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Suspension ( hammock ) sandals

just to put my foot into fashion
  (+3)
(+3)
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The foot dose not conect with the inside of the sole. instead there is a plastic moulding with three supports: one behind the big toe, one behind the little toe, and a longer one behind the heal that reaches up as far as the ankle. Slung between these points is some thing like a gladiator sandal

The foot floats an inch or two of the ground, comfortably supported, and with cool air all a round it.

Making the length of the heal adjustable gives a day to evening wear option.

j paul, Aug 21 2011

Moon Shoes http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_shoes
"Proto-baked." [DrWorm, Aug 21 2011]

[link]






       I'll take two pairs in snakeskin.   

       Would there be stability issues?
MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 21 2011
  

       That was my first thought, but as I'm too often the first to scorn without thinking about something for a while, I decided to, well, think about it for a while.   

       I'm still thinking.   

       BTW, I think these are proto-baked in a children's toy that came out a few years ago; can't remember what they were called. They were basically a pair of small trampolines that strapped to a child's feet, leading to hours of ankle- injuring fun.
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  

       giant clompers or something.
FlyingToaster, Aug 21 2011
  

       [Alterother], I believe you are referring to Moon Shoes (link)?
DrWorm, Aug 21 2011
  

       That's the bunny, Doc! Thanks.   

       Still thinking. I'm gonna get it right before I spout off this time.
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  

       In the steel industry, there used to be a job cleaning out the pits where castings were stored to cool slowly. The pits were heated to the metal's annealing temperature, and it cost money to take them out of service long enough for them to cool to ambient temperature. So they were cooled just enough for a human to survive -- briefly -- and some poor sod would be lowered into the pit, with a scrub brush, wearing thick wooden clogs. He would scrub the walls until the clogs burst into flame, then they'd haul him out, give him another pair, and lower him back in again*.   

       That's what this reminds me of.   

       *Not sure where I read that. Probably either James Blish or Gene Shepherd.
mouseposture, Aug 21 2011
  

       Blish: Scranton: "slag pits"? [edit: "soaking pits", and "Cities in Flight" is a free e-book ?]
FlyingToaster, Aug 21 2011
  

       [mouse], it was Shepherd, and he was exaggerating a little bit (as he was wont to do).   

       <later: I was totally wrong here. See below.>
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  

       nope, Blish.
FlyingToaster, Aug 21 2011
  

       Yes, it was Blish, my bad. I got it confused with one of Shepherd's radio shorts and had to consult my library.   

       He was still exaggerating a bit-- the wooden overshoes did not typically catch fire, they only scorched. Only sometimes did they burst into flame, when the gang boss mis-judged the temperature of the soaking pit (sometimes aka 'sink'). I actually learned about this in a basic metallurgy class.
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  

       Thank you [FT] and thanks even more [Alterother], 'cause I always wondered if that detail was made up.   

       Now we know why the control room for the City of New York was in the mast of the Empire State Building and not the World Trade Center. I wonder what else that seemed dated in those books will turn out to be prescient.
mouseposture, Aug 21 2011
  

       Alright, I've thought it over:   

       As a fashion-coutre shoe, to be worn on runways and at cocktail parties, this would be reasonably safe to wear and certainly interesting to look at, provided it was worn by a woman with spectacular legs (such as Mary Hart or The Good Fairy Jenny).   

       So, [+] for a bold fashion idea, but with reservations...   

       For active use or on uneven terrain, I think a shoe like this would be terribly awkward and dangerous, because it puts you out of direct contact with the ground. Without tactile feedback, you'd be unable to accurately judge the terrain and react accordingly.
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  

       I think feedback might be OK, but what about stability? As I understand it, the sole of the shoe can move quite freely with respect to the sole of the foot.
MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 21 2011
  

       That's what I mean: you'd have no way of knowing exactly where/how the shoe was placed, because your foot would be suspended in a different orientation, with no firm feel of exactly where the ground is or what it's shaped like, thus causing instability.
Alterother, Aug 21 2011
  
      
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