The bulky shoes looked like they belonged to the loveable TV character Herman Munster or some other sci-fi monster. They were candy-apple red, a pair of thick metal shoes with round toes, white cloth straps, and springs attached to a platform base.
They looked very painful and very unsafe, and I could not imagine how anyone could walk or hop in them. I came across them during a preview at an auction house recently. I assumed that they were a child’s plaything from some years ago – I couldn’t imagine them being made for adults – and they just got lost in time. The springs and platform were caked in dust that had settled in for the long haul.
I had never seen anything like them before so I was obviously curious about what they were used for. So I Googled to find the identity of an item without a name to aid in the search. Finally, I came across several similar shoes – some with open toes – and found a name: satellite jumping shoes.
The shoes – which were worn over regular shoes, not in bare feet – were apparently popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They were considered anti-gravity shoes that were supposed to give wearers the feeling of walking on the moon. The shoes were made during the space race between the United States and Russia, which launched the first unmanned satellite, Sputnik I, in 1957. A year later, the United States blasted Explorer I into orbit, and the race was on. Russia put the first man and woman in space in the early 1960s, but in 1969, the United States sped ahead when it put the first astronauts on the moon.
The jumping shoes may have been around earlier than the 1950s, though. One site had a collection with shoes that were said to date back to around the 1920s.
The shoes were described as small trampolines for the feet when plastic versions – called moon shoes – were made in the late 1980s after being featured in Nickelodeon’s TV show “Double Dare.” The shoes were said to help “build muscles, develop coordination and balance.” Old or new, the shoes don’t appear to be very safe (elbow pads, knee pads, helmet and floor mat, please).
The Brooklyn Museum in New York even has a (clean) pair in its collection, made by Rapaport Brothers of Chicago in 1955. The shoes are part of a current exhibit at the museum (through Feb. 15, 2015) and are featured in its catalog “Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe.”
Several companies apparently made the shoes, including Moon Manufacturing Co. with its plastic Rocket Shoes with metal springs.
Even Michael Jackson had his own anti-gravity shoes, which he helped create for the on-the-road performances of his single “Smooth Criminal.” The song debuted in a video in 1988 that showed Jackson defying gravity (with the use of strings). He wanted the same effect in live performances, and came up with a shoe that simulated it. Hooked onto a bolt on the floor, the shoes allowed him and his dancers to lean forward at a 45-degree angle without falling on their faces.
Did you have a pair of satellite jumping shoes or remember them? Please share your story in the Comments box below.
I have a pair of these (the same ones as pictured above at an auction), and I want to know if I can clean them up, or should I leave them just as they are? Would it be okay to clean them up with Dove detergent and water to get the dirt off?
I think these are safer than the jumping boots they have now. Lol
These shoes were featured in July 1985 BACK TO THE FUTURE. Before Nickelodeon.
I had a pair – and lived to tell the story!!!! I think my parents were trying to get rid of me! I tried using them to jump down a steep hill in San Francisco …….
I didn’ t have them for very long –
I must’ve been only 8 or 9 when I got them one X-mas. They really were terrifying at first. And dangerous, since you used them on hard pavement, and we didn’t have helmets, knee, or elbow pads back then. Very hard to balance when wearing them. Very unstable step when walking. But once you learned to balance, it was really awesome to be able to bounce around in them, taking 3 ft giant steps at a time. I had this covered 3-spring model but I see there was also an uncovered 2-spring model. They were steel construction, so very rugged. Made to absorb the abuse they’d receive while you were learning to negotiate on them. Apparently, Nickelodeon marketed ‘Moon Shoes’, that were plastic-y, and probably safer, but not as fun (dangerous). 😉
I used to jump around in those with my younger cousin on the stone verandah of her house. NOT safe, but, hey, it was the 50’s. No seat belts in cars, and the dashboards were metal. That really hurt when your parent stopped suddenly.
I have to laugh at the suggestion to use kneepads and helmets. Such things didn’t exist yet.
Ha, ha, I remember these vaguely, or at least seeing them later as vintage items (I wasn’t around when they were actually popular). And WOW, how interesting, that part about Michael Jackson! What a genius idea . . .
Yeah, I wanted a pair of spring shoes so bad in 1969 that I begged Santa to bring them at christmas time.
I was 8 years old. I wanted them so bad that I did not sleep all night and ran down the stairs and sure enough, Santa brought me a bright red pair. So Joyous, I strapped them on and nearly broke my ankle, but still I tried and tried. So heavy weight for a kid, I had a hard time actually jumping. Still, today I want my spring shoes back, under my bed. My parents made them disappear after the first many tries. Anyone know where I can find a pair??
I miss my spring shoes.
Steve
Hi Steve, try eBay, you can find just about anything there.