Well, within footwear and style, flip-flops (also known as jandals in New Zealand, chappal, Hawaii chappel, Qainchi (scissor-like) chappals in India and Pakistan, thongs in Australia, slip-slops in South Africa, and the South Pacific, slippers, pluggers, go-aheads[1], ojotas or chancletas), are a flat, backless, sandal consisting of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap, like a thin thong, that passes sandwiched between the first (big) and second toes and around either side of the foot. They appear to have been developed based on traditional Japanese woven or wooden soled sandals.
In most emergent countries, rubber flip-flops are the cheapest footwear available - typically less than $1, and some measures are used to reduce cost, such as making them out of recycled tires. Because of this, they are very widely used within these countries as mainstream footwear instead of a style statement. Despite their disposable design, street vendors will patch-up worn sandals for a small fee.
Flip-flops are a very fundamental type of footwear - in the main a thin rubber sole with two simple straps running in a Y from the sides of the foot to the join between the big toe and next toe. Some include a band along the back heel. The widespread use of flip-flops as simple warm climate beach or outdoor wear has spread through much of the planet, although it is most frequent in India (where it is immensely popular and called a Hawaii Chappal), Australia, New Zealand, USA, Brazil, the Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia.
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