HOtZi OtZi

Muse, Jan 2004

Photos of Otzi, the frozen Stone Age man whose body was recovered from the Alps in 1991, probably gave you the shivers-not because he was dead, but because he wasn't dressed warmly enough. But maybe Otzi's toes, at least, weren't cold. A professor of shoe technology from the Czech Republic has tested Otzi's shoes in the same Alpine pass where his body was found.

The shoes didn't keep the hikers' feet dry, but they kept them warmer than modern walking shoes. Otzi's shoes had bearskin soles, but the real secret was their stuffing: Alpine meadow hay. So if your next pair of mountain trekkers smell suspiciously grassy, you'll know why.