On purpose?

What's the deal with slippery shoelaces? The hint that's usually given for dealing with them is to put some candlewax on them. This is not at all an appealing idea; nor can I believe that it's a solution that works. A search on "slippery shoelaces" surprisingly elicits pages of results. The shoelace becomes a blog topic regularly. Some sites, including ones devoted to walking and also to assistive living, counsel just giving up and either buying all-cotton flat laces or switching to Velcro fasteners for the shoes. There are mentions of the recurring nature of the problem, even when laces are double-knotted. This is the third pair of these shoes bought, but the first with the possessed shoelaces. And then there are trademarked "Lock Laces," with the patented spring-activated locking device. Talk about technology!