100 Objects #11: Brannock Device

Summary

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99% Invisible – A History of the United States in 100 Objects

Episode #11: Brannock Device

Host: Roman Mars

Guest: Paul Lucas

Release Date: July 31, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Roman Mars explores the story, design, and enduring legacy of the Brannock Device, the iconic foot-measuring tool found in nearly every American shoe store. Mars is joined by journalist Paul Lucas, whose lifelong fascination with the device leads to a deep dive into its origins, impact, and what it represents about American business and manufacturing—contrasting the simplicity and integrity of the Brannock Device Company with the complicated, profit-driven world of modern corporate America.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Invention of the Brannock Device

• Setting the Scene (00:59):
  The episode opens in 1925 Syracuse, NY, where customers encounter the Brannock Device in Park Brannock shoe store.
• Innovation in Measurement (01:14-01:41):
  The device uniquely measures three dimensions: length, width, and crucially, arch length—essential for a proper shoe fit.
  • "This arch length measurement is a brand new concept in 1925... actually it's really important." — Roman Mars (01:32)
• Revolutionizing Shoe Fitting (01:41):
  Prior foot measuring tools were simple rulers. The Brannock device advanced the field by offering precise multidimensional measurements.

2. Nostalgia and Ubiquity

• Cultural Touchstone (02:18-03:36):
  Both hosts reflect on the sensory and emotional memories tied to the Brannock Device, noting its status as a universal but often anonymous artifact.
  • "It's a nostalgic, fun memory of going to the shoe store... you felt like you were in this adult world as a child." — Paul Lucas (02:44)
• Specialized Design (03:12):
  The Brannock Device is devoted to one purpose: "the perfect example of that thing"—an ideal of focused design.

3. Charles Brannock: The Singular Inventor

• Background and Motivation (06:43-07:24):
  Charles Brannock, inspired by customer discomfort and the limitations of existing tools, invents the device while in college.
  • "Charlie Brannock... would wake up in the middle of the night... scribbling notes and making drawings." — Paul Lucas (07:24)
• Description of the Device (08:07):
  Paul gives an in-depth physical description, praising its official, professional aesthetic and solid yet practical construction.

4. From Local Startup to Industry Standard

• Initial Purpose (09:33):
  Brannock intended his device to give his family's store a competitive edge—but soon, nationwide demand surged.
• Patent and Manufacturing (09:54-10:16):
  The patent filed in 1925 was granted in 1928; the Brannock Device Company was born in Syracuse, NY.
  • "So Brannock manufactured more and sold them..." — Roman Mars (10:16)
• International Expansion (10:31):
  By 1929, the device was used internationally.

5. Adoption by the U.S. Military

• Navy Endorsement (11:23):
  A Navy captain lauds the device for reducing complaints among sailors (July 1933), spreading adoption throughout the armed forces.
  • "He was so happy with the results... that he wrote an article..." — Paul Lucas (11:23)
• World War II Modifications (12:24-13:25):
  Brannock devises a double-foot model to streamline mass military fittings—a testament to both utility and adaptability.
  • "You can't waste time turning the device around... so you have this double Brannock device." — Paul Lucas (12:24)

6. Simplicity & Values in Manufacturing

• Category Killer (15:51-16:17):
  The Brannock device outlived competitors; even decades after the patent expired, imitations can’t match its quality.
  • "It really was, and still is, the gold standard." — Paul Lucas (15:51)
• Continued Quality & American Production (17:13-18:58):
  After Brannock’s death (1992), the company’s unusual sale ensured a commitment to Syracuse manufacturing, seeking buyers who valued the product’s legacy over mere profit.
  • "It was almost like a job application, like who is worthy to become the steward of this iconic American product?" — Paul Lucas (17:34)

7. Contrasting Business Models: Brannock vs. Private Equity

• Payless ShoeSource Story (20:21-21:43):
  When Payless chose cheaper knockoff devices, Brannock’s president Tim Follett demonstrated the true cost: He swapped out broken knockoffs for Brannock devices, later sending the faulty copies back to Payless HQ as evidence.
  • "If you buy the knockoffs, this is what you're buying... like going into a restaurant... having broken chairs." — Tim Follett (21:11)
• Private Equity Digression (21:43-24:40):
  Roman Mars analyzes how leveraged buyouts and the prioritization of shareholder value (as seen in Payless’s demise) contrast sharply with Brannock’s ethics of quality and community.
  • "Any money that could have gone to their workers or... better products or cheaper prices went straight to the investors." — Roman Mars (23:35)

