That thing looks dangerous... i bet it really has a kick to it....haha.. get it ...kick......lol

 

That machine has a bit of history to it - originally it was for testing ski boots, but I re-jigged it to kick into a wrestling mat (I worked on the Material Science Center and we did a lot of plastics work).

To re-jig the machine, I had to get a real wrestling shoe, so I called around to the local sporting goods stores to see if they had any size 10 shoes. When I found someone that had some in stock, I took the leg to the store to try it on for size. I walked into the store with leg under arm, and asked for the guy that I was speaking to over the phone. I introduced myself and said that I was the one who called about the Size 10 wrestling shoe, then handed him the leg. We went back to where he had the shoes and he proceeded to fit the shoe on the leg. He was very casual about the whole thing, but while he was struggling with the leg, he looked up at me and asked "Does he really wrestling?"

I was puzzled by his question, then realized that I never explained the situation to him, or what the leg was for ... my immediate answer was "Yes, and he skis, too!"

I then told him the whole situation and we both had a good laughed. He said it was a first for him, so he wasn't sure how to approach the subject.

Anyway, that was fun times building test rigs and stuff. Unfortunately, I don't work there anymore and don't have access to any shop facilities ... it's just me, my bench, and my toolbox.