Undoing these boots gets a little easier

Although boots are popular in the West, the more expensive the better, they often are a pain getting off and on.

And that’s whether you are talking about lizard skin riding shoes or ski boots from Italy. But the one boot you never want to see is a yellow-metal block called a Denver boot. It blocks your car from moving.

The device was invented more than 50 years ago to save on the cost of towing cars. Truck tires were in short supply because rubber was needed for the military, and a Denver violinist figured out a way to avoid the need to get cars towed quickly.

Frank Marugg, a friend of many police departments and a member of the Denver Symphony Orchestra, said his boot would limit lawsuits resulting from cars being towed. His contraption didn’t get into action until early 1955. The device took in $18,000 in its first month.

The only trouble was that its steel construction made it hard to install and remove. Marugg switched to an aluminum alloy and sold them to parking lot problems. Marugg obtained a patent in 1958.

Of course, some people have put it to different uses, for example putting your own boot on a car so it will appear to already have been ticketed. It also could hold off the repo man.

Well, Denver now has gone high-tech.

You call, pay with a credit card, get an unlock code, and in less than a minute you can remove it and toss it in the trunk. You have to return it yourself or face late fees.

YOUTUBE VIDEO: This boot was made for parking