Lady Gaga’s shoes and the Wonder of the Free Market.

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You might have spotted this story concerning pop star Lady Gaga’s interesting choice of footwear.  As a culture warrior, my first thought of course is about the fall of society and propriety, but a trained eye might notice something completely different.

I used to work at a company that made steel molds for the plastic industry.  It is an involved process.

In order to build a plastic mold, first a ceramic design is sculpted carefully by hand.  Precise measurements are made and a computer model is generated for later use.

The types of plastic are considered, will it be strong enough to carry the desired load for the product (in this case 100+ pounds), what is the mix needed and what type of steel is best to use given these parameters?

Blueprints are drawn for the design of the mold, showing where each cut, screw hole and pin will be placed.  Ejector pins, guide pins and locking screw locations, are all carefully planned during this process.