Driver8 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 In the battle to tell you the sort of information you didn't know you need to know, scientists have explained the formula that wearers of high-heeled shoes can use to work out how high they can go - just as the most famous Blahnik-wearers, the stars of Sex and the City, totter from our screens. Physicists at the Institute of Physics have devised a formula that, based on your shoe size, tells you the maximum height of heel you can wear without toppling over or suffering agonies. And it is: h = Q.(12+3s/8) Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffM Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Some years back on Jenny’s site I put forward an idea on the ability of some one to be able to wear high heels. We all know some have a greater ability for wearing heels than others. Sit on a table top or kitchen bench top and let your foot dangle (no shoes). Your foot will hang down at some angle to the horizontal. Some will hang at only maybe 10 degrees and other may go as much as 45 degrees. Mine for example is in excess of 30 degrees but isn’t 45. My idea then is that the greater the angle, the greater the ability to wear high heels. I should say this has nothing to do with wanting to wear heels only the ability to wear heels. At first you might think this doesn’t take into account the alcohol effect. In fact it does. When some one is inebriated the foot is more likely to hang at a greater angle meaning the person has a greater ability to wear heels. Now how many times have we heard of girls wearing heels much too high for them and seeming to manage yet when sober they “couldn’t wear any thing like that.” This formula is far simpler than the other from the Institute of Physics and makes more sense See what you make of it. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikkiHH Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Well according to your theory Jeff, I should be able to wear five inch heels. But to test out your theory I'll have to go buy some five inch heels! The hardships of testing the scientific method!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I would guess, based on JeffM's dissertation, that the less of an angle that your feet hang down means the more practice you'll needs to get used to wearing heels that are 5" or higher. (I know I had a hard time getting used to wearing 7" heels -- infact, I still have problems walking very far while wearing them). Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I guess I just made it, according to the formula, to the five inch category, being a US women's size 9. But that won't stop me from wearing my six inchers, a pair of boots and a pair of d'orsay pumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 In actual fact the formula is meaningless because Q is taken to be a quotent based on the wearer's lifestyle and experience of wearing heels coupled with the amount of alcohol consumed! Though you could quantify drink consumption, you cannot quantify lifestyle. The foot dangle idea does not take into account the fact that the achilles tendon tightens when you flex your toes thus reducing the amount "dangle". Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikkiHH Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 You have to wonder how many drinks the physicists had whilst coming up with that theory? Did anyone hear about the formula that mathematicians came up with to express eating with chopsticks using algebra? Why didn't I get to do this sort of interesting stuff at school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver8 Posted March 21, 2004 Author Share Posted March 21, 2004 Did anyone hear about the formula that mathematicians came up with to express eating with chopsticks using algebra? No, but I heard the one about the constipated mathematician who worked it out with a pencil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Was that the same professor that suffered from a severe case of optical rectal-losis ? You know, the one whose eye muscles got tangled with his rectal muscels and the condition accounted for his shitty outlook on life? Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyourtoes Posted April 25, 2004 Share Posted April 25, 2004 Actually there's at least one error in the formula as reported. In the divisor of Q there's y+10 where y is the number of years you've been wearing heels. So more experience lowers your heels. Did I miss something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Nation Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Didn't really work for me, unless a) my shoes are the current height of fashion and I'm positively guaranteed to pull! Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefox Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 On your toes; y also appears in the numerator so the interaction isn't straightforward. Perhaps they are trying to model that if you have experience it is good, but too much experience would make you old and so likely to reduce Q. I'm afraid I'm not fanatical enough to investigate the effect of various ranges of y on Q. All in all an interesting bit of popular trash physics, no doubt some of it tongue in cheek, but the Q fudge factor tries to do too much. For example, I can drink 8 pints of lager and still be quite capable of wearing 4 inch heels properly. I think an experience with alcohol/heels mod is called for. Back to the drawing board... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dude Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 well, if this is would be true i should be able to wear 12.36cm high heels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romu Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 If some of you are interested in a more serious mathematical modelisation of gain of height vs heel's height or max heel's height, I can send a paper on that topic. The required math level is first year university. Romu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genebujold Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 The true mathematical model is as follows: HH=W*I*C, where W=Whatever I=Is C=Comfortable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heelfan Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 As stated above, the maximum heel height that can be worn varies enormously from person to person. The best guide I've ever come across was the simplest. I think it was suggested by Jenny. Simply try-on various heels of increasing heights, ensuring that when standing in them on tip-toe, the heels can clear the floor by at least 1/2". Stop going higher when this is no longer possible. Each person's flexibility, build, muscle distribution, tendon accommodation etc. etc. varies so much that any set mathematical formula is bound to be a waste of time. Cheerfully yours, Heelfan Onwards and upwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genebujold Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Simply try-on various heels of increasing heights, ensuring that when standing in them on tip-toe, the heels can clear the floor by at least 1/2". Stop going higher when this is no longer possible. Cheerfully yours, Heelfan Here's another I've used before while shopping in the stores: Stand with one foot forward, one foot back, the same distance as a comfortable mid-stride. If you can plant both the ball and heel of both shoes comfortably on the ground, the heel isn't too high. Any higher and you're putting your full weight on the heel alone with your ankle rotated fully forward. This places a good deal of undue stress on certain areas of your ankle's interior. It's not difficult getting your ankles used to this additional stress in the short run - it just takes practice, which toughens the muscles, tendons, and contact surfaces. The problem is, the stress being born by your ankle is perhaps two to three times what it was designed by evolution to handle, and you won't notice this damage until the cartilage has been worn away. By that time, it's too late. Long-term, long-distance runners have the same problem, usually hitting the wall in their thirties, forties, or fifties, at which point they become walkers, at best. We're only given so much cartilage, folks, and it was meant for normal wear and tear. Additional or unusual activities not covered by evolution causes problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romu Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 There are more things in heaven and earth, Heelfan, than are dreamt of in your philosophy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heelfan Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Yes, Romu, I know! GREAT isn't it? Tee hee, Yuk, yuk, snork snork! Cheerfully yours, Heelfan Onwards and upwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightlevisandhhboots Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 I wear a mens 10 1/2 or a womens 12, and I have bought 5" strappy stillettos from JustSexy, and I can walk pretty decently, just not brave enough to wear out on the town.... tightlevisandhhboots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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