8. Enduring Relevance and Modern Adaptation

• Resilience and Adaptation (26:15-27:34):
  Despite the decline in brick-and-mortar retail, Brannock Device Company sells directly to consumers online, maintaining steady production numbers.
  • "They still make three or 400 a week, they tell me." — Paul Lucas (26:15)
• Symbolic Value (25:33-25:43):
  Mars highlights the company’s commitment to quality, worker care, and honoring founder values as "American values" now rare in today’s business landscape.

9. Cultural Footprint & Pop Culture

• Brannock Device in "Mad Max: Fury Road" (27:34-28:29):
  Paul shares how the device appears as an improvised gas pedal in the film, a testament to its lasting, indestructible design.
  • "The indestructible Brannock device... the thing that's going to survive the apocalypse." — Paul Lucas (28:29)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Childhood Memories & Nostalgia:
  • "I was maybe more excited at the opportunity to use the Brannock device... the cool touch of the metal, the slide of the knobs, the sturdiness." — Roman Mars (02:18)
• On the Device's Status:
  • "It is simultaneously ubiquitous and anonymous." — Paul Lucas (05:36)
• Charles Brannock's Philosophy:
  • "The shoe salesman, like a doctor, has a distinct responsibility to his customers. A mistake in the fitting of a shoe, particularly a child's, can easily endanger a person's health. The misfitted feet of today are the crippled feet of tomorrow." — Charles Brannock, read by Paul Lucas (10:56)
• About Business Values:
  • "You don't have to have a huge product line. You make this one thing, you specialize in it. You're good at it. You know, people know you for it." — Paul Lucas (24:40)
• On American Business Shifts:
  • "The modern American business doesn't have room for all these values... they've all been reduced to one value, shareholder value." — Roman Mars (25:43)
• On the Device’s Legacy:
  • "It is still the best at what it does. Maybe it'll keep being the best even after most of us are long gone." — Roman Mars (27:34)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:59 – Setting the historical and cultural context of 1925 Syracuse, NY
• 01:14-01:41 – Explanation of the device’s innovative arch length measurement
• 03:07-03:47 – Discussing the device’s specialized nature and singular inventor
• 06:43-08:07 – Charles Brannock’s background and the design process
• 09:33-10:31 – From a store advantage to industry-wide adoption
• 11:23-12:24 – Adoption by the U.S. Navy and spread to the military
• 12:24-13:25 – Double-device wartime adaptation for efficiency
• 15:51-16:17 – Enduring quality and lack of credible competition
• 17:13-18:58 – Company sale and commitment to Syracuse
• 20:21-21:43 – Tim Follett’s hands-on demonstration for Payless Shoes
• 21:43-24:40 – Roman Mars’ critique of private equity and modern business culture
• 26:15-27:34 – Current production and adapting to the digital/commercial landscape
• 27:57-28:29 – Pop culture cameo: Brannock Device in "Mad Max: Fury Road"

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Episode Takeaway

The Brannock Device is more than a tool; it's a symbol of American ingenuity, durability, and business rooted in values of quality and community. Its design has endured virtually unchanged for a century, outlasting copycats and adapting to retail shifts, all while maintaining production in Syracuse, NY. Its legacy is a lesson in the virtues of focus, craftsmanship, and the potential for business to serve both community and employees—not just shareholders.

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Further Reading and Listening

• Paul Lucas: "Inconspicuous Consumption" Newsletter (inconspicuous.info)
• 99% Invisible: More Episodes & Contact

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Transcript

[Pacific Life Announcer]

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[Paul Lucas]

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[T-Mobile Customer]

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[Narrator/Additional Voice]

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[Paul Lucas]

So I wouldn't have to buy a new phone?

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[Roman Mars]

It's 1925 in Syracuse, New York, and a young man is going into the Park Brannock shoe store on South Salina street, and he's about to encounter what I think truly is the greatest gadget in American history.

