Viridian Note 00173: Fossil Fuel Shoes

Key concepts: shoes, gizmos, gasoline powered
Russian footwear, Roman Kunikov

Attention Conservation Notice: Another installment in the ongoing Viridian weird-footwear fetish.

Links: Design your own custom athletic shoe online and have it built in Asia! http://www.customatix.com New running shoes with built-in inline skates! http://streetflyers.com/ Still booting up to become the Intel of footwear: http://www.theelectricshoeco.com/

(((Unlike the power-generating "Neal Gernshenfeld shoe" and "Trevor Baylis shoe," this anti-Viridian gas-gobbling shoe adds directly to the Greenhouse burden. It's also powerful enough to fling you all over the landscape.)))

Source: Associated Press, July 5, 02000

"Gas-Powered Shoes in Russia

By ANDREW KRAMER Associated Press Writer

"MOSCOW (AP) == His fashion sense isn't as elegant as
Gucci's, but Roman Kunikov says his gasoline-powered boots
are a step forward in footwear == as much as 13 feet per
stride.

    "Kunikov is one of the professors at a Russian engineering institute who designed the boots that were tested Tuesday in a public square in Ufa, 750 miles southeast of Moscow.

    "The test showed that wearers can achieve speeds of up to 25 mph, Kunikov said in a telephone interview.

    "The boots incorporate one-foot pistons that strap along the calf and fire downward after the wearer steps

down, pushing a metal plate away from the bottom of the
shoe == and the wearer up into the air.

    "The shoe works in a rhythm with the wearer's step. As he steps down, his body weight resets the piston, which then fires and pushes him on his way. The plate is connected to the sole of the shoe by metal rods that work as shock absorbers. The shoes use ordinary gasoline, Kunikov said. (...)

    "The shoes weigh about two pounds each, including a fuel tank, tiny carburetor, spark plug and wires and pipes. Kunikov said there have not been any accidents so far."