The Concerning Truth About Moon Shoes
While trampolines have sent over a million people to the emergency room, toy manufacturers in the 90s thought, "Why not strap them to kids' feet?" And thus, the moon shoes were born.
They were meant to simulate the feeling of walking in the moon's low gravity, allowing children to bounce around to their heart's content. The toy looked like a plastic bucket with rubber bands stretched across the top and a few straps to attach a kid's foot. Once strapped inside, the child would wobble around before bounding off like an unstable kangaroo. Hey, before the internet, children had to amuse themselves somehow.
Unfortunately, as much fun as the commercials made moon shoes look, they led to a variety of injuries. Broken ankles and knee scrapes were just part of the moon shoe experience. Plus, moon shoes had one other strike against them, per TTPM Toy Reviews: assembly required. Depending on the kid's weight, you had to spend a half hour attaching additional rubber bands.
That's one small step for a kid, and broken ankles for children everywhere
The moon shoes of the 90s were perhaps inspired by the "satellite jumping shoes" of the 50s and 60s. These were even more dangerous, as children hopped around on giant metal springs. In one 2009 YouTube video, a kid tests them out for 20 seconds before his ankle flops unnervingly to the side and a small "ow!" escapes him.
Surprisingly, you can still buy moon shoes. You can get your very own brand new pair from Amazon or score some sweet vintage ones from eBay. However, keep in mind the toys have a weight limit of about 160 pounds and several Amazon reviewers complained that the rubber bands snapped easily. If you're curious about how moon shoes hold up today, you can watch several YouTubers wobble and stumble in these trampoline traps. But if you really want to know what walking on the moon is like, you'd best start studying for astronaut tests while listening to The Police.