Footwear for 2011

Here’s a sturdy pair of boots with the most otherwordly of all animal hides.  What is it?

(Read the science post below first, though.)

Here’s a close-up:

UPDATE:  Okay, it’s stingray.  And the first 2.5 minutes of this video deals largely with stingray hide (including the samuri-sword connection) and how it’s tanned:

This entry was written by whyevolutionistrue and posted on January 4, 2011 at 9:45 am and filed under boots. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

25 Comments

  1. eraescape
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:03 am | Permalink

    Iguana?

  2. salon_1928
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:04 am | Permalink

    Looks like Gila Monster skin – a little creepy…

    • Dominic
      Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:07 am | Permalink

      I concur. Appropriate desert critter. Should have it au naturel!

  3. Calden Wloka
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:08 am | Permalink

    I am going to guess armadillo again… it didn’t net me anything the first time, but second time’s the charm?

  4. Hempenstein
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:12 am | Permalink

    Damn handsome, whatever they are. I guess you’ll comment on that central feature on the vamps in due course…

    • Hempenstein
      Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:15 am | Permalink

      PS, I was gonna guess dillo, but Calden beat me to it. Thinking further, it does sorta resemble the underbelly of some reptiles I seem to recall, so how about Komodo Dragon underbelly, just in case Gila’s wrong.

  5. Cliff Melick
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:12 am | Permalink

    Very nice, Jerry, but do you have ant eaters?

  6. Ben Goren
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:14 am | Permalink

    “Most otherworldly” makes me think that it’s not a chordate.

    Octopus of some kind?

    Cheers,

    b&

  7. NewEnglandBob
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:20 am | Permalink

    Hide of flunking grad student?

  8. Doug Bohlman
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    I think Ben is closest. It reminds me of the handle coverings of Japanese swords, which could mean it is manta ray or shark leather.

  9. Sven DiMilo
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:24 am | Permalink

    that’s stingray skin.

    • whyevolutionistrue
      Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:26 am | Permalink

      Sven is right and Doug is half right. It’s stingray. The hide is so hard that it breaks the needles used to sew it, and many bootmakers simply refuse to use it. It is, though, perhaps the toughest of all boot hides. These boots can scratch the paint of your car if you don’t watch it.

      • Ben Goren
        Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:36 am | Permalink

        So that makes me a quarter right? Woo-hoo! My best showing yet!

        The properties you describe have me pondering other potential uses for the hide than footwear….

        Cheers,

        b&

  10. MadScientist
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:27 am | Permalink

    I’ll go for stingray.

    • MadScientist
      Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:28 am | Permalink

      Aww dang – other folks post it while I’m thinking about it.

  11. Karl Elvis
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:27 am | Permalink

    I agree, stingray.

  12. Neuenschwander
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 10:28 am | Permalink

    Whatever it is, those are the best looking boots I’ve seen so far!

  13. daveau
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 11:24 am | Permalink

    Nice. That would make a good pair of skates. (a little elasmobranch humor…)

    • Blondin
      Posted January 4, 2011 at 11:49 am | Permalink

      Nice one!

      I was looking for some kinda Steve Irwin punch line but yours is perfect.

      • daveau
        Posted January 4, 2011 at 11:54 am | Permalink

        Too soon!

  14. Jim Cliborn
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 12:45 pm | Permalink

    What is that spiky green tassel hanging off the toe of the left boot?

  15. Naomi Fein
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 1:03 pm | Permalink

    OK, Jerry, now you’re threatening to qualify for the Rex Ryan Foot Award.

  16. Susan Ridell
    Posted January 4, 2011 at 2:35 pm | Permalink

    Fess up Jerry! How many pairs of boots do you actually own?

    How do you store this huge collection? There must be quite the shrine in the walk-in closet. Are you trying to give Carrie Bradshaw and Imelda Marcos a run for their money?

  17. Scott
    Posted January 5, 2011 at 7:14 am | Permalink

    I figured it was something aquatic! So there’s a practical use for those deadly creatures, after all! (If this offends you, bear in mind that after our extinction, stingrays could conceivably evolve to replace us (though not as likely as octopi and/or squid)).


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