In New Zealand National Jandal day is celebrated
New Zealanders go in slippers indoors, take a wander, attend beach party, travel in them, and sometimes even wear slippers for a work. It is interesting that verily in New Zealand these unique shoes have been invented! Story starts with certain Morris Yock, businessman from New Zealand who had visited Japan and had been inspired by the local boots.
Simple rubber jandals sank deep into the mind of Morris, and, coming back, he and his son Antony started production of these plain shoes in 1957. Rubber was imported from Hong Kong, and jandals were fabricated in workshop-garage. In 1987, his business was bought out, and currently the owner of jandal production is the company Sanford Industries.
As a result of 23-year survey of Northern beaches of New Zealand it was investigated that to the banks of Green continent there are more left-leg jandals washed ashore than right-leg ones! This phenomenon even has a scientific explanation. Thus, one of the theories states that the advantage of left slippers may be connected with the fact in which way majority of fishermen and yachties pushes their boats on the water surface: fishermen get aboard with right leg, and with the left one shove off. Perhaps, because of that it is verily left jandal that gets lost.
Today National Jandal day is celebrated in schools as well as in offices. In several offices managers encourage employers to come into work in slippers not only to express pride for this useful invention but also just for fun.
Besides that, this day people raise money for the coast guard. For more than 100 years these professionals have been watching beaches (in jandals, needless to say!) and bravely save thoughtless swimmers. However, it is worth mentioning that today slippers stopped being as cheap as recently, when they could be bought only for two dollars. Then everybody was able to afford up to several pairs each year. But, in spite of price hike of favorite shoes every summer Kiwi arrive to “conquer” beaches in their significant rubber jandals.
