Headlines

How many ways can you think of to use an old flip flop? For this bearded Aussie, there was only one: striking the ends of a set of carefully-tuned PVC pipes to bash out some techno (or ‘acoustic bass synth,’ as he calls it) – and he does it in the middle of a shopping centre to a large crowd.

The tie-dye-T-shirt-wearing busker bashes a bass drum – well, more like a box – while he rocks out in the centre of the shopping centre in Adelaide, South Australia, using only his flip flops to bash the ends of the pipe (to create different beats) and slap his thighs to mimic a clapping sound – or was it high hats he was going for?

Either way, this video of Pipe Guy performing in Rundle Mall, in August 2014, has been seen a colossal 8.7 million times.

This psychedelic chap has quite a following on social media too, with more than 46,000 Likes on his Facebook

So, it’s once again that gorgeous time of year when much of the UK population retires its winter boot collections and bust out the flip flops. It’s not as if the UK is blessed with enough sunny days not to take advantage of every last one of them, so it’s hardly surprising flip flop fanatics fly out in force over the summer months.

But while there’s no denying the appeal of flip flops as fab footwear, how about literally having your life saved by a pair of these simple summer shoes? It sounds pretty ludicrous, but if you take a look at some of the more standout headlines from summers gone by…well, let’s just say you might never look at your own flip flops the same again!

So, to save you trawling through the press, we thought we’d share with you four of our favourite and wholly fantastic flip flop headlines you might find hard to believe: