U.S. Sandals Maiming People

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Crocs sandals cited in 40 escalator accidents
At least 40 escalator accidents, including a broken toe and toenails being torn off, have been reported since May involving people wearing a popular style of sandals, a government-affiliated institute said. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry is warning wearers of footwear from Crocs Inc., a U.S. company, and similarly designed sandals to be cautious on escalators. It may also call for improvements to the products after discussions with businesses that market the sandals. "The causes (of the accidents) could be the softness of the material in the sandals. We may ask manufacturers to improve their products," a ministry official said...more...

[GuyJean]

I was surprised when I found out these shoes were from the States; they look very oyaji Japanese to me..

Out of all the skimpy shoes women wear in this country, these are the ones that have problems with escalators?

GJ

[prolly]

anyone who wears a piece of clothing that is cleaned by hosing it down deserves to lose thier toes.

[maraboutslim]

"The causes (of the accidents) could be the softness of the material in the sandals.

Either that, or the people wearing them are absolutely idiots who do not know how to pick their feet up.

Last weekend I took a trip down California highway one in my vintage italian convertible. At one point I spotted a pair of these neon green "shoes" on some douchebag's feet as he waited on the side of the road to cross towards the beach. They caught my attention at least 1/4 mile away. As I passed him, I yelled, "Nice shoes." Hopefully he didn't take it as a compliment.

[kusai Jijii]

Either that, or the people wearing them are absolutely idiots who do not know how to pick their feet up.

.

Too true.

[Charles]

Woman Receives Severe Chemical Burns From Flip Flops, Walmart Tells Her To Complain To Manufacturer

A woman from Florida claims to have purchased some flip flops from Walmart, put them on her feet... only to suffer some sort of severe chemical burn along the lines where the straps of the flip flop met her feet. She's been documenting the process as the chemical burns get worse and worse... and oh my god. It's horrible. First it's just a red angry burn, but soon blisters appear and then break open. It's just getting worse and worse.

Kerry writes:

Well, after wearing them my feet would be red and sort of tingly, but I figured that it was just because it was first flip flops of the year so my feet need to get used to them. Blabity blabity... Well I have now had this chemical burn for 11 days, (As of July 3rd) I really thought it would just go away on it's own. It is absolutely going away very well at all...this started on June 22nd 2007 and has just gotten worse basically. I have only worn those shoes 15 minutes here, half an hour there, hour there...and so on, NOT enough time to burn my feet like this!
She's tried to contact Walmart to ask them to stop selling the flip flops, but their response was to tell her to contact the manufacturer in China.

...more at The Consumerist... (warning, gruesome burn pics)

A followup, more cases emerging:

At Least Nine Cases Of Walmart Flipflops Burning Customers, Here's The Latest

[GuyJean]

.. At one point I spotted a pair of these neon green "shoes" on some douchebag's feet as he waited on the side of the road to cross towards the beach..

Wearing those to the beach, I can understand.. And maybe the neon color did what it was supposed to; you didn't hit him with your car, did you?

(Nice link, BTW)

GJ

[Mike Oxlong]

[yt]GZ6qdxN883w[/yt]

[Taro Toporific]

Either that, or the people wearing them are absolutely idiots who do not know how to pick their feet up.

Japanese traditionally like to drag their feet. As my judo and kendo sensai mentioned to me as part of proper form, it's a throwback to the days of loose zori and especially important as politeness indoors as to not stir up dust from the tatami mats.

[maraboutslim]

Yeah, sure. But not a smart move around escalators...

[Charles]

Japanese traditionally like to drag their feet. As my judo and kendo sensai mentioned to me as part of proper form, it's a throwback to the days of loose zori and especially important as politeness indoors as to not stir up dust from the tatami mats.

Wouldn't that actually cause more wear on the tatami and create more dust?

[succubusqueen]

Still those are some ugly ass rubber clogs....

[ttjereth]

If they're as comfortable as people say they are, who cares what they look like?


(Comfortable being relative in that they probably aren't that comfortable while being maimed on an escalator of course)

[Charles]

Still those are some ugly ass rubber clogs....

They could be uglier.

