00:00Moonshoes, on the wrong side of orthopedic history.
00:03Many toys in the 60s and 70s only lasted as long as the lawsuits were still pending.
00:09There were heavy hitters like lawn darts, clackers, and creepy crawler thingmakers,
00:14but a few mainstream toys also made the list, like hula hoops, slip and slides, and strap-on roller skates.
00:21The one I wanted most as a kid sounded just as bad on paper as it did in reality.
00:26Duplicating the effects of zero gravity would have been a snap with a pair of Moonshoes.
00:32Original Moonshoes used exposed metal compression springs to provide lift and bounce to perfectly good sneakers.
00:39The idea was to make a series of hops, hopefully followed by a series of safe landings.
00:45Good luck with that project.
00:47Assuming you didn't crush the compression springs outright,
00:50the minimal boost would usually be followed by an ankle-busting skid.
00:54I seriously doubt Neil Armstrong experienced that much pain on Apollo 11.
00:59Eventually, the toy company Powers That Bee got hip to the Moonshoe jive.
01:05After a brief recall for security theater purposes,
01:08a new generation of Moonshoes appeared with state-of-the-art plastic suspension.
01:13The exposed metal compression springs became a distant memory about how Daddy got that scar.
01:19At least no creepy crawlers were harmed.
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