It's a Conspiracy AND a Paranormal experience!

[FCD]

Okay, this one takes the "Bizarro" cake, but maybe someone can explain it.

I have big feet, like BIG. FEET!  I wear a size 15 shoe.  Living on a ranch, a fella needs mud boots (basically rubber boots), and my trusty pair of older boots have developed some leaks.  Leaky rubber boots defeat the purpose of rubber boots, but I digress.  Now, I'm going to tell this tale in the context of this pair of mud boots, but please be aware this is not the first time I have experienced the phenomenon I am about to describe with other types of shoes and boots.  AND...it really IS kind of a mystery...as well as a conspiracy...I swear!

Okay, for those without big feet, just know that finding shoes and boots larger than US size 14 can be very difficult (like very).  So, my wonderful bride managed to find a pair of BOGS brand boots in size 15-D and purchased them for my B'-day.  No matter what I tried, they were just too small and too tight.  I could get them on (barely), but getting them off took two men and a small boy.  Plus, they just weren't comfortable.  Okay, so this happens sometimes with shoes; happens to everyone, no biggie.  Only problem was, 15 was the largest size they had in these boots.

Then I managed to find a seller online who specializes in XXXL shoes and boots.  To my surprise, they had some pairs of same BOGS brand boots going all the way up to size 20!  Wow!  Cool!  So, I ordered a pair of size 17-D boots (two sizes up.  Yes, the other boots were that tight!).  The boots arrived today.  I tried them on and they fit like a dream.  YAY!!  Now, ordinarily the story would end right here, but there's more...

I decided to go over to the new size 15 boots my wife had bought me and compare them.  (Queue Twilight Zone music here)  When I put my new size 17 boots up next to the size 15 boots (both BOGS brand), the new boots are actually SHORTER than the size 15 boots!  Seriously!  Like a whole inch shorter.  At first I thought I was seeing things; how could this be?  So, I put the heel of both boots up against the wall and compared the length to the toe.  No way to mistake the results now!  The size 17 boots are fully 1+ inches shorter than the size 15 boots.  And again, I can't even get my feet inside the size 15's, but they slide right into the shorter "size 17's" (from the same manufacturer).  Neither of these boots is insulated, so it's not an insulation thickness issue.  But something is going on, because this makes no sense.

Next, we come to the conspiracy side of things.  I know my wife has often complained that women's marked clothing and shoe sizes are all over the place in terms of their actual sizes.  Guys don't normally have this problem, but shoe and boot sizes definitely do vary based on manufacturers; this much I know.  So, as I noted above, this sizing issue isn't the first time something like this has happened.  About a year ago I went to get fitted for some custom insoles for my shoes and boots.  I had the guys measure my feet with the foot measuring thing (it's called a Branock device), and it measures both the length and width of feet.  Okay, so here's were it gets REALLY WEIRD!!...

The shoe professional tells me my size is officially a size 13-D.  Allow me to repeat...a THIRTEEN and a "D" width.  No possible way!  I told him to go find any size 13 shoe and let's see if it fits.  He did, and no way was a a 13 anywhere close to fitting on my foot!  WTF???  I told him to get a 14-EEE, and that barely fit, but I was jammed into the end.  Then I told him to go get my actual size, size "15" and let's try that.  The guy refused to do it; he was literally arguing with me, telling me there was no way my foot was a size 15.  Finally I got kind of pissed and told him to get a size 15, or else I was gonna' leave the joint.  He goes and gets a size 15-E; low and behold...it fits perfectly, just like I said it would.  He's dumbfounded, says he's never seen anything like that.  I don't have any explanation either, other than it's a fucking conspiracy with shoe manufacturers. 

Okay, if you've read this far; congratulations!  Now you understand my paranormal experience AND the conspiracy.  But there's one part I still don't get.  How could the physical size of a shoe labeled as "size 15" be too short and too tight, but a physically SHORTER shoe labeled as "size 17" fit fine with plenty of room to spare?????  That makes zero sense to me at all!

Any ideas ideas or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated!!

Thx.

edit - There's actually more to the conspiracy side of this story, but rather than type this out now I'll see if anyone has any ideas or comments before I go on.  Hint: it gets even weirder!

[FCD]

Continuing on...

I actually believe this issue has something to do with the width of shoes, and I think manufacturers know this.  Because I have big feet, I have done a fair amount of research into buying shoes.  I've seen several instances where people have said that some manufacturers sell the same physical size shoe as two different sizes (i.e the physical shoe size stays the same, but it will sell as both a size 13 AND a size 14).  The difference between the two is the width.  In the example, the width of the size 14 will be wider than the size 13 shoe, even though they are both the exact same physical length.  This kinda' makes me mad.  Why?  Because size is "length" and width is "width".  Why not sell the correct length in different widths, rather than calling it a different size???  Makes no sense, but clearly there's a difference.

There must be some marketing angle to this, or something.

But I have absolutely NO explanation for why my foot measures as a "Size 13-D", and yet the proper sized boot or shoe, regardless of manufacturer, is NEVER smaller than Size 15, and can be as large as (4) full sizes larger, size 17.  No matter what, there's something wrong with this!  And, I'm not talking about cheap shoes here either.  For decades I have always maintained that your feet are like tires on your car; your life depends on them so spend good money to get the best and you'll never regret it.  Shoes and boots are no different, they're just tires for your feet.

