Rubber Sandals Hideous, Dangerous

By Alicia Dorr in Miscellaneous on Sep 18, 2007 6:16PM

Finally, a nonjudgmental way to get people to stop wearing Crocs — tell them about how dangerous they are!

It turns out that aside from being comfortable, lightweight, airy and completely hideous, Crocs and/or Crocs-style footwear can cause some problems when paired with an escalator. Reports from around the world have cited the soft sandals as a factor in escalator accidents ranging from toenails almost coming off to full-on bloody catastrophes. Because they are soft, the shoe can be caught between the stair and the wall of the escalator. The Washington Metro has signs posted warning people to be careful, though the alerts don't single out the brand. There's even a website devoted to shedding light on the problem.

The hazard seems to be most prevalent with children, which means we'll probably have to continue to endure Crocs on our grown-up friends. Either way, the rubber clogs (along with flip-flops or other similarly soft shoes) are comfortable in the yard or at home but can be dangerous in public. If your child is already a victim of this inexplicable fashion trend, the least you can do is spare him his toes.

Image via Life in the Middle.