[Paul Lucas]

He's going to have his shoe size measured in this newfangled metal gadget that measures the length of your foot and the width of your foot and most crucially, the arch length of your foot. And that's the length from your heel to the ball of your foot.

[Roman Mars]

This arch length measurement is a brand new concept in 1925. It might seem unnecessary, but actually it's really important.

[Paul Lucas]

Two people can have the same heel to toe measurement but a different arch measurement. And so they might need different size shoes or have the width adjusted slightly. And this measurement is so your shoes are going to fit fit better and your shoes aren't going to wear out as much because you're going to be walking in them more smoothly. And nothing like that had ever been devised before. And it basically revolutionized shoe size fitting.

[Roman Mars]

So this metal thing that measures the length and width and arch of a foot, it has a name. What is this thing called?

[Paul Lucas]

It's called a Brannock device.

[Roman Mars]

The Brannock device. You probably stepped into one of these at some point in your life, most likely when you were a child. I remember going to the shoe store when I was a kid and of course I was excited to get a new pair of shoes, but I was maybe more excited at the opportunity to use the Brannock device. I Loved the cool touch of the metal, the slide of the knobs, the sturdiness of the device. It was a pleasing experience and it stayed with me, I can tell you.

[Paul Lucas]

For me, it definitely made an impression when I was a kid. And I'm pretty sure from having talked to a lot of people, I think that is a common that people have, that it's a nostalgic, fun memory of going to the shoe store. And also that this object, this device, seemed very specialized and official and you felt like you were in this adult world as a child.

[Roman Mars]

Yeah. You were taken seriously, like in a way you were kind of cared for.

[Paul Lucas]

Yes, it seems very professional, very official. And the Branick device really is good for only one thing, but it's the perfect example of that thing. Right. In terms of measuring the foot. So it's this singularly focused product. Similarly, Charles Branagh was a very singularly focused guy. He named his invention after himself, the Brannock Device, then founded a company to manufacture it that he named after the device, the Brannock Device Company. And he never invented anything else.

[Roman Mars]

But it's not just the device or the inventor that draws me to this object. Over the last 100 years, the American financial system has become increasingly complicated and opaque. Companies are designed to benefit shareholders, not consumers or workers. And the average person doesn't really understand how all the money flows. Compare that to the Brannock device and its simple business model, which remains almost unchanged for a century.

[Paul Lucas]

The Brandock device has no brand extensions, as they would say now, and there's no venture capital. You know, it's a very simple operation and people can wrap their head around that. And there's something satisfying about that.

[Roman Mars]

From 99% Invisible and BBC Studios, this is a history of the United States in 100 objects. I'm Roman Mars. Today, the Brannock device, a perfect device in an imperfect world. How this object came to be, how it has endured, and just how much business in America has changed. I've wanted to tell the story of why the Brannock device is so pleasing for a very long time. And when I decided to do it, because there was only one person I could call.

[Paul Lucas]

My name is Paul Lucas and I'm a journalist and I specialize in writing about things that other people either don't notice or take for granted.

[Roman Mars]

Paul published an all time great zine on these types of objects back in the 90s called beer frame. He also runs a blog devoted to the minutiae of sports uniforms called Uniwatch. Today he writes a newsletter on substack called Inconspicuous consumption.

[Paul Lucas]

And the Brannock device has always seemed to me to be prototypically, classically inconspicuous. Pretty much everyone knows what it is. I think it's fair to say there's probably nobody listening to this podcast episode right now whose foot has not been in a Brannock device at some point. It's pretty much a universal touchstone in our culture, and yet nobody knows what it's called, or almost nobody. So that means it is simultaneously ubiquitous and anonymous.

[Roman Mars]

Paul's obsession with the Brandt Device began in 1992 when he read an obituary for the inventor. That was the first time he connected a name to the object. And it happened around the same time he was developing his beat.

[Paul Lucas]

It was sort of a perfect confluence of an impulse I had with the ultimate example of that impulse, because I've never come across anything else that really can supplant the Brannock device as my North Star. And over the years, I've written a lot about it. I even have a tattoo of it, which I realize may seem like a bit much, but it's my ultimate object.

[Roman Mars]

The inventor's name was Charles Brannock. He was born in 1903 in Syracuse, New York.

