Superfluous Technology

[ffutures]

A shoemaker near where I work has adverts up for their company's exclusive patent method - they scan your feet and make a 3D model, then use that to make shoes that fit perfectly. It's unfortunate that the way they describe the machine irresistibly reminds me of the old foot X-ray fluoroscopes that exposed so many hapless kids to about 50 x the recommended annual dose...

later - to clarify this, it's the hype that reminds me of the claims for the x-ray machines - I know they aren't using x-rays!

Comments

[pauldormer.livejournal.com]

This is the second time in as many days I've seen a reference to the old foot X-ray machines, which I hadn't thought about for years, but I can't remember where I saw the reference yesterday.

I was always annoyed that no shoe shops near where we lived offered this service, it sounded so cool.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

It was - see the movie of Billion Dollar Brain if you want to see what the machine was like, they used the machine in Whiteleys department store (about 1/4 mile from here) in one scene.

[pauldormer.livejournal.com]

I wonder if any follow up has been done on health problems for people who were subjected to this.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

There's a general impression that it was probably bad for you, as here:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/599/were-those-old-shoe-store-fluoroscopes-a-health-hazard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-fitting_fluoroscope

I don't think there's ever been a really systematic long-term study.

[pauldormer.livejournal.com]

Interesting that they were banned in the US in the fifties but continued here to the seventies.