The Brannock device
This thing has a name. It’s called a Brannock device. Used to measure feet for shoe fitting. I don’t think they’re used anymore. But they were common when I was a child and Mom took me to get new shoes at the Shoe House downtown (Mr. Fearnell’s store). I remember being excited about sitting in the animal-shaped chairs for children. I was excited to be able to choose my favorite animal. It turned into a sort of race with my brothers: who could choose a seat first. We were more excited by the chairs than by the new shoes.
I’ve heard that if you remember this thing in your life it’s one of the things that marks you as a baby boomer - like milk in a glass bottle, or Nestlé’s Quick chocolate drink, or something. I always thought it was an inelegant thing, ugly and awkward, heavy and cold. (I picked it up and played with it behind the salesman’s back, when he went to fetch shoes for me to try on.) And, I never understood what it was measuring. I still don’t.