[prolly]

oh great - more good news:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070827/bs_nm/crocs_apparel_dc

Crocs to launch men's and kids' clothing lines: "The clothing will use the company's proprietary material and will be resistant to harsh chemicals and heat," which is code for, 'made of the same plastic shit the shoes are.'

[Mulboyne]

Living dangerously

[Tsuru]

Looking at those I can't help thinking how many of those must be cluttering up the waters around the world. Can you spot the pair floating around in this picture?



Nature's source of phthalates, that is.

[TennoChinko]

I'm sorry. I just don't get it.

Could someone explain just how exactly these sandals manage to get caught in the escalators?

[6810]

I'm sorry. I just don't get it.

Could someone explain just how exactly these sandals manage to get caught in the escalators?

I'm just as in the dark as you.

Can anyone clear this up?

[ttjereth]

I'm just as in the dark as you.

Can anyone clear this up?

It's apparently because they are really soft (they're made of a type of foam, not plastic as most people seem to believe) and so if you happen to be careless and get your foot caught in the workings of an escalator they offer absolutely no protection at all. Wearing them and getting your foot stuck in an escalator ends up being more or less the same as getting bare feet stuck in.

On top of that, because they are so soft, they are apparently easier to get little nooks and such on escalators than say a harder rubber soled shoe.

They aren't really any more dangerous than wearing flip flops and the like on escalators, it's just that you seem to find more people wearing these in places with escalators than you find people wearing flip flops.

[Mike Oxlong]

...anyone in those brightly colored plastic crocs...that means anything goes. We're talking hard-core ass to mouth stuff...scat play! ...that's not just in bathrooms, ok...anytime you see anyone wearing crocs, beware. Be wary! If they're wearing crocs they're soliciting incredibly depraved gay sex. You can take that to the bank...

Rob Courdy, Daily Show correspondent 2007/9/10

[emperor]

Rob Corddry, Daily Show correspondent 2007/9/10

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/11/the-daily-show-returns-to-tackle-sen-craig-scandal/
skip to 3:30 if your pressed for time

[Mulboyne]

Well, well...

Chicago Sun Times: Crocs, escalators a dangerous mix?

[gomichild]

They look like toilet slippers to me.

[Captain Japan]

Boy suffered damaged toe after foot got caught in escalator at Fukuoka Dome
Mainichi

FUKUOKA -- A boy suffered a severely damaged toe after his foot got caught in a gap at the side of the escalator at Fukuoka's Yahoo! Dome earlier this year, it has emerged.

The 7-year-old boy, who was wearing rubber sandals, reportedly got the tip of his left foot caught between one of the steps and the side of the escalator, resulting in serious damage to a ligament in the big toe of his left foot...more...

[Taro Toporific]

[color="Red"][SIZE="5"]Killer Alien Crocs Plague Tokyo Station & the Rest of Japan![/SIZE][/color]

[floatl][/floatl]Soft resin material in sandals blamed for escalator accidents
(Mainichi Japan) April 18, 2008
An investigation into a spate of accidents in which foam resin sandals have got caught in escalators, injuring people's feet, has found problems with the soft material used in the sandals.....
.....at JR Tokyo Station in August last year, a 5-year-old girl got her foot caught between one of the steps and the side of the escalator, and suffered a broken middle toe.
In its survey, NITE compared resin sandals produced by U.S. company Crocs and seven similar products with sports shoes and other sandals not made from resin. It found that only the resin sandals got caught...more...

[Taro Toporific]

[color="Red"][SIZE="5"]Killer Alien Crocs Plague Tokyo Station & the Rest of Japan![/SIZE][/color] ]

The plague of Crocs may be stemmed....
Kyodo April 20, 2008

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Crocs accessories can result in ripped toenails

[floatl][/floatl]The U.S. manufacturer of hugely popular Crocs sandals is warning buyers not to purchase oversized shoes when fitting them with accessories, following a spate of cases of ripped toenails. Alarmed by four incidents this summer in which three children and one teenager damaged their toenails, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has started an investigation of the product. The accessory, called Jibbitz, comes in a variety of designs such as flowers and cartoon characters. They are attached to sandals made by Crocs Inc. through holes on a cover over the instep and the toes...more...

[Mulboyne]

The new anti-maiming croc sandals.

[Mulboyne]

The comeback begins.

Telegraph: Boy saved by Croc shoes after electric shock