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Keith McCord reporting Every now and then we come across a story that makes us all glad that "smell-o-vision" hasn't been invented yet, and this next story will certainly qualify.
A 10-year-old boy in Tooele is a finalist in a national competition for the smelliest sneaker. This is a true family affair, because his sister won the competition last year.
Ten-year-old Lane Tuck's shoes are starting to smell bad, but they're not competition-worthy quite yet. "They need to get stinky more," he said.
Lane is one of eight regional finalists competing in next week's 33rd Annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest. His shoes, which he's been wearing without socks and nonstop since last summer, are getting more fragrant each day.
We found him on the shore of the Great Salt Lake for a last-minute strategic move: slogging around in the mud. "Like, if you wear them in the salt and stuff and you get the brine shrimp all stuck inside your shoes, you create mold inside and it stinks," Lane explained.
In the competition, sneakers are judged for the poor condition of the soles, tongue, heel, even the laces. Judges say, in terms of odor, putrid and pungent is what they sniff for.
The person who judged Lane's sister Katharine's winning shoes last year could only cough when he smelled them. Katharine's shoes, along with past winners, will be enshrined in the Odor-Eaters "Hall of Fumes" in Montpelier, Vt.
Lane hopes to add his shoes as well, and he may have a slight edge over the others because his sister has been giving him tips on how to gross the judges out. "I just tell him, ‘You need to go and run some more, or go out and weed.' I don't like to tell him to go play in the mud because boys, they already do that," Katharine said.
So what does the mother of these two with smelly shoes think of all this? "Hey, what a thing! They gotta have their fun. They're good kids and smart kids," Paula Tuck said.
She says both are A students.
Lane qualified for the national contest by winning the regional competition at the Utah State Fair last summer. Grand prize for the smelliest shoes is $2,500. Lane's sister won that amount last year.
So moms and dads, if you notice your children's shoes are a bit rank, they may be worth some money.
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com
