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A clog is a type of footwear traditionally worn by workers as protective clothing in factories, mines and farms.
There are various types of clog. Traditional clogs are shoes or sandals made predominantly out of wood, and are associated with the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Galicia,Lithuania and Sweden. They can also be a type of heavy boot or shoe with sides, uppers and typically thick wooden soles, and may have steel toecaps and/or steel reinforcing inserts in the undersides of the soles.
A clog can also be a special kind of shoe worn while clog-dancing (clogging). They are similar to tap shoes, but the taps are free to click against each other, therefore producing a different sound than tap shoes.
Nowadays, "clogs" also mean comfortable slip-on shoes. They are often made out of leather, but some clogs keep the bottom part out of wood. All-rubber clogs are often worn while gardening, because they can be easily hosed off and allowed to air-dry. Some clogs come with heels, and are usually distinguished from mules by their higher vamp. It is commonly accepted that men and women can wear low-heeled or high-heeled clogs.[citation needed]
Wooden shoes
Because of the long association of Dutch people, especially rural workers, and clogs, Dutch people are sometimes nicknamed cloggies or clog-wearers. The traditional all-wooden Dutch klompen(clogs) have been officially accredited as safety shoes with the CE mark and can withstand almost any penetration including sharp objects and/or concentrated acids. The long association of Dutch with wooden clogs can be traced to the traditional creation myths of ancient Germanic tribes who originally occupied modern Holland. Today, Dutch clogs are primarily a beloved touristsouvenir. Despite the fact that most Dutch no longer wear klompen for everyday use, clogs remain popular among people working in their gardens and farms and among planters. Some of the Dutch also consider wearing clogs as being healthy for the wearers' feet.
