Why Did Dutch People Wear Wooden Shoes?  Sunday, August 15th,
2010  Nowadays wooden clogs are largely sold in the Netherlands
as tourist souvenirs, but have you ever wondered why someone
would intentionally want to walk around in shoes that could give
you a splinter?  The answer goes back to the country’s name,
Neterlands roughly translates into “low lands,” which describes
most of the terrain in the area. Because the country is filled
with so many low lands, the ground was largely boggy and wet and
leather shoes would become easily ruined and could not
adequately protect the wearer’s feet from becoming damp. Wooden
shoes on the other, were sturdy, could survive the muck and were
better at keeping feet dry.  These days they are considered good
safety shoes as they are difficult to crush or penetrate.
They’re also good for kicking butt, as you can tell from this
great Jackie Chan clip.