Do your shoelaces keep coming untied?

Years ago, when I was a teenager, my Father noticed that I was tying my shoelaces wrong. He said that if I tied the first knot the other way that the laces would lie across the shoe instead of lengthwise.

It was humbling to know I'd been doing it wrong all these years.

I was too stubborn and proud to change my ways. I didn't care if the shoelaces were a little crooked. I would rather go around with crooked shoelaces than admit I was wrong. Besides, I wasn't going to admit I was doing something wrong that most kindergarten students have already mastered. It was working for me, or so I thought.

Little did I know that there's a strong form and a weak form of the knot. I just figured that it was the shoelaces on certain shoes that made them come untied so often. Several times a day I would have to stop and re-tie my shoes. I should have had listened to my older, wiser, and more experienced father. I don't know why that memory stuck with me, but I'm glad it did.

There are many videos on the internet showing that the incorrect form of the knot goes lengthwise, but it can still be unclear if you're doing it wrong. Here's my suggestion on how to tell if you're tying the strong or weak form of the standard shoelace knot.

Pull the loops out - not like you're untying your shoes - more like you're trying to cause trouble.

Then you're left with that dreaded double knot that takes several more seconds to undo so you can get your shoes off. Examine this knot. If it's a square knot, you're tying your shoes correctly. If it's a granny knot, then you're doing it wrong.

The granny knot is not symmetrical. You're doing it wrong!

The square knot is symmetrical. Congratulations, you're doing it correctly!

One TED video explains that the way to fix it is to simply go the other way around the loop. Hmm. That muscle memory is really hard to re-learn. You can get the same results by changing the direction of the first knot. I think that's much easier.

Correctly tied shoelaces

I told my mom that I was tying my shoes incorrectly. She was shocked. "Who told you that? I was the one who taught you how to tie your shoes!", she responded incredulously.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Ian for the neat new way to tie the same knot.