barnson.org Half-baked opinions, served lukewarm.

To skip ahead to what I've figured out is the best knot on the planet, go to the bottom of this blog entry.

On the bus, we had a discussion of how to properly tie a shoe. I've had problems with my shoes coming untied my whole life, and just assumed it would always be that way. Since I was about six I've double-knotted them to keep them from coming untied unexpectedly, and that's worked great for the last twenty-three years.

Richard, my neighbor, noticed the double knot, and commented that the reason they were coming untied was that I was tying them wrong. He said this vital information came to him from a former Math major at the University of Utah, who in turn had claimed that was the most important piece of information he'd learned in college. The way Richard explained it, I was simply crossing the laces backwards in the very first step of making the knot.

Try out this much better explanation of the difference in knots, and how to keep your shoelaces from coming untied at all the worst times. This is definitely one of the most important pieces of information you'll use in your life if you wear lace-up shoes. However, if you read to the end, you'll find that properly tying your shoes in a square not is not the best way to keep them from coming untied! The ultimate solution is probably cowboy boots or loafers, but until then, the Freedom Knot link at the bottom of this page comes pretty close to the perfect knot.

Do you think you know all there is to know about lacing up shoes? Then check out the mathematical proof for the most efficient lace-up patterns. Spoiler: Turns out man has already selected the strongest patterns through trial and error.

And in case you really want to build the better bow, try this shoe-tying link.

Update 9 May 2003:
Since I wrote this page, I've come across several more useful shoe-tying links. Since this seems to be the only page on my blog people come for, here is the link list!

• Zen Elightenment and the Art of Tying Your Shoes. Warning! Pop-ups! My take: I don't entirely get Zen, but if you're into it, now there's a Zen reason for you to appreciate shoe-tying more.
• Shoe-tying poetry and stories. No, I'm not kidding. These are mostly poems and stories to remind you of the steps to tying your shoes.
• Understanding Robotic difficulty tying shoes. Yep, it's hard for robots, too, and this page will help you understand why.
• The Freedom Knot. Now THIS is the best shoe-tying knot I've ever found. Period. This knot does not come undone!. No lie, no joke. This is a 7-step, amazing knot. Click the little feet images to get the step-by-step procedure. It looks confusing at first, and it's really hard to do if your laces are too short, but man it rocks. This beats the "Build a Better Bow" knot because it is easier to do, particularly for small fingers, and it's easy to remember which lace to pull -- you just pull them both!

Unfortunately, I don't have any links yet for one-armed shoe-tyers. I'm still looking for the perfect one-handed shoe bow. If you have suggestions, mail me at matthew at barnson dot org.

EDIT by matthew: Since the day I posted this on May 5, 2003, I finally received several links to one-handed shoe-tying information. The best one I've found is Jenny Stemack's Guide to One-Armed Shoe-Tying (scroll to the bottom; she includes directions both for one-handed and one-armed shoe-tying). It's really quite excellent, and based on the number of requests I've received via this site for one-armed shoe-tying information, will probably be helpful for those of us who find ourselves temporarily or permanently one-handed.