A superb question on your first date

Which Loop Do YOU Make First?  You heard me right. Which loop do you make first when tying your shoes?

Tying your shoes. It’s something most of us learned in kindergarten, perfected no later than elementary school, and now do without a second thought. It’s one of those automatic, muscle-memory tasks—like brushing your teeth or checking your phone first thing in the morning. 

But — again — here’s the real question:

When you tie your shoes, which loop do you make first? This is also an awesome first date question, as well, if you’re currently on the dating scene.

If you’re scratching your head, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Most of us don’t consciously think about it. But the answer says more about you than you might realize — or so we’re about to pretend for the sake of this very “important” discussion.

If you’re someone who ties their right loop first, congratulations—you’re probably part of the majority. Right-firsters argue it just feels natural, like writing with your dominant hand — assuming you’re right-handed, this is. There’s a certain logic to starting on the right side and letting the loop-crossing chaos naturally follow from there.

Then there’s the left-first crowd. Left-firsters are a smaller but passionate group. They’ll tell you their method is better balanced or that they learned it that way from their parents, who may or may not have been rebels. It’s not about convenience; it’s about principle.  And I’m part of this “leftist” group.

But does it really matter? Absolutely not. And yet… we’re still invested, aren’t we?  You’re still reading, right?

When you stop and think about how you tie your shoes, you realize something that’s perhaps unsettling: You’ve been doing it the same way unchecked for decades!

That one small, unchanging decision—the right loop or the left loop first—has stuck with you for life. And it says something about the human condition. Are we creatures of habit, stuck in our ways even for something as trivial as tying shoes? Or does the loop we make first reflect some deeper psychological truth? 

Maybe right-first people are pragmatic and focused, for example, while left-first people are creative and free-spirited. Maybe we’re completely overthinking this too.  Actually, we probably are.

In the words of Billie Mays, though, “But wait!  There’s more!”

Let’s not forget there are other techniques entirely. Some folks bypass the “loop, swoop, and pull” method altogether, opting for the “bunny ears” approach… essentially two loops tied into a knot. A rare few may even use unconventional hacks like “slip-on lacing,” eliminating the need to tie at all.

And let’s not ignore the untied-shoe brigade—those who confidently walk around with loose laces as if to say, “I’m above this.”  Yes, you are, Mr. Rapper Dude!

But for the rest of us, the ritual of shoe-tying remains, quietly splitting us into camps we didn’t even know existed.

So, Which Loop Do YOU Make First?  Does it even matter? Probably not. But in a world where small, silly debates bring us together, or separate us, this one might just start a conversation.