Corrected entry: In the first scene from 1955, November 6th, where Marty watches the mix of people in Courthouse Square, there is a shot where a boy in mustard yellow pants, standing next to a man, under a tall tree, is "bouncing" down the sidewalk on a pair of spring-laden shoes. These shoes were called "rocket shoes", and were not invented until the late fifties/early sixties, not 1955.
jimba
28th Feb 2019
Back to the Future (1985)
Correction: The original poster claimed the shoes were not invented until well after 1955, so I gave an example of ones from 1955 that demonstrated the claim was wrong. Also, your logic is off since 1) that doesn't mean they were only first invented in 1955, just that they were provably invented BY 1955, and 2) being in a New York museum doesn't mean they were only released in the Northeast in that year. There is no contradiction in my post.
There's no evidence that any type of spring shoes were invented and sold by 1955. Unfortunately when you just Google things like "satellite shoes" or "rocket shoes", you get results from sellers like on Etsy who claim they're from the 1950's or 1950's inspired, but no date is ever given. And the Brooklyn Museum never makes a claim the shoes they have are from 1955. In fact, they say the shoes that have were patented in 1968. So, no, you didn't actually give an example of a spring shoe from 1955.
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Correction: There were a few different versions of these sprung shoes from different makers, and went by similar names like moon shoes, satellite shows, and rocket shoes. They were all inspired by the space race going on in the 50s and 60s. And they do date from at least 1955, since there is a 1955 pair on display in the Brooklyn Museum.
jimba
This correction slightly contradicts itself. If the ones you could find from 1955 were in New York then they must have been released to the public in the same year in the Northeast States. However, Hill Valley is in California, a western state. This means that the product probably wouldn't be there until 1956 onward.
True, but the fact is that they still existed. We don't know what that character did offscreen before the date shown in the movie. He could have gone on a vacation to New York and bought the shoes there for all we know.
Without you providing a specific company and evidence of a spring shoe sold (either nationwide or California) the mistake is valid since the shoes you mentioned were patented in 1968.
Bishop73