Why Your Shoes Come Untied

Why do your shoes laces keep untying themselves? It could be because you're out there running all the time, which vibrates your shoes until the knot loosens. Yeah, that's not the case for most of us. It could be because you're tying them wrong. We are supposed to use a reef knot, a term I'd never heard, essentially a square knot with loops for easy untying. Yet some people tie a granny knot, which doesn't hold well at all. There are other knots that people swear by, but you have to have the motivation to learn them. Kids' shoes come untied all the time because they are so active and inattentive, so I used to double tie my kids' shoes or use those plastic clips to keep the knot in place. 

My feet are small, so I buy shoes from the kids' section because they cost less. My current tennis shoes are tied, then have a velcro strap that closes right over the knot, so no worries. If you need some help keeping your shoes tied, astrophysicist Josie Peters has the science of shoelaces to help you out. (via Laughing Squid)