It seems almost every kid I see is wearing sneakers with small wheels on the bottom-they keep running and then sliding along. Where the hell did these things come from?
I’ve seen them around for a few years, but a lot more in the past few weeks, must have been a sale, or some teen idol wore them on some hit TV show. They look like fun, and the kids I’ve seen wearing them have been well-behaved…except the one who was letting his mother tow him around, the lazy bum. I’m just glad my kids are too adult for those.
You can get them for adults too. I’d really like a pair but I suspect I’d fall over (never got the hang of roller skates either). 
Just narrowly avoided being creamed by a sullen little bare-bellied snot on wheels at CostCo this afternoon.
The kid-whos-parents-work-at-the-hardware-store was zipping around the store on them.
I always wondered if they had adult ones. I would love to have them, even if they were just a gag gift from someone or something. I know I wouldn’t wear them a lot but the one day a month would be awesome!
Brendon
I saw a lazy bum getting towed yesterday, myself. I think that’s the reason the kids make their parents buy 'em.
Where? Must buy!
I hate those things. I work mall security, and I gotta chase down like 5 damn kids a day skating around the mall and kick them out. Filthy beggars!
They’re called Heelys. I first started seeing them about 4 years ago. I have to admit they’re a kind of cool idea, and I certainly would have wanted a pair when I was a kid, but I can see where they’re rather a nuisance in crowded places like malls.
I read an article a few years ago that they were invented by a guy who worked in a big warehouse and wanted a quicker way to get around in it. Of course, he realized that he could make a lot more marketing them to those who just wanted to have fun. Thus, Heelys were born.
Yeah. I worked at a zoo this summer and they were the bane of our existence. Big signs say no rollerblades, skates, bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc.; you’d think people would see a pattern. But no: every parent professed shock and surprise when I told them their kids were gonna have to pop the wheels out or go barefoot.
Wait, the wheels are removable?! Shit, I’ve been letting them get away with just “Stop rolling around!”. If I had known that, I’d have been making the little buggers take them out.
Yeah. You need an accompanying tool, but a screwdriver will work; even a ballpoint pen, in a pinch.
They sound interesting, but I’m waiting until they come out with built-in rockets in addition to the wheels before I buy a pair. 
Ahh! I thought I was going crazy. I swore I saw two kids “gliding” at the mall but couldn’t quite figure out why and dismissed it.
They were big in Australia several years ago. Well, when I say “big”, they weren’t as ubiquitous as something like, say, microscooters in the 90s, but they were around. I haven’t seen any in a long time, but I must confess I liked the idea. If they can come up with some that a 125kg 36 year-old with big feet might buy, I’d definitely consider it if it’d make my commute easier.
I’ve had a pair for many years, they’re great once you get used to them but they’re a bugger to walk in if you haven’t taken the wheel out!
Are these different than Pop Wheels? I wanted some Pop Wheels back in my youth, but my mom thought they seemed dangerous.
I hate hate HATE those things. They were popular a year and a half ago, or so, when I worked truck crew at Wal-Mart. I’d be lugging a 1,500 lb. pallet full of dog food and I’d have to bring it to a complete stop because some ass didn’t teach their kids to NOT ROLL AROUND THE STORE. And Wal-Mart didn’t want to offend their customers so we couldn’t tell them not to do it (this is the same company that forbade their cashiers from asking customers for ID to use credit cards because one person got butt-hurt about it; they were probably using someone else’s credit card, too).
I don’t normally advocate violence, but I think that parents who buy these for their kids, and don’t lecture them on proper safety and let them wear them to the store, should be pistol-whipped.
~Tasha