[VIDEO] Dude Builds Real-Life Magneto Shoes And Starts Walking On The Ceiling

Colin Furze has developed magnetic shoes so strong that they let users walk upside down. He's been on a DIY spree to re-create iconic superpowers from the comic book series, and the timing is perfect too — X-Men: Days of Future Past is now in theaters.

mashable.com

The dad-of-one said: "The shoes are great fun but it is rather bizarre trying to walk upside down, you have to really force your feet on to the ceiling. It's rather nerve-racking because if the electricity fails the magnets won't work and I will fall."

express.co.uk

"I think the shoes could be useful for beating the queues at a railway station by walking over the top of everyone's heads or running along the side of buildings in busy shopping streets."

gizmodo.com

To create his shoes, Furze drilled holes in an old pair of Vans and fitted the sole of each shoe with an electromagnet. When the magnets proved to be too weak, he took things to the next level by heading to the local scrap yard, locating an abandoned microwave, and removing the transformer.

techcrunch.com

Furze admits that there were easier ways to get a strong electromagnet -- like buying one -- but he also confesses to being a "tight git" and not wanting to "spend loads of money on massive powerful magnets."

So, once the transformer was freed from its microwave, Furze sawed it up to get at the magnetic coil it contained, ran some current through it, and found that the coil could easily hold his 176-pound frame. Custom-made plates attached to the magnets with straps that wrapped around his shoes were next, then came switches for each shoe that could cut the current and allow him to move one foot in the front of the other. The rest is ceiling-walking history.

mashable.com