[Paul Lucas]

Charles Branagh had shoes and shoe sails in his blood, you might say.

[Roman Mars]

His father co owned the Park Brannock shoe store, the one from the beginning of the story. Charles worked there while he was in high school.

[Paul Lucas]

It occurred to him that there was a need for better shoe sizing, that a lot of people complained that their shoes didn't fit properly or they were uncomfortable.

[Roman Mars]

The other devices of the time were just glorified yardsticks that measured only length or just length and width if you turned it sideways, nothing measured that critical dimension of arch length.

[Paul Lucas]

And so while he was in college, in his early 20s at Syracuse University, he sort of had an impulse to try to create such a device. And his college roommate would recall that he would wake up in the middle of the night, two or three in the morning, and there was Charlie Branak sitting at a desk with the light on, scribbling notes and making drawings. And his roommate would say, what are you doing? You're keeping me up at night. And Charlie would say, you know, know, I had an idea for the invention. I'm working on this thing, and I have to write it down or I might forget.

[Roman Mars]

So that thing that comes up with the Brannock device, could you describe it? You have one next to you. Of course you do.

[Paul Lucas]

So it's a metal object. It has two sort of cupped areas One at each end. And that's so you can put your heel to measure one foot in this sort of cupped receptacle, and then turn the branic device around to do the other foot. It has one sliding piece that moves backward and forward to measure the width of your foot, and then it has another sliding piece to measure your arch length. And then it has yet another sliding piece for the length of your foot. So it's metal. The one I'm holding is made of aluminum, which has been the case for decades now. They've been made out of aluminum. I believe the early ones were made of steel. And it feels solid, but not too heavy. And I don't know how else to say this. It just looks like it knows what it's doing. It looks so. It looks so official and professional, and it has so many calibrations and numbers on it. I mean, that could just be nonsense, right? You could just put a lot of ruled lines and numerals on things and just make it seem like. Like, you know, a thermometer or a barometer or something like that. But it has this feel of a finely tuned, finely calibrated instrument. And it is.

[Roman Mars]

It's hard to pin down the exact birth date of the Brannock device, but Paul says an early version was definitely in use by 1925.

[Paul Lucas]

And again, that was really the point. Charles Brannick invented this not to be an industry tool, but to give his family shoe store competitive sales advantage. But other stores did take notice, and. And soon there was demand from other outlets, not just in Syracuse, but out of town around the country.

[Roman Mars]

So Branagh filed a patent that wouldn't be granted until 1928. But in the meantime, he got busy.

[Paul Lucas]

He initially thought he would just need a handful of prototypes to use at his family's store. But now that there was a demand, he needed to create a company. And so he launched the Brannock Device Company in Syracuse to manufacture these things.

[Roman Mars]

It's almost a quaint idea of how invention works. Charles Branagh saw a need. He made a thing, and people wanted it. So Branagh manufactured more and sold them to people who needed them. And as demand grew, the Brannock Company grew with it.

[Paul Lucas]

Well, let's put it this way. If it was launched In Syracuse in 1925, by 1929, international sales were starting to. Okay, so not just around the country, but around the world, or at least across the ocean in Europe. So that's a pretty big deal.

[Roman Mars]

Charles Branagh developed a junior model because kids feet are not just smaller than adult feet. They're proportioned differently. Branagh took his role in shoe fitting very seriously.

[Paul Lucas]

He had this quote early in his Branagh career where he said, the shoe salesman, like a doctor, has a distinct responsibility to his customers. A mistake in the fitting of a shoe, particularly a child's, can easily endanger a person's health. The misfitted feet of today are the crippled feet of tomorrow.

[Roman Mars]

The junior model came out in 1933. And that same year Brannock got his big break.

[Paul Lucas]

A United States Navy ship's captain noticed that his sailors were complaining a lot of ill fitting shoes. So he knew of the Brannock device. It's not clear if, if he was from Syracuse or, you know, if. If he had just encountered it at another shoe store and he had his sailors, when they were docked somewhere, refitted with a Brannock device. And he was so happy with the results because his sailors were no longer complaining, that he wrote an article in the July 1933 issue of a publication called United States Naval Institute Proceedings where he described how the Brannock device had eliminated foot troubles aboard his ship.

