What you see above is not a piece of Martian footwear â€" rather, it's the Reebok ATV 19+, an "all-terrain vehicle for your feet" that goes on sale for $140 on Feb. 1.
The shoe became a minor viral sensation on the sports side of the web Thursday after photos began to circulate. A Reddit thread titled "Reebok has lost it" made the social network's front page, as many debated the shoe's rather oddly designed soles.
Admittedly, the ATV 19+ does have a weird space-nipple look. But read on to see why there may be more to that strange appearance than first meets the eye â€" and why its outer-space vibe is no coincidence.
Bill McInnis â€" Reebok's head of advanced innovation who helped design the ATV 19+ â€" is a former NASA scientist. The 19 bumps on the bottom of the shoe are designed to grip as much terrain as possible each time you move. In other words, the shoe can mimic how a real-life ATV dominates anything under its wheels.
"This digs right through the top layer of a surface and gets traction on that layer underneath," McInnis says in the video below.
Check out the full clip below for more on the technology behind this funky-looking footwear. Then let us know in the comments â€" would you wear these shoes?
Photos courtesy of Reebok
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