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In Thailand it goes without saying you will remove your footwear when entering someones house. In my part of Isaan you also remove them when visiting the Doctor (except at the hospital), Dentist and various other places.

The lamestream media has been negligent not reporting how many people have been financially harmed doing business with him.

Would you take a check from Trump? Would you let him watch your kids? Would you leave your daughters or wife in his proximity? Would you trust him to pay you for your work? Would you remain loyal even as his bus is running over your legs? Would you even trust him to maintain his political positions? If you can't trust him in these things--why would you give him the country?

Just out of curiosity, for those who come from countries where it's common to ask guests to take off their shoes--would it be fair to assume that no people who make such requests have outdoor pets, such as dogs? Otherwise it seems beyond silly.

Spurred by a recent New York Times article, I was happy to find that these stories of birth order personalities have been found to be a myth, when examined scientifically and objectively: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615000525 https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1506451112 "...Most important, however, we consistently found no birth-order effects on extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, or imagination. On the basis of the high statistical power and the consistent results across samples and analytical designs, we must conclude that birth order does not have a lasting effect on broad personality traits outside of the intellectual domain...". I guess they should have written "Most importantLY," since it's modifying "found." However, it has been shown that the odds for a man to be gay increases with the number of older brothers he has...

Well, had the old lady slipped and fell, she might have fractured her hip (or wrist or other bones). I would further opine that if one lives in a country/location where it's not customary to ask people to take their shoes off, it's the host who should probably offer shoe covers (or slippers). I certainly understand the problem of slosh/salt/mud in colder climates as a legitimate concern. I just learned that they even have automatic shoe cover dispensers. They would sound pretty practical in those colder climates:

We can but hope!

Would mess up the stamp collection!

Not just the normal reaction to being downgraded?

'Four hotels vinapu', sounds good, though some concern about the French and Dutch negotiators being abandoned!

And it's a fair point about stepping on something, a piece of overlooked glass, etc! Still, I keep my lounge free of that sort of hazard, I hope!

Just made the point about overshoe covers.

Me too, same reason. But if its a very dry day, sometimes I relent. I do usually ask tradespeople to remove shoes, as they sometimes have boots, and the good ones have plastic wrapovers they put on. They have a pair in their pockets, and put them on without being asked. If a guest said they had issues, such as has been mentioned, then I would tell them to keep shoes on, and ask them to stay in the kitchen (only joking!).

I know an elderly woman here in Ireland (where such requests would not generally be expected) who went to visit some neighbours who had recently moved in with a young family. They had such a policy as they had either hardwood floors or beige carpet on their floors. The elderly woman and her husband had been invited in for supper, late evening after the kids are gone to bed.They were slightly taken back to be requested to remove their footwear, but they agreed to do because as the woman later said, the floors looked spotless. Unfortunately though, one of the kids had left a piece of Lego on the ground in the bathroom, and the old lady stepped on it while on a visit to the toilet! I am not sure if she told a couple about it, but she bitched pretty vociferously to a lot of other neighbours afterwards, which is why I’m aware of it. On the question in general, I think I remember a letter in the “Dear Mary” section of the (London) Spectator magazine in relation to this question. This is a section in the magazine that deals with etiquette problems and moral dilemmas. The viewpoint of the person answering the queries can sometimes be a bit strange. Anyway, in this case she advised buying a set of disposable surgical over-shoe covers that they use in Hospital and keeping them in your pocket, and whisking them out when faced with such requests. That way, you wouldn’t have to take off your footwear, but any dirt that does come outside on your shoe wouldn’t get on the floors. Not sure how to hosts would react to that..

No, it's not the case in which the US stubbornly refuses to use the metric system, uses mm/dd/yy, or lists prices which have little to do with what one actually has to pay. In reading up on the custom, it seems it's customary mainly in Asia and in places where it actually makes sense: in cold climates such as Canada, Nordic countries, and the Baltics, where the snow/slush/mud would actually make cleaning the house very difficult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradition_of_removing_shoes_in_the_home_and_houses_of_worship "...In Northern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltics, it is considered unhygienic and rude by most to keep one's shoes on when entering a house, in particular boots or outdoor walking shoes. There may be exceptions, especially when it is a short visit where it is not necessary to enter the interior rooms of the house or flat. For the most part though, shoes are taken off — in part due to the harsh winter weather... In Canada, households do not wear shoes in the home. In general it is expected that a guest would remove their shoes on entering a home unless the host states otherwise. In addition to residential homes, the removal of shoes also occurs in other settings, particularly during the winter; as footwear worn outside may be wet from snow and soiled by the associated salt/sand that is used to clear roads of snow cover. As a result, many schools in Canada require students to bring with them or leave behind a pair of "indoor shoes" at the school for indoor wear during the winter months. Similarly in office settings, employees will usually wear indoor shoes in the winter...".

Same for me.

The guys "near 7/11" told me

Ha, ha... good point. Is leaving shoes on more the norm around the world? Could this be one of the rare occasions when Americans are oblivious to how out of step they are with most of the world. And I'm saying this as a Canadian who often forgets to take my shoes off and doesn't notice the typically passive aggressive Canadian hints that I'm annoying my host.

not that it's not true but I wonder how do you know? When we were neighbors in Quarter Silom and you pay visit to my room I can't recall any undressing part and it was before my first goin of thee day Truth to be told I don't insist on guest taking off everything, quite opposite , I rather remove their clothes myself. After all it's me who invited them so need to be nice to my guests, no?

Interesting, but when in Bangkok you insist on guests taking off everything Is your stamp collection that sensitive to dust?