[Roman Mars]

Charles Brannock heard about the article, and ever the believer in his own invention, he sent copies of it to important people around the armed forces. Pretty soon, most branches of the US Military were using Brannock devices to outfit their service members. Then on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl harbor and the US entered World War II.

[Paul Lucas]

Suddenly, there's a huge demand because there's a huge surge in enlistment in the US Armed Forces. And the military wants Brannock devices because they need to fit all these. And Brannock makes a modification. Instead of the single Brannock device, which you turn around to measure each foot, you put your heel in one end to do the right foot and the other end for the left foot, he comes up with a double Brannock device, which is sort of two Brannock devices mounted on a board. And I actually have one of these that was made for the Air Force. And the idea is that if you have all these new enlistees and they're sort of marching through getting fitted for uniforms and you're giving them their crew cut and all that, you know, so that they could, you know, go off to war, you can't waste time turning the device around. Of course not. And so you have this double Brannock device so that they can have both feet measured simultaneously and it's more efficient, it's faster.

[Roman Mars]

I mean, there's a funny. There's like an old. I don't know where this comes from. Some general that says, like an army marches on its stomach. Like meaning that you have to keep the troops well fed. But the truth is that armies march on their feet.

[Paul Lucas]

Yeah, like your boots and your shoes. It's a big deal. And I like to say that's how Charles Branagh helped defeat fascism. You know, it's in like, it's literally true. He had a role in US military preparedness and the call to action.

[Pacific Life Announcer]

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[Paul Lucas]

I love my phone, but not my carrier.

[T-Mobile Customer]

What do I do?

[T-Mobile Representative]

Well, there are 250 reasons to join T Mobile.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

Like what?

[T-Mobile Representative]

You can keep your phone and your number and T Mobile helps pay it off up to $800 per line.

[Paul Lucas]

So I wouldn't have to buy a new phone?

[T-Mobile Representative]

Yep. Plus your plan price stays the same for 5 years on experience plans. Nice. Find your reason@t mobile.com

[T-Mobile Customer]

via virtual prepaid guard card. Typically takes 15 days after rebate, submission price guarantee on TalkText and 5G data exclusions like taxes and fees apply.

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[Paul Lucas]

let's check in on the Serta.

[T-Mobile Representative]

Counting sheep.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

Why aren't we counted anymore?

[Roman Mars]

Well, the all new Serta Perfect sleeper has the Q4 support system that helps relieve aches and back pain.

[T-Mobile Representative]

We'll never get counted again.

[Roman Mars]

Uh, nope. Certa. We make the world's best mattress. The Brannock device of today is very close to the one Charles Brannock introduced in his father's shoe store in the mid-1920s.

[Paul Lucas]

He did make small refinements over the years, but nothing major. And he didn't really need to make many changes because the Brannock device was what we would now call a category killer. You know, that term didn't exist back in his day, but it essentially wiped out the competition. Nobody ever seriously challenged it and it really was and still is the gold standard.

[Roman Mars]

There are Brannock device copycats out there. The patent expired decades ago, so there's nothing the company can do. These imitations are made abroad in places where materials and labor are cheaper, but

[Paul Lucas]

they're also made more cheaply. If you were at a shoe store and saw a knockoff Brannock, especially if it was more than a few years old, you could see the difference in terms of like the fixtures and the fittings just aren't as nicely calibrated. It's not as well made.

[Roman Mars]

Charles Branagh died in 1992 at the age of 89.

[Paul Lucas]

He was a lifelong bachelor, married only to his invention, and he never invented anything else. It's really interesting to me. So many inventors, you know, they get the bug to invent something and they just keep going. Charles Branagh kind of nailed it on the first shot. He was only in his 20s, his early 20s, and it was one and done.

[Roman Mars]

Branagh had no children and no succession plan. But keeping in line with their founders values, the company made a very unusual decision about how to move forward. They set a fixed price for the sale of the company and they asked potential buyers to make their case. One requirement was that the new owner had to promise to keep manufacturing in Syracuse for at least five years.

[Paul Lucas]

It was almost like a job application, like who is worthy to become the steward of this iconic American product?

