Life, Interrupted

Some people have extremely good ideas...

Creator Touts Replicas of Ancient Shoes

Lined with hay and held together by a net of rough string, the leather shoes look bulky, itchy and downright uncomfortable. But if they were good enough for Oetzi, the 5,300-year-old man found in an alpine glacier in 1991, they're good enough for the modern foot, insists Petr Hlavacek, a Czech shoe expert who has created replicas, taken them out for a walk and pronounced them far better than most modern footwear.
( In a few years, this study may improve shoes for diabetics )
But he doesn't wear Oetzi shoes and doesn't expect them to catch on with the public. They're difficult to put on, and the hay needs regular replacement.

Then there's the problem that no shoe technologist can solve.

"Try going with these shoes to the train station," Hlavacek said. "The main problem is connected with fashion."

Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

This guy may be wrong about no demand for them...if Birkenstocks can find an audience, or Maartens, why not Oetzis?