The amazing 'Fireball Suicide Shoes'

Here’s the latest wacky (and scary) export from China, just what you don’t want your neighborhood kids to have: gasoline-powered inline roller skates.

Dubbed Gasoline Skating Shoes by the Chinese manufacturer, they speed to 20 miles per hour in a few seconds.

The skates have a 25cc engine and a small fuel tank behind the right heel, and are controlled by a handheld throttle. But there is no brake! The only way of stopping is a waist-level shut-off button that kills the motor. Skaters likely then go sprawling.

Imagine what happens in a crash: The plastic fuel tank catches fire and the skater quickly gets crispy.

Earlier this month, alarmed British authorities seized 50 pairs, declaring them illegal. The Brits were even frightened to put the shoes to the test.

One British website called them Foot Trolleys of Death and Fireball Suicide Shoes. They’d probably make Richard Reid salivate. He’s the British jihadist who was caught on a trans-Atlantic jetliner setting matches to the fuses poking from his explosives-laden shoes in late 2001.

Check out the rolling subtitles in the video. One says in fractured English: “Oldster, child, forbid to use.” Maybe it should say simply “forbid to use.”

Comments

[rio]

hehe, imagine the legal warning message needed if you had to advertize this in the US.

[Haroldo Castro]

Fantastic story! Soon China will invent self-destroying shoes, shirts or toys, so consumers are obliged to buy a new one each 100 days... Tim, post more stuff... I am reading all of them. HC

[China Law Blog]

Cool.

[balzar]

They don't go fast enough, they may be dangerous (a bit) but I won't buy them if they don't up the speed (100CC anyone)

[Marvin L Foushee]

TIM, WHAT SORT OF DEPLETED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ARE YOU UNLEASHING IN IRAQ THESES DAY?

TOYS FOR CRISPY CRITTER TOTS?

THE AMERICAN SANTA CLAUSES STUCK A LUMP OF COAL INTO A MILLION STOCKING THIS YEAR IN IRAQ, DIDN'T THEY TIM?