Anyway, now you know...the REST of the story!

P.S. - Just on a lark, I compared the width of the size 17 boots to the size 15 boots my wife bought me.  They're definitely wider than the size 15 boots, like a lot wider.  I dunno; the mystery continues.

[Ksihkehe]

Yeah, they definitely messed with sizes and it started a decade or more back. I used to have some trouble with 13 being too large and 12 being too small, so I eventually discovered wides that would fit with 12EEEE or whatever the widest size was readily available.

Then it all changed and the ball of the foot became more narrow... and then they stopped covering wides. New Balance was great, but no more.

I ordered from Zappos a couple times because they had large sizes and you can send them back if they don't fit (or used to be able to), but I no longer go through shoes like I used to. I was just a hair under 6'4" (I'm shrinking and am now closer to a couple hairs short of 6'3") and when I was younger and could always find shoes, but I don't even know where I could go to find them in person now. I looked like 2 and half hours away a couple years ago and still wasn't sure I could find a reasonable light sneaker or hiking boot that would fit.

Even my last 12 wide blew out on the ball of the foot on the outside, and separated from the sole. I know feet often spread a bit with age, but I talked to few different people during my quest and they confirmed there were changes. I figured my feet had changed and they surely have, but there was something on the manufacturing end.

I don't know what your experience has been with clothes, but I also used to be able to get shirts and pants at a regular department or box stores, but those sizes have disappeared unless you want shit with flags and wolves on them or whatever crap they sell at Walmart. Sometimes 2XL is fine for me, sometimes a 2XL tall is way too long, sometimes the regular is way short. I fortunately can order pocket T's from Hanes or Fruit of the Loom brand at 2XLT and be pretty safe. A 2XL shorts or pants are fine, but once you get into anything fancy or upscale casual you have no idea what you're getting into. The 3xl+ sizes are a real crap shoot. I have old 6XLT that are essentially big enough to be a dress, so I layer with them when cooler weather hits. Fitted pants are not a lot of fun for me either. These people need to understand what it's like crunching a large body into tiny furniture and accommodations, folding yourself in half and scrunching up all the time. The clothes need room.

I read an article a while back how future humans being smaller would decrease the carbon footprint we have. I think they posited gene editing... they're coming for us. First it was the airplane seats, they cut us out of shoes, and they're gunning for high energy density foods like meat. The want us on the ground, barefoot, and eating 20 pounds of foliage a day.

I'm low maintenance with clothing though and I like simplicity, so it's mostly only a minor annoyance.

[FCD]

Future humans being smaller is a fantasy of the left; they're all tiny, and they think the future is like them.  It's not!

The facts are, humans are actually getting bigger, and taller.  The Airlines would love to have society believe making seats smaller and tighter is where people are headed.  They're wrong.  Period!  Statistics show people are now larger than ever, taller than ever.  Companies deny this...as they throw millions of inventory in the trash, but don't sell millions of orders of larger feet, and larger shirts, etc.

If you really want to seen an example, just look at pants.  I wear a 36" inseam.  Just (try) to go find a place which sells a 36" inseam!!!  They don't exist.  Tall people are not allowed.  Tall people exist, but they're not allowed in the tiny, shriveled up, ninny society.  Big strapping men and women are simply not allowed in society today, despite there being more and more of them, us around!

I am an aviator, and I used to love flying.  I've traveled all over the World, multiple times.  Now, air travel is the most miserable experience I can even think of, and I avoid it at all costs.  AND...I work in the industry.  THAT is sad, and THAT, is a statement about just how miserable it is!

You WILL squeeze your ass into that seat, and you WILL cram your bag under the "seat in front of you" (because some other jackass 10 rows back shoved his backpack and suitcase in the overhead bin above you).  And, you WILL sit down and like it.  AND, if you don't, then we WILL put you your non-compliant ass on a "NO-FLY" list!  Period!

Lovely, isn't it?  Far from the days of..."Let's all dress up because we're taking an airplane, wow, how incredible!"

Now, it's more like.."Fuckin' bastage is sitting in my seat; Fuck you, this whole airline sucks and so does everyone on this plane!  Prove me wrong, mutha' fuckers!!"

I hate flying now.  Just 18 years ago I used to fly every day.  Every single day.  On commercial airlines.  I'd often fly twice a day, out and back; leave in the morning and come back in the evening.  Seriously.

I'd quit today, before I ever signed up to do that again!  Seriously!  I'd quit.

[Ksihkehe]

You're a leggy dude. You got me by 4-6 inches on that inseam last I recall buying pants. The one pair of jeans I have are so old the tags are either gone or blank. I think they're 30, but they're a little long on me and might be 32. I don't even have a pair of business casual pants. I have cotton "work" pants that are essentially fancy sweat pants and a pair of jeans I wear like 8 times a year.

Within two months I'll be running around in cotton shorts and not much else, much of the time. I'm not really looking forward to the intense heat 4 months from now, but I'm ready for the warm weather that leads up to it.