Humans are bi-pedal animals who walk extensively over long distances. However our feet are soft and not well suited to the task. However dogs, monkeys, and other animals have paws that serve as shoes to protect the feet.

No other mammal has such unprotected - but we are known for walking the farthest distances / nomadic behavior. Is this a joke?

I want paw feet instead of shoes.

    • Plibbert@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I mean honestly this is the answer. I used to long board barefoot as a teenager and I also ran track. Often ran barefoot. By the time I was 16 I could walk on some glass without bleeding.

      • cashmaggot@piefed.social
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        1 month ago

        Yeah shoes were optional for a solid chunk of change of my lifetime and I used to have some real rough feet and damn do I miss them =P! How do you do nowadays? I am still pretty minimalist. I like the heel of my shoes to be as thin as I can take them. But hiking, when I use those minimalist shoes I keep torturing myself my poking a fat rock right into a nerve that sends pain rushing up my being =P! I don’t think I’ll ever have it like I used to.

        • Plibbert@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Lol yeah I’m pretty much the same. I try to keep slim shoes for everyday wear but I need boots for any rocky hiking. The only rough part left on my foot is my heel.

  • It’s just you. You’re weak, and soft, because you’ve been trained by society to wear shoes.

    There are many people who never wear shoes, and they have tough soles. From indigenous tribes, to modern Olympic athletes.

    That said, even your dog can step in sharps and hurt their feet; cuts, thorns, stabs - shoes provide protection that paws and tough soles do not; this is the main reason we wear footwear.

    If you’re interested in a more back-to-nature approach without giving up extra protection, there are dozens of companies that sell minimalist footwear - in essence, modern moccasins. Vibram is one such, but there are many more. Fitkicks is a cheap version (~$20). Look for “active” and “water shoes.”

    • Mobilityfuture@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Sorry - not true. This dog lives on the couch and has barely set foot outside.

      They come with paw feet naturally. I want that too, not to go harden my foot pads by walking on rocks and buying fancy nature shoes

  • FiskFisk33@startrek.website
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    1 month ago

    we use shoes, this keeps our feet from developing the callouses you see shoeless animals do.

    this is a modern human thing, not a genetic human trait.

  • 🐍🩶🐢@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    You have to walk… barefoot. My feet are messed up and I have some impressive callouses on the balls of my feet. They are a little better after surgery, but recovery sucked. Ultimately, your feet build up protection. Caking on mud probably helped. Animal skins, rudimentary sandals from various plants, and other natural resources could provide extra protection. Unfortunately, we have built an environment made for shoes and evolution is doing the rest. Walking on pavement is not great without shoes. Especially when it bakes. Walking on soil and grass feels a lot better.

    • JayTreeman@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      Walking on some surfaces is downright pleasurable. Dewy morning grass or a dry hard packed dirt trail for instance

  • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    Because we are primates, and none of our forest-dwelling ancestors had paws.

    Humans developed footwear before we started walking long distances. We didn’t evolve for it, we built tools that let us do things we couldn’t do before.

  • LordCrom@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Same reasons kittens have pink beans for toes. They get roughed up and don’t stay pink and cute

  • 𝕾𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖞 𝕿𝖚𝖓𝖆@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I’d argue it’s not always comfortable for them. Consider how hot black pavement can get on a summer day. I never make my dog walk across a parking lot when it’s been baking under a 100 degree sun. I carry him to a shaded area, at least.

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Developmentally, our hands and feet are modifications of the same underlying genetic template, so they’re going to have similar morphology.

  • yokonzo@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Your feet are not suited for long distance travel because you wear shoes, just walk around a bit without them, you’ll grow callouses