BBeM: Fashion & Fads Item

Fashion & Fads

Shoe-fitting fluoroscopes
Foot X-ray machines were prominently featured in many shoe stores

This was basically an X-ray machine operated by the salespeople in a shoe store. Children would put on the chosen shoes and stand on the device with their feet in the slot provided. The shoe salesman, the child, and the child's parent could all then peer into the viewers and see an image of the child's foot and toes and the outline of the shoe. Children apparently had a good time watching while they wiggled their toes. Lots more information on this is available: for instance, see the Oak Ridge Associated Universities site and The Museum of Quackery .

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There are 8 comments for this item.

Posted by Doot at 12:40 pm (PST) on Sun March 1, 2020
I stuck my feet into those "DIY-fluoroscopes" so often, I'm surprised my feet didn't start glowing green.
Posted by armond43 at 4:08 am (PST) on Mon November 11, 2019
They were always great to look at the bones in my feet.
Posted by notsteve at 8:17 am (PDT) on Sat September 7, 2019
These things disappeared from shoe stores virtually overnight when they realized that x-rays were spewing out all over the place and irradiating everyone in the store, as they weren't shielded. They were cool, tho. So were lawn darts.
Posted by Bruno at 8:54 pm (PDT) on Sat August 1, 2015
My father had a clothing store and when I was a kid they had one of these cool devices. I don't know how many times I stuck my feet in it, but it was well more than once. I'm 64 and still alive.
Posted by Bob Matthews at 11:56 am (PDT) on Sun August 3, 2014
While my mom was trying on shoes in our neighborhood "Treadeasy" shoe store I was left to play with this biohazard to my heart's content. Loved how it showed my green foot bones as I moved my feet around in the health-giving "X-Rays".
Posted by Kathy Townsend at 8:18 pm (PDT) on Sat August 2, 2014
Well, cmon, guys, in the midst of hundreds of above ground detonations, what's some X-raying of your feet going to hurt? LOL It really is too bad, however, that the Greatest Generation couldn't figure out there are consequences to exposing children to fissionable materials (like massive amounts of people with thyroid disease)
Posted by RonM at 7:12 am (PDT) on Wed April 17, 2013
What could possibly go wrong with exposing kids unnecessarily to x-rays?
Posted by Beth at 12:43 am (PDT) on Fri August 28, 2009
I only got to (had to) do this once before they were outlawed.

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