[EAS]Great Strides

[pjk]

Subject:   Great Strides

(from INNOVATION,  30 October 2000)

MAKING GREAT STRIDES
Engineers at Russia's Ufa Aviation Technical University have
developed  strap-on, gasoline-powered boots, originally conceived
to enable soldiers  to cover a lot of ground. The boots enable the
wearer to take 14-foot  strides and jog at up to 23 miles per hour,
by incorporating a gas-fired  cylinder that pushes a metal plate
away from the bottom of the boot and  shoots the walker into the
air. Project chief Boris Rydoi is hoping to find  western buyers
for $400 contraptions, pitching them as an alternative to  in-line
skates. ("These Boots Are Made for Galloping" Discover Oct 2000) 
http://www.discover.com

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Why does this remind me of the Monty Python episode where athlete's
foot is treated with small sticks of explosive. A summary of the
results includes the telling category "missing, presumed cured."

   --PJK