Welcome to the common condition known as Morton's Toe. It's actually considered "abnormal" despite being, as you've noted, very common.

I have it, my wife doesn't.

A quick check confirms that I am not apparently in that category. The two toes appear to be about the same, actually.

Ahhh yup

I don't care how comfortable they are, those things (the toe shoes) look absolutely godawfulhorrible.

Barefoot Runners or In defense of the 'Toe Shoes'
While I have not owned a pair of these shoes I've done some research about them and the people they're designed for.

For those who are interested in being only slightly more protected then barefoot you can get the thinner style that are essentially 'water or boat' shoes (the ones Dan was referring to). But for someone looking for a more rugged version there are these:



There is a small, but determined group of people doing research and living the life style of 'barefoot' which includes not only daily home/work life but also activities such as running. Research has suggested that the wearing of shoes, even very well designed and properly fitted shoes causes many problem included but not limited to back, knees, hips, ankle, and obvious foot problems.

A great book/audiobook (and I'm not a runner) is Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
Along with the then newly released Fivefinger shoes are a native people who use discarded car tires to craft thin but very functional sandals worn by people who are able to run for days at a time, something that evolution has made the human body more suited to then sitting, standing or even walking.

Ancient cultures tended to look at shoes as a politeness or civility sort of thing. It was a status symbol that set a city dweller apart from a country bumpkin. At the same time, it was pretty standard to take off the shoes as soon as you had to do something important (like run a message). Even the ancients knew that shoes were for effete snobs that didn't actually have to do anything with life.

Okay, so as the guy who runs the @SavingTheGame Twitter account (for our podcast!), I feel like I should offer some reassuring words to Pat.

Pat, that particular tweet was only a thank-you for the invaluable podcasting advice Dan and Chad gave us through various PMs, emails, chats, etc., and was in no way praise for Dan's and Chad's excellent work on the preceding two or three episodes. Honest!

I think I like our take better and choose to believe that!

Golden Gryphon (a listener/lurker here on the forums, whom I met at FTC4) came to my show last night in Janesville, WI. He was wearing these, and made sure to point it out:

Lies I say! With 70+ posts I'm more than a lurker, the toe shoe part is totaly true.

Mikey Mason show $10
Round trip gas to get behind the Cheddar Curtain $35
Food and lots of drinks for two $75
Seeing Mikeys face light up and hear him say "My day just got a whole lot better" Priceless