A story of flip flops
Flip-flops, also known as thongs, slip slaps, zories, jandals, and many other terms, have been around for thousands of years. In fact, a pair made of papyrus has been found dating back to 1500 BC. C. and there are representations of the shoe in murals in Egypt with more than four thousand years of antiquity. Normally seen with a single strap between the big toe and the rest of the feet, over the years different civilizations placed the strap in different locations. From Greece and Rome to the present day, flip flops remain a popular footwear choice. And through all the centuries, the shoe itself has changed very little.
As for the modern wear of thongs, they have been common on New Zealand beaches since the 1930s. When soldiers returned home after World War II, the Japanese style enjoyed a brief popularity in this country. There is some debate as to who designed the modern version of the flip-flop, with both a New Zealander and a British businessman living in Hong Kong claiming the title. Whoever was responsible, the shoes were patented and released in the late 1950s and widely distributed soon after, gaining prominence in Australia after a debut at the Melbourne Olympics, where the Australian swimming team wore them with pride.
In America, it was the Korean War that made flip-flops a popular item. Unlike the brief popularity the shoes enjoyed after World War II, servicemen returning from Korea brought home cheap versions of the shoes. From there, they took off. Initially, they were marketed as a facet of Californian surf culture, made of rubber and filled with bright colors. Their inexpensive nature and growing popularity helped them appear on virtually every beach and pool in the country. And as its popularity spread, the shoe evolved a bit. Rubber gave way to bamboo and leather designs, but the simple design of the shoe itself remained unchanged.
Today, the shoes are still as popular as ever, and even more popular, in fact. Originally a summer shoe, today they are as common as blue jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. There are countless styles beyond the basic flat rubber sandal. Flip-flops with heels or wedges, for example, are common, and the material used in the shoe can be virtually anything. Three-dollar versions can be purchased at discount stores, and two-hundred-dollar designs are constantly appearing on fashion runways around the world. At over six thousand years old, flip flops show no signs of waning in popularity.