I’m all about utilitarian shoes nowadays, glued as I am to the Olympic coverage. These don’t exactly qualify as athletic shoes, but they did invite a great deal of stomping and qualified as food-processing appliances. From The Bata Shoe Museum: “Clogs like these were used in 19th century France to de-shell acorns and chestnuts. The meat from the nuts could be ground into flour or used as pig feed. France, 1800-1900.”