Asphalt or Concrete - Only a True Princess Can Tell

Have you seen people who jog in the street instead of the nearby sidewalk?  I asked them why they don't use the sidewalk and they told me that they prefer the asphalt because it is not as hard on their knees.  They claim they can feel the difference between the hardness of the concrete and the hardness of the asphalt.  

Really!?  Doesn't that remind you of the "Princess and the Pea"?

We have all heard the fairy tell of the young woman who tried to sleep on a stack of mattresses and since she was a true princess she was able to detect that there was a pea at the bottom of the stack of mattresses.  

That is similar to the sensitivity that a jogger must have to detect the difference between the hardness of asphalt and concrete, when you consider the softness of the running shoes as well as socks.  With the softness of the shoe sole as well as the softness of the socks, I submit to you that there is no way your foot can feel through those two soft springs and detect the hardness of the ground underneath.


I propose that we do a simple test...

Give me a jogger with his running shoes and some nice soft cotton socks and I will show you that if they jump up and down all day on concrete or asphalt, they won't be able to tell the difference.