Friday, October 14, 2011

Fluoroscope

When I was a little boy, many shoe stores had an unusual machine called a fluoroscope. It was designed to help customers see whether or not the shoe fit.

The problem was that the fluoroscope was actually an x-ray machine. You see, in those days we did not know that x-rays were dangerous and that the human body can only receive a limited amount of x-rays in a lifetime.

If you have ever received an x-ray, you know that the technicians hide behind lead-filled walls. That means being a shoe salesman in the 1950's was a high risk vocation!
You can see one of those old fluoroscope machines on display at the Children's Museum here in the Museum District of Houston.

I suspect there are things we take for granted as normal and good today that one day we will see was hurtful and destructive. What do you reckon they are?

1 comment:

  1. God is wise. Aware of the x-ray problem in those days, he also knew that people only got new shoes every few years. Over exposure was not a problem.

    ReplyDelete