Shoes for Walking on Water
Inventor K.O.F. Jacobsen of Seattle, Washington debuted his water-walking shoes in 1934 at a Cincinnati inventors' congress. He later displayed them at several other meet-ups of inventors. But although I've found several photos of models wearing the shoes, I haven't been able to find any photos of someone actually walking on water with them.
The Decatur Daily Review - Mar 30, 1937
The Cincinnati Enquirer - July 17, 1934
Comments
Those look like a sad pair of Mercury's boots.
Posted by KDP on 01/16/17 at 01:36 PM
I believe there've been several very similar inventions, all sharing one trait: they don't work. When even the Mythbusters can't make them function, you're looking at a dead end.
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/16/17 at 02:25 PM
No pix working because they wouldn't work.
Posted by EldRick on 01/16/17 at 07:02 PM
On page 166 of "The Boy Mechanic, Book 2" are instructions for making 'foot boats" so you can walk across water. They work reasonably well if you can keep your balance as you shuffle along (oh, and if you weigh more than about 100 pounds, they sink in more than a couple of inches and are hard to handle).
http://i.imgur.com/J54tnmj.jpg
(I wouldn't trust Mythbusters to debunk anything -- their methodology was so flawed, if they heard a rumor about "chocolate cake" and didn't have the ingredients on hand, they'd probably substitute Portland cement for flour (they're both white powders), sandblasting silica for sugar (both white granulated material), and I shudder to think what they'd use instead of chocolate. Instead of baking at 350 for half an hour, they'd put it in a kiln at 2100 for five minutes. They'd then declare the 'myth of chocolate cake' busted.)
http://i.imgur.com/J54tnmj.jpg
(I wouldn't trust Mythbusters to debunk anything -- their methodology was so flawed, if they heard a rumor about "chocolate cake" and didn't have the ingredients on hand, they'd probably substitute Portland cement for flour (they're both white powders), sandblasting silica for sugar (both white granulated material), and I shudder to think what they'd use instead of chocolate. Instead of baking at 350 for half an hour, they'd put it in a kiln at 2100 for five minutes. They'd then declare the 'myth of chocolate cake' busted.)
Posted by Phideaux on 01/16/17 at 08:46 PM
Somewhere, long ago, I saw a picture of a guy walking across a pool on shoes like these. But, duh. If you have enough Styrofoam or whatever to support 200 lbs., they're going to hold you up. Then it's just a matter of balance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkLZk2NDeU4
Posted by Virtual on 01/16/17 at 08:52 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: Inventions | Shoes | 1930s