The Art of Tying Shoe Laces

The very action of running—and also, I’d imagine, skipping, dancing, climbing up on the kitchen counter when you’re not supposed to, sprinting through the library after being told not to, hurtling yourself over the guardrail at Glacier Point—creates enough force on shoelaces to make that sweet little bow you tied fall apart, sometimes in a matter of seconds.

Last year, researchers filmed a colleague’s shoes as the shoes were put through their paces on a treadmill. During the run, the shoe hits the ground with seven times the force of gravity, and that force stretches and relaxes the knot, which can begin to wiggle free. As the foot swings to recover and take the next step, the shoelaces whip around, creating inertial forces on the lace. Combined with the loosening knot, the laces fly free. Watching the movements in slow motion, the researchers found that this can all happen in two strides.

With shoes, there is a way to tie a single knot that makes it less likely to fail. The reef knot, or square knot, holds laces more securely than the granny knot. 

From “Loose Ends” by Cameron Walker on The Last Word on Nothing; Photo by Dan Chung

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