Shortly after they were introduced as funky boat shoes, made right here in landlocked Colorado, Crocs caught on with the hospital crowd in a big way. After all, they're comfy-ugly, pair up well with green scrubs, and you can stick 'em in the dishwasher to wash off all those unsightly workplace fluids. It's all part of the ghastly craze described in "A Really Big Shoe."
Now comes word from Sweden that at least one hospital wants to ban our state's most embarrassing export after a series of malfunctions involving respirators and other equipment. Static electricity generated by Crocs-wearing staff is the suspected culprit; one Bjorn Lofqvist even worries that clog-clad employees could turn into a "cloud of lightning," or whatever the Swedish equivalent of getting zapped might be.
Read all about it here, and believe it or don't. -- Alan Prendergast
