Call them shoe covers, men's overshoes, rain shoe covers, or anything else. Galoshes are rubberized footwear worn as protection over your regular shoes. They are quite utilitarian and somewhat stylish. But did you know that galoshes have actually influenced pop culture? Indeed, they have.
You might find galoshes about as interesting as mud. But they have actually been around long enough to be culturally embedded. To prove the point, we have compiled a collection of pop-culture references related to galoshes. Enjoy!
Russia's Silver Galosh Award
American actors, directors, and producers can win the illustrious Golden Raspberry award for truly horrible work. In Russia, they have a similar award known as the Serebrianaya Kalosha, or 'Silver Galosh' award. It is presented every year for the most dubious achievement in show business.
The award was so named because galoshes are associated with dirty, muddy messes. The Russian phrase 'sest v kaloshu' means to 'get into a mess'. The word for galoshes – kalosha – refers to the mess. Thus, truly disastrous work in Russian showbusiness is considered messy.
Hans Christian Anderson's The Galoshes of Fortune
Danish author Hans Christian Anderson is one of many to have either incorporated galoshes into story or made them the central focus. His fairytale The Galoshes of Fortune tells the story of pair of galoshes capable of transporting the wearer through time and space. Though the idea might seem interesting and novel, one of the bearers of the time-traveling overshoes warns that they are all they appear to be.
The actual story is a fascinating look at contentment. Interestingly, the galoshes never seem to take people to a happier place and time. It is unclear why Anderson chose them as his time-traveling medium, but perhaps it's because they are so universally known.
Here Comes Peter Cottontail
The 1971 stop motion Easter holiday classic Here Comes Peter Cottontail tells the somewhat dark story of how Peter Cottontail nearly lost his position as Chief Easter bunny. His competitor for the job was another rabbit known as January Q. Irontail. Without getting into all the details, Irontail wanted to completely upend the happy traditions that make the Easter holiday enjoyable.
One of his suggestions was to replace Easter bonnets with Easter galoshes. What a bummer that would have been. Instead of thinking about colorful Easter bonnets to keep the sun off your head, you would plan on Easter galoshes for trudging through early spring rains.
Concrete Galoshes on the Enterprise
Even Star Trek, the sci-fi cult classic starring William Shatner, made reference to galoshes in a 1968 episode entitled A Piece of the Action. In the episode, chief engineer Scotty references concrete galoshes. That reference was, in itself, a reference to cement overshoes – a means by which the mob has purportedly dealt with its enemies in the past.
Rubberized Protection for Your Shoes
The four examples mentioned here illustrate just how much influence galoshes have had over the years. Modern galoshes are vulcanized rubber overshoes with a history tracing back to the late 1800s. However, overshoes themselves are actually quite older than that.
Civilizations have been making overshoes for centuries. In every case, the point of wearing them was to protect whatever else was on your feet. We let the overshoes take the punishment Mother Nature has to dish out. Meanwhile, our regular shoes are kept safe and dry.
Next time you see some sort of reference to galoshes in pop culture, we hope you will remember GC Tech. We carry a complete line of men's waterproof shoe covers designed to accommodate nearly every shoe style and size.
