Why are there half sizes for shoes?

In response to last week’s question, "Why are there half sizes for shoes?," my temple friend Richard explained, "Sizing of shoes and wits are the same, which is why there are so many half-wits. Obviously feet grow and wits decrease on an incremental basis.:

My dad's beach buddy Bob observed, "Because there are men and women who are not necessarily 'full bodied,' " to which my collaboration friend Paul concurred, "I’ve always assumed this is b/c women don’t want to buy shoes w/2-digit sizes. 'My feet aren’t THAT big.' "   This was confirmed when my friend Tracey replied, "As someone who wears an 8.5... an 8 is too snug and a 9 is too loose."  Then my cousin Dave added, "I wear a 9 1/2 shoe to go with my 15 1/2 shirt collar."

My PR friend Stan shared, "There are no half-sizes. '9-1/2' is a size that’s somewhere between 9 and 10. You would only have a half-size if you only needed half a shoe. In that case, the 9-1/2 would be 4-3/4. Personally, it would offend my bad sense of fashion, and I’d take a full-size shoe, 9-1/2 and find some filler material for the rest of it. Then, I’d go watch a cigar box – or let Prince Albert out of the can."

My DISH friend Mark reminded us, "If the shoe doesn’t fit…" as my equestrian friend Royce wrote, "Ya know...I was discussing that at breakfast this morning with the guys at Bennies."

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' “:

How do you pronounce  [#@%*^$%# ?

Life  is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.   

Hal

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.  Stop by NicheLabs to see what else I'm up to.