New Zealand has a population of over five million. And without exaggeration, it can be argued that every resident of this country has at least one pair of — rubber flip-flops or slates, as such shoes are called in Russia.
Therefore, it is not surprising that every year since 2007, on December 2, the very original holiday — National Jandal Day is celebrated here.
They say that the Russian name for the flip-flops — «slates» comes from the name of the city in which these comfortable beach shoes were produced at the «Polymer» plant in Soviet times. The word «slates», pressed out on the rubber soles of the flip-flops, has gradually come into use as the name of this shoe, and not the place where it was made.
New Zealanders walk around the house in flip-flops, go for a walk in flip-flops, to a beach party, travel in them by transport, and sometimes even wear flip-flops to work.
Interestingly, it was in New Zealand that these universal shoes were invented! It all started with a certain Morris Yock (in some sources — Maurice Yock), a businessman from New Zealand who visited Japan and was inspired by local shoes. Simple rubber sandals sank into Morris's soul so much that when he returned home, he and his son Anthony began producing these simple shoes in 1957. Morris's rubber was imported from Hong Kong and sandals were made in a garage workshop. In 1987, his business was bought out and Sanford Industries became the owner of the sandalwood production.
Where did such a strange name for — sandals (jandal) come from? Everything is very simple. The name «jandal», which means «sandalium» in English, is derived from two words: «Japanese» (Japanese) and «Sandal» (sandalwood).
The name «sandal» (jandal) — is derived from two words: «Japanese» (Japanese) and «Sandal» (sandalwood) (Photo: Carlos Horta, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
As a result of a 23-year study of the northern beaches of New Zealand, it was found that significantly more flip-flops are nailed to the shores of the Green Continent on the left leg than on the right!
There is even a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Thus, one theory says that the advantage of left flip-flops may be due to the way in which most fishermen and yachtsmen push their boats onto the water: fishermen climb on board from their right foot, and push off the ground with their left. Maybe that’s why the left slate is lost more often.
Today, National Flip Flop Day is celebrated in both schools and offices. In some offices, managers encourage employees to come to work in shale not only to express pride in this useful invention, but also simply to — joke.
In addition, donations are collected for the Surf Life Saving New Zealand on this day. For more than 100 years, these professionals have been patrolling the beaches (in flip-flops, of course!) and they selflessly save unreasonable swimmers.