with a family that didn't care but now I prefer people take their shoes off when they enter my home but you can also keep them on if you want but absolutely no shoes on furniture.
I always take off my shoes in my own house, but don't tell others to take them off if they come in (though there is some angst about their shoes walking through). I don't take off shoes in another's house, unless it's something they expect.
Most places i go to in the United States, people encourage the shoes to be off for my friends and family. Especially in the winter so do not track in muddy snow. Only exceptions is when i go to large parties in the summer where they may be people on the back yard deck and coming in and out for food to grill. Most people that have wall to wall carpeting i find ask for shoes to be off. i would always ask. i take my shoes off even if in and out for a few minutes in my apartment. i do not like to mop the floors of kitchen or vacuum the den or living room areas so often.
i should mention it may be a northeastern United States common practice to take shoes off more often than not because our winters with snow and muddy Spring and Autumns.
Great collab! I'd love to see more if all involved are up for it :)
The shoes on/off issues often comes down to families. My family has generally always been shoes on. I tend to put my shoes on each morning and wear them most of the day, whether I leave the house or not. They are tennis shoes normally (or trainers for the Brits - we also call them sneakers).
I do have friends that expect shoes to be off when visiting - and you are always mindful and respectful of each home. Sometimes it comes down to whether a house is carpeted or not. If the home has tile or wood or laminate flooring, there is less care about whether someone removes their shoes or not.
I do have personal preference because I do not like being barefoot and It is much more difficult to stub my toes with shoes on.
We were never expected to take our shoes off inside, but then when we were kids we mostly went barefoot in summer. Now I have nerve damage in my feet, and proper shoes with special inserts prevent pain and nasty falls. If someone asked me to take off my shoes, I think I would politely excuse myself and leave, I am frankly terrified of another fall...
Same here. We grew up wearing them all day and I prefer shoes on. After dealing with plantar fasciitis, I'm even less likely to go barefoot or in socks, but absolutely will if I'm in another house where everyone removes shoes at the door.
I'm from the Midwest (Kansas) and have always worn shoes in the house. I did not encounter anyone who took off their shoes until my younger brother married a woman from Korea. We did not have carpet. Friends who lived on a farm had a mud room to remove their boots, but they put on clean shoes (not house slippers) to wear in the house.
It was unsettling, in America, when they began to bring that door gap thing in.
I don't know when that was - late 80's to the mid-90's? As an infrastructure thing, it was a slow creep.
I'm 65 and do remember pay toilets (10 cents) in some public places, as a child in the Midwest. Luckily as a child you're small enough to crawl under the stall door to unlock it for the whole family to have there turn. I'd forgotten all about those. Thank goodness they are a thing of the past!
Most states have laws that require places that serve food to have free public toilets, so that alone must have made the market fall out from under the pay toilet. I do remember the horrors of gas station restrooms, though. Haven't been in one for maybe 35-40 years. McDonald's is cleaner.
Oh, I definitely bat an eyelash about the gaps in the toilet stalls. Born and raised in America, lived here all my 35 years, and I still think it's _super_ bizarre and uncomfortable, like my privacy is being invaded. I *do not* use public restrooms for that very reason unless it is an absolute emergency, like there's no way I can hold it, and even in those cases, I try my very best to find a restroom that is a single-occupancy bathroom, where I can lock the door and do my business with some privacy.
Just keep in mind that a lot of those single-occupancy bathrooms are the only choice for wheelchair users
I was similar when I was young. Then I spent eight years in the military. Some of the facilities we had to utilize numbed that feeling into non-existance. Now, when I "gotta' go" I go, no qualms. Unless it is disgustingly filthy, then that is a no go, unless it is going to happen anyway...
@@JoKeR93007 yeah, sometimes you got to go when you got to go LOL! Sure, the Privacy aspect is important but, cleanliness is Next to Godliness, and this fella ain't sitting on a dirty toilet,period!
Wow having lived in England as a lad I have no idea what you are talking about. Shoes were worn inside, maybe it was poorer in the 1960s then but I get Brit culture shock watching this. Folks would have frozen. This like 1990s continental
I grew up being able to watch Canadian TV and learn about some of these differences like the dates, boxing day, colour vs color, Canadian Thanksgiving (in October) and Canada (independence?) Day.
I’ve learned to enjoy the Canadian ballet. Interesting culture up there.
LOL When I first heard about Boxing Day, I thought it was about real boxing-the sport. Could not figure out why Britain would devote an entire day to that sport and what the connection to Christmas was I could not guess. As for shoes off at the door it has always been a regular thing. How many gatherings I recall meant traversing over a pile of shoes/boots at the front door. Even in summer I may take off my shoes. Personally, I don't wear my outside shoes inside very often.
