Is it true that it is customary to walk at home in street shoes in the United States?

In many American films and TV shows, the heroes go home and sometimes even lie down on the bed without exhausting. We decided to check whether the Americans really are customary to take off their shoes at the entrance to the house.

Scenes where heroes walk at home in boots or sneakers can be seen in many popular American series, for example, in “Friends","The theory of a large explosion"(And one of the main characters, panickically afraid of various infections, does not bother at all)," "Enchanted"And many others. This phenomenon is widely discussed on the Russian -speaking Internet. Articles about whether the habit shown in the cinema corresponds in reality and if so, why, you can Meet On various thematic Portalsdedicated Tourism or life In the USA, on entertainment sites, in the glossy magazines And publications About the lifestyle, on resources questions and answers. Users write about this Blogs on "Zen" And "Pulse". 

In Russia and many other countries, going home in street shoes seems to be something amazing and even indecent, but the American magazine Smithsonian, produced by the Smithsonian Institute, published in 2014 in 2014 video “Why do many Americans of Indian origin take off their shoes before entering the house?” Apparently, for some US residents, such behavior is unusual and requires some clarification.

In fact, for the Americans, the question of whether to remove shoes at the entrance to the dwelling is a debate. So, in article The New York Times 2019 provides arguments for different scientists for or against walking a house in street shoes. The authors do not come to an unambiguous conclusion, noting that it is better to remove the shoes if the house has small children crawling on the floor, or people suffering from allergies, as well as if the owner of the house where you came, asked for this.

On the popular English -speaking platform Reddit in 2022, one of the users set question: “Where are you from and do you take off your shoes at home?” He himself lived in New York and was a supporter of getting off, and the same series where people walked in their shoes in childhood shocked him. Most of the commentators from different parts of America also adhered to the rules for filming shoes, shoes or sneakers, going home, although there were those who wore street shoes at home or lived with someone who did this. Of course, this is not a representative sample, but such discussions once again prove that there is no consensus in American society about this.

In The Wall Street Journal, one of the most authoritative publications in the USA, in 2022 was released column The fact that asking guests to take off at the entrance is almost offensive. The author lists the reasons why she would take off his shoes in response to such a request: the cultural or religious features of the owners, as well as if her shoes are covered with snow, blood, excrement, dangerous biomedical waste, etc. Otherwise, wipe her legs on the rug, in her opinion, enough.

Soon after the publication in The Wall Street Journal, the Yougov International Research Company conducted survey Among the inhabitants of the United States - whether it is worth coming to visit shoes. 55% of the respondents replied that it was worth acting as the owner says (which is funny, to the “reverse” question - whether it was worth demanding from guests to take off - 59% of respondents replied that they would be allowed to do as they are more convenient). The remaining 45% of the respondents were divided equally: half would prefer not to take off their shoes at a party, half - to take off. At the same time, being in the place of the owners, 24% of the Americans would like their guests to leave street shoes at the entrance, while 17% would prefer to see guests shod.

Three months later, a local television channel in Detroit, Michigan, spent survey Among their spectators about how they do with street shoes. It turned out that 64% of respondents always take off their shoes, going to their home, 21% sometimes do it and only 15% go to the housing in shoes. When it comes to guests, the results are somewhat different: 48% of respondents say that they do not ask them to take off their ways at the entrance, 27% are asked sometimes, and 26% always do it.

Average annual level precipitation in many states of the United States - 25-30 inches (approximately 630–760 mm), which is comparable, for example, with Moscow (In the Russian capital, an average of 669 mm of precipitation falls over a year). It would be logical to assume that the amount of dirt on the streets should be comparable. Moreover, on YouTube you can find some experimentsIn the framework of which people walk along the roads in different American cities barefoot in white socks - and visually they remain as clean as they were before. Although they can only be clean in appearance, how many bacteria actually on them remains a mystery. In 2008 research Charles microbiologist Carles, professors of the University of Arizona, ten participants received new shoes and wore it for two weeks, and then their socks and boots themselves were studied for bacteria. Outside of shoes, on average, 421,000 bacteria were found compared to 2900 inside. On sneakers and shoes, they also found an intestinal stick, a source of urinary tract infections and diarrhea, as well as other bacteria that cause pneumonia and respiratory tract infections. So visually clean shoes do not always mean the absence of microbes.

Scientists from the University of Alaska, who held in 2009, also came to the same conclusion studywhere they studied the mechanisms of the transfer of E. coli and fecal bacteria in the rural area of ​​this state. They found that these microorganisms fall on flooring, including through street shoes, that is, even in this state, where, like in many regions of Russia, snow often falls out, still getting off with the entrance to the house - not a generally accepted practice.

According to the global survey of consumers conducted in 2022, Statista, which specializes in market statistical data, is 76% of Americans Used For trips to work a car. In 2017, the US Department of Transport cited the data that 87% of any trips are residents of the country commit By personal transport, which also reduces the potential level of shoe pollution - at least visually noticeable. So the much more common habit in America not to take off in residential premises has a rational explanation.

Moreover, this practice is widespread not only in the USA. For example, the manufacturer of Deichmann shoes in 2021 Spent In the UK, a number of polls found out that from 13% to 31% of residents of the United Kingdom (depending on the region) usually go at home in street shoes, and from 21% to 31% do this from time to time. In the same year, the project of the Australian television channel ABC Australia Talks held a national survey And he found out that 74% of the Australians of non -European origin prefer that their guests take off their shoes, while among European immigrants and their descendants only 21% voted for this option. In the same way, those who were born in Australia are much less common asked their guests take off their way than immigrants. So in this case, the matter is more likely in customs (both family and cultural) than in objective reasons like climate or purity of streets.

Thus, in the United States, the practice of walking a house in street shoes is much wider than, for example, in post -Soviet countries, so the characters of popular series that go home in boots are not just an artistic technique. Nevertheless, American society has not yet come to the common denominator on this issue, and the range of opinions is quite wide - so far some consider street shoes to be disgusting, others relate to the request to take off their guests as an insult.

Photo on the cover: the series "Theory of Big Bang" (2007–2019)

Half truth

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Is it true that in comedies we hear the sunsid laughter of long -dead people?
2. Is it true that in the USA they call American slides Russian hills?
3. Is it true that, due to the fight against racism in US schools, they now do not require the right solution to mathematics lessons?