Michael Jackson's anti-gravity illusion shoes - GIF and patent

**Jon** · Oct 9, 2017, 11:52 AM

Michael Jackson's anti-gravity illusion shoes. Awarded US patent #5255452 in 1993.

Jackson was such a good dancer that the illusion worked - it was commonly thought that he was just performing an extremely difficult dance move.

I believe this was Jackson's only patent, co-held with two of his costume designers. Interestingly, the patent mentions a previously-invented similar type of shoe intended to be worn by astronauts working in zero gravity.

More: https://www.google.com/patents/US5255452

**Jon** · Jun 2, 2018, 10:31 AM

Perhaps Jackson took his inspiration from a candy stretching technique:

**Frank S** · Jun 3, 2018, 01:30 AM

That particular dance performance had to be so well choreographed in order to pull off the illusion I think I read somewhere that it took months to get perfect. If a single dancer misted 1 of the embedded studs in the floor the routine would have been ruined

**Jon** · Mar 29, 2019, 01:58 PM

A rare crosspost from this thread. I believe we've located Michael Jackson's long (LONG) lost cousin.

**Jon** · May 13, 2019, 10:01 PM

**high-side** · May 15, 2019, 07:49 AM

A modern twist on the Village People.

**old kodger** · May 20, 2019, 02:20 AM

I'm interested to note that the patent date is 1993, and as such I don't quite see how he could get a patent for it because in 1982 or thereabouts I was the fabricator for The Sydney Theater Company and we were putting on a production of Chicago wherein one of the dancers had to lean forward towards the audience, I fitted his shoes with keyhole plates in the heals that located with coach type bolts in the floor. A little more difficult to locate, but the same idea.