Genetically modified stingrays stolen and released into the wild...

This is an odd story from a whole bunch of angles:





I didn't even know that private companies, whose primary business is retail manufacturing, were creating genetically modified stingrays.

Also....$18,000 sneakers?

Is this a viral marketing campaign?

I think it might be...

If not...well, good grief... :shk:

reply to post by loam


Holy crap 18k sneakers?

He does have a few points about how we are selective about which creatures are okay to abuse but others aren't.

I'm still suffering from sticker shock, 18k sneakers???.... And I thought I paid through the nose for some dress shoes!

Is this a psyops? I feel compelled to go out and buy a goosedown pillow from a local hutterite colony!

Originally posted by loam
This is an odd story from a whole bunch of angles:
Is this a viral marketing campaign?

It was discussed before, when they first announced the weird sneakers could be bought.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Ath the time, I thought it was a hoax.
I still do. As you say, some viral marketing thing that was never actually real.

I can't figure put of this company is real or not. Something just smells a bit fishy. I sincerely hope it isn't genuinely offering what it claims because using stingrays for leather is one thing, maybe borderline acceptable, but humiliating them with the god awful patterns before they die is completely crossing the line.

Everything from the video to the companies website looks too 'blemish free' for it to be real. I think they have invested a few thousand in marketing and when they get their first few orders will do a runner with the money. Great scam, nothing more.

The CEO has got a point that the expensive sneakers are paying good wages and providing good employment, but why does the material need come from a living animal? We have so much technology nowadays, can we not produce realistic artificial stingray skin?!

People could still be employed (graphic designers, manufacturers etc) and the shoes could still be sold at a high price. Just leave the rays out of it


Edit: seems like it could be a fake. Here's a video of the 'rescue operation' from 11th August (warning: it has loud heavy metal music so might be a good idea to turn volume down). Some of the comments point out that Rayfish is a hoax by NextNature.



Additional reading: Escapist thread, Straight Dope thread.


Edit 2: not so sure any more. From Rayfish:

So if our rays aren’t swimming around with dalmatian DNA, where do they get their unique coloration? As Alan Turing first hypothesized, and as many subsequent studies have shown, nearly any animal pattern can be generated through the interactions of two different morphogen molecules. Turing-type equations govern everything from an ocelot’s spots to an angelfish’s stripes. As can be seen in our prototype design tool, pictured above, our technical team can control multiple variables in order to closely replicate the patterns and colors seen in other animals. Names like “phoenix” or “bambi” are just their creative interpretations for these patterns that help to make the design of a shoe an easy and playful experience for our customers.

This essentially invalidates the previous article...