Do your children ever get so keen on a particular item of clothing that they won't wear anything else? Mine do. I have to practically peel those H & M Star Wars jumpers off them for the occasional wash. At least they'll eventually grow out of them and have to move on to something else.
Now an American teenager has been in the news because he chose to wear the same shoes for four years non stop. I hope he washed them at some point.
The story began four years ago when student Ben Hedblom had just started at high school in Florida. He made a bet with his Spanish teacher Adrian Antonini that he would begin and end high school in the same pair of shoes.
The loser of the bet would have to shave his hair and eyebrows. The St Petersburg Times reports that the teacher left the school the following year and promptly forgot about the wager. However, his student did not.
And now, aged 17 and about to graduate, Ben's still wearing the same, falling-apart, shoes.
Hedblom says that wearing the same shoes for four years has been quite an education about people and perception. He even based his senior project on the psychology behind him keeping his word and people's reaction to it. He says he's learned a lot about self image and people's assumptions about who you are, based on what you're wearing.
However, Ben's mother was not so thrilled and begged him to throw away the shoes. But she says she eventually learned to love the project and her son's commitment to his word.
And the teacher who sparked off this bizarre project? He didn't even remember making the original bet until the newspaper tracked him down. He now says he will honour his side of the wager and may shave his head via webcam.
As for Hedblom, he tells the paper he plans to finally retire his shoes once he graduates from high school. He hopes they'll end up in the school trophy case.
Source [ParentDish US]