GoMom

Parents, don't let your kid wear Crocs on escalators. After reading a story about a little girl in Atlanta getting her foot mangled, I did a little poking around online and found out that there have been more than 70 instances of Croc-and-Croc knockoff toe-manglings in the last few years. A helpful commenter on the AJC website explained:

"When a child rides an escalator they often hold the moving handrail which places their feet in close proximity to the side wall… most often covered in a skin of stainless steel. When the Crocs material comes in contact with the stainless steel it vulcanizes and the heat caused results in the shoe bonding to the steel. The foot then articulates 90 degrees and the toe end is sucked into the space between the moving step and the skirt panel. The sucking action is so quick no action by a parent or other adult can prevent the shoe from being ingested." Damn!

So if you happen to be on an escalator with your Croc-wearing kiddo, make him stand in the middle of the step. If you are the one wearing the Crocs, however, I hope you are either a) taking a quick break from working in the garden, or b) residing in a locale where it is currently monsoon season.