If the X-ray fits - [Past Forward]

One hundred and twenty-five years ago this month, Wilhelm Röntgen accidentally discovered a mysterious light that could pass through solid objects, leaving behind a ghostly image of the object's interior. He called the light “X-rays,” the “X” standing for the unknown. The medical community immediately seized upon X-rays as a diagnostic tool. For a time, the retail world also found them useful. From the 1920s through the 1950s, shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were a mainstay in shoe stores across North America and Europe. Customers stood with their shoe-clad feet inserted in a slot in the device, and an X-ray tube would illuminate the feet from below. They could then view the result, showing the bones of the feet and the outline of the shoes. Eventually, the dangers of excess radiation caught up with the fad, bringing about the demise of a technology that was never really needed in the first place.