[Roman Mars]

American manufacturing had been on the decline since the 1980s. So this requirement wasn't just unusual, it was making a statement. The Brank Device company was saying that a sustainable American made product is still possible. And the plan worked. Half a dozen people applied to buy the company, most of them from the shoe industry.

[Paul Lucas]

But there was this one guy named Salvador Leonardi. He was in manufacturing in upstate New York. He had a family company that was founded by his father in, in the 1940s. They were arguably even more specialized than the Braniff device. They made these metal frames for purses and handbags. Like if you can imagine how a handbag opens and closes, the sort of metal frame around the flaps, that's what they made.

[Roman Mars]

It's a clutch purse style, that really satisfying snap when it comes together like a clamshell.

[Paul Lucas]

Exactly, exactly. But Sal Leonardi wanted to go into business for himself, sort of have his own business, something that he could call his own. And he thought, oh, this is the perfect thing I can do.

[Roman Mars]

Sal Leonardi eventually passed the company down to his son in law Tim Follett and both men really seem to embody what makes the Brannock device special.

[Paul Lucas]

They are very low key, kind of not flashy people. And I don't mean that in a negative way. On the contrary, they really believe that if you make a quality product, it speaks for itself. And I've interviewed them and known them for a while now and they believe strongly in the idea of you make it better, not faster. You use good materials, you hire good people. And they are not sort of publicity seekers. And I think there's a lot to be said for that. It seems almost inconceivable in today's marketplace of influencers and social media and all the rest where everything is hype, hype, hype and the attention economy and all of that. That is not how the Brannock device has been promot about it.

[Roman Mars]

Yeah, yeah. I mean it's captured your attention certainly, but it has not captured everyone else's attention. The Brank device has captured my attention too. And there's one story about the Brank device company that I think encapsulates my fascination with this object, both the design and what it says about business. About 20 years ago, current Brannock president Tim Follett saw an opportunity. The discount chain Payless Shoe Source had started introducing foot measuring devices into their stores for the first time. Here's Tim.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

And they were considering the knockoffs.

[Roman Mars]

But these knockoffs weren't very good.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

They are poor quality. Matter of fact, some of them send, actually they send a little screwdriver with them and an extra screw. I don't know how you could be an owner of any establishment. And you know, it's like getting your car with an extra transmission.

[Roman Mars]

And as a brand that relied on selling a large volume of cheap shoes, Tim knew that Payless needed a device that would stand up to abuse.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

So I went to a local mall and I took a bunch of brand new device, our brand new devices and they actually had some knockoffs in the mall. So I traded with the manager. I took the old broken ones and gave him some of ours.

[Roman Mars]

Tim took those knockoff brandock devices home, figured out who at Payless headquarters was in charge of purchasing them and sent him the broken devices.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

And I said, if you buy the knockoffs, this is what you're buying. And I said, in five years, this is what your store is going to be filled with. And that reflects poorly on your store, like going into a restaurant, nice restaurant and having broken chairs.

[Roman Mars]

It worked.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

We ended up getting all the Payless business for many, many years. As an investment.

[Roman Mars]

But you won't find a brand's advice in a Payless these days, because there are no Payless stores anymore.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

Yeah, they went out of business.

[Roman Mars]