Honestly, I thought taking your shoes off was just a Japanese/ Asian thing. Maybe that's because I can't recall ever seeing people taking their shoes off in tv or movies that take place in Great Britain or Europe, but it is very common to see if it takes place in Japan. That being said, I have never been to a relative's, friend's or stranger's house where it was even hinted at taking my shoes off. As far as wearing shoes at home, I rarely do because I work from home and the only time I usually leave is on the weekend. I wear socks most of the time but will wear house shoes during the winter. If I leave and come back, I'll keep my shoes on if I know I'm going to leave again. Otherwise, I'll take them off.
Besides commercials for medications, we also have an overabundance of ads for law firms and car dealerships. I want to put my fist through the wall every time I hear the words "Camp Lejeune." All three are extremely annoying and make me never to want to take any medicine, hire an attorney or buy a car.
OOOOh Laurence! Hey, this was a good one! (not that the others are not, they are all!) The drug ads are relatively new for us, as well. And we are sick of them, too! We can only hope this evolves.
I love the Beesleys and I also love Mr H and Friends! I subscribe to both channels. I watched Laurence's collab with Mr H and friends as well! Fantastic! I love collabs especially good ones like these!
Having been born in Japan, I'm accustomed to taking shoes off when entering a home. I live in California, where it's not uncommon for urban folks to ask guests to remove their shoes (retaining socks) on entering their home... but it's not a predominant practice - particularly in rural or inland communities.
Regarding bathroom stalls - we're seeing an increase in the number of genderless restrooms (at least in Northern California) - and in those situations, we're seeing the use of gap-less stalls. Otherwise gaps in the door and the space under the door is the norm in the US. I believe he gap on the door is due to inexpensive construction. I believe the space under the door is to facilitate cleaning/mopping.
This was fun! I was told the big gap at the bottom of the stall in public restrooms, is in case someone has a medical emergency. If the door goes all the way down and they have collapsed in the floor, it’s impossible to get the door open from the outside in the tiny space. With the gap there, they can pull the unconscious person under the door.🐝🤗❤️
Given the size of Americans the gap would need to be about three feet.
@@sandersson2813 Not funny☹️. Also note that being overweight is a global issue. Let’s stop bashing Americans.
@@sandersson2813 That was hateful. Do you feel proud of yourself? Sadly, you probably do.
@@deborahdanhauer8525 It's just a joke feeding into the American stereotype for fuck sake.
Why is it everyone else in the world can be self deprecating but Americans can't laugh at themselves?
@@sandersson2813 It’s become a sport to hate on Americans. And when we take exception to that, we are accused of being too sensitive, or not being able to take a joke. If you’re an American, being hated on stopped being funny many years ago.
9:20 Prior to the 20th century, both the United States and the United Kingdom utilized the same date format, which was derived from the United Kingdom. However, the United Kingdom decided to change its format in order to align with other European countries, while the United States had no pressing reason to make the switch. That being said, I can see how using the format of day-month-year makes more logical sense.
I grew up in Oregon where we don't take our shoes off in the house. I've lived in California, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Washington state, where they don't take their shoes off. But I've also lived in Chicago and Alaska, where they do take their shoes off. The more snow there is in a region, it seems they're more likely to take shoes off, but in most of America they don't.
I had to turn on subtitles for them and that was great! For some reason, Laurence also became harder to understand while watching the whole conversation...So funny!
You don't understand English? 🤔
I agree. I've tried watching the Beesley's channel, but he is unintelligible.
@@chrisjohnson1599 Americans speak English. These people speak Britishese.
@@tooaskew2558 Yep. I have no clue what he is saying 75% of the time.
My wife's southern. After she has been on the phone to her family, I can hardly understand her.
When I was growing up all Department Stores had pay toilet stalls. It was 10 cents. There was a little thing that unlocked the handle. The law was they had to provide 1 free stall & the line for that 1 stall was very long. I feel like pay stalls began to disappear in the 1980s and now they're gone completely.
Yes, I remember them like I remember phone booths.
I encountered a pay toilet only once in the 70s. I was shocked. I was only a child and I passed on using it.
I remember phone booths. They were often badly maintained, vandalized and extremely dirty here. They often had graffiti, broken windows and mystery smudges everywhere. By the 80s phone booths were rare but we still had pay phones. They were better because they had air flow.
What a fun collab! Nice to see the people I'm subbed to are aware of each other.
Also we've always worn shoes at home in my families. I wouldn't sat its on purpose. Sometimes you don't plan on staying there more than a couple hours, or you forget, etc.
Also if I ever have company, one of the first things I do is put on shoes. Feels way too personal and weird to not being wearing shoes while entertaining guests.
As an American I am used to the bathroom stall gaps, but I absolutely HATE them! Some are worse than others.
Used this for a school project. Thanks Larence!