A curious press release landed – or perhaps we should say staggered – in to the E&T inbox the other day about FlipFlask: the sandal with a hollow sole and screw-cap heel, so you can pour in your favourite tipple and slosh it around underfoot all day. Perfect for “concerts, tailgates, ball games, parties, and everyday” the FlipFlask product page says.
This news may have come suspiciously close to April Fool’s Day, but to all intents and purposes it appears to be a genuine product. E&T followed the ordering and payment process through to the penultimate stage (strictly in the interests of journalistic integrity, you understand) and it certainly seemed like we were on the brink of always being – quite literally – just one step away from liquid refreshment.
There isn’t a great deal of detailed information about the FlipFlask and we are still wondering about the hygiene aspect of it all (not to mention a lingering suspicion about the veracity of the story), but could this be the start of a range of alcohol-stashing footwear? Ladies’ shoes designers could have a field day – just imagine how much Absinthe you could get in to a stacked wedge heel!
Perhaps the most curious aspect of this story is that the company behind the FlipFlask is Weber Speakers, a US manufacturer of vintage-styled loudspeakers for guitar amps, plus a range of related accessories. Given many musicians’ taste for the bottle, maybe a sideways move in to drinking paraphenalia isn’t so strange after all. Weber’s company motto is, “Making the world a bit louder every day”. Perhaps they should add, “Making the world a bit drunker every day” to the FlipFlask page.
Update!
We contacted Weber to ask if the FlipFlask was a spoof product: nope! Here’s what they had to say:
Yes, we are real ! and “A Party In Every Pair”
Check us out @ http://www.flipflask.com
Or facebook us “Flipflask”
They make great gifts !
Engineering & Technology magazine 
Thanks Jonathan for the great article ! “There Is A Party In Every Pair”; and that is no April Fools…..