Description
| - Flip-flops, flip flops, zories, slip slaps, thongs (in Australia), pluggers, double pluggers, toesies, jandals or slippers are an open type of outdoor footwear, consisting of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap, like a thin thong, that passes between the first (big) and second toes and around either side of the foot. Unlike sandals, flip-flops do not secure the ankle.
The traditional woven soled Japanese zōri had been used as beach wear in New Zealand in the 1930s. In the post war period in both New Zealand and America, versions were briefly popularized by servicemen returning from occupied Japan. The idea of making sandals from plastics did not occur for another decade.
The latest design was invented in Auckland, New Zealand by Morris Yock in the 50s and patented in 1957. However, this claim has recently been contested by the children of John Cowie. John Cowie was an England-raised businessman who started a plastics manufacturing business in Hong Kong after the...
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