Payless went bankrupt in 2019 for a lot of reasons. Mall traffic had plummeted. They had a hard time competing with online companies like Zappos. But there's something else that contributed to the downfall of Payless, a trend that's been growing in the American financial system since the 1980s. Private equity. Here's where I'm going to go on a bit of a digression, but I assure you I'll eventually tie it back to the beautiful simplicity of the brand device in the Brannock Device company. You may have heard private equity linked to the fight over Taylor Swift's masters. Or you might remember that 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney had been the CEO of a private equity firm called Bain Capital. And private equity encompasses a lot of things, but what most people mean when they talk about it is something called a leveraged buyout. Here's the basic idea. A private equity firm identifies a company that they want to buy and they get a sale price for that company. But the key here is that the private equity firm pays only a portion of that sale price, usually between 10 and 30%. The rest of the sale is covered by a loan from a bank. So in that way, it's kind of like a home mortgage. Except with a leveraged buyout, the company being bought is taking on the debt of the loan. They're the ones incurring the risk. Private equity firms pick companies they feel have steady revenue and but room for improvement. The firm installs their own leadership to restructure the business. And the goal is to make the company stronger and to sell it again at a profit. But often the restructuring means layoffs and other big cuts. And taking a company and saddling them with ton of debt right away can make these turnarounds really difficult. Especially if the company is already struggling. Toys R Us, Joanne's Fabrics, Sports Authority, Radiojack. All these companies and their employees are victims of leveraged buyouts. And then there's Payless. In 2012, a group of private equity firms purchased Payless for $2 billion. They saw an opportunity to modernize a legacy chain. Payless was turning a profit under this new ownership, but that wasn't enough. Private equity firms want to make money for their investors, not just when they sell the company down the line, but they want to make money right away. So Payless had to pay dividends to their new shareholders, which Ended up erasing all the profits they made. Any money that could have gone to their workers or passed along to the consumers in the form of better products or cheaper prices went straight to the investors. This was the beginning of the end for Payless. Payless filed for bankruptcy in 2019. They closed all their US stores. They laid off thousands of workers in those stores and hundreds more in the company's Kansas headquarters. Compare that to the Branach Device Company.

[Paul Lucas]

You don't have to have a huge product line. You make this one thing, you specialize in it. You're good at it. You know, people know you for it. Your customers keep coming back to you for it, and it puts food on the table for you and your employees.

[Roman Mars]

The invention of the Branak device and the company's consistent production of a quality product that could stand up to years of use and abuse in a shoe store and their commitment to making that product in the U.S. in Syracuse, New York, a commitment, commitment so strong that it transcended the life of the founder, Charles Brannock.

[Paul Lucas]

And even that they didn't sell to the highest bidder, you know, that they weren't just trying to milk this product or this estate, you know, for the highest price they could get.

[Roman Mars]

All these things represent an array of deeply held values, dare I say American values. They aren't and never were exclusive to the US but they are values at the center of the stories we like to tell about ourselves.

[Paul Lucas]

That sort of worked, that vision or version of capitalism and manufacturing worked for a long time. And it's really not the economy we have now in America.

[Roman Mars]

The modern American business doesn't have room for all these values. The value of quality, the value of taking care of workers, the value of community, the value of honoring the wishes of the founder. In the modern world of private equity, those have all been reduced to one value, shareholder value. I think that is a loss. And it's one of the reasons why the hundred year existence of the Brannock Device company means something to me. And it makes me happy that in 2026 they're doing okay.

[Paul Lucas]

They still make three or 400 a week, they tell me. The company does say it's quite a few years ago now that they sold their millionth Brannock device. So they're well past a million in terms of the lifetime of the product.

[Narrator/Additional Voice]

Product.

[Roman Mars]

I'm pretty surprised by that stat of a 400 a week. That's very impressive.

[Paul Lucas]

I have to confess, I was a little surprised by that as well. And I found it heartening. So there is still a market out there. Even with the knockoffs and even with really the biggest challenge they faced is the decline in brick and mortar shoe stores and the decline in malls because a lot of people don't go to the shoe store anymore to buy shoes or to have their kids buy shoes they order on the Internet. But in a nice. Another one of these sort of parallel developments. Just as shoe sales have moved from brick and mortar to the Internet, Brannock sales have also moved from the shoe store to the Internet.

[Roman Mars]

Yes, you can be like Paul and have your very own Brannock device.

[Paul Lucas]

And they say that direct to consumer sales are now part of their business. And that was something that was unheard of in Charlie Brannick's day. He was selling only wholesale to shoe stores. So that's an interesting thing that I like the thought that, you know, some people now have brown devices in their home and that's, that's kind of a nice thing to see.

[Roman Mars]

I think it's nice too, this object essentially unchanged without corporate backing indoors. Not because it changed with the times, but because it is still the best at what it does. And maybe it'll keep being the best even after most of us are long gone. It'll be this exemplar of competency as evidenced by visionary director George Miller in

[Paul Lucas]

the 2015 film Mad Fury Road. Furiosa's rig uses a Brannock device as an improvised gas pedal. There are several close ups shots of the foot, you know, depressing this Brannock device that, you know, that powers the rig. And I, I thought that was kind of ingenious.

[Roman Mars]

It's so cool because it's a testament to the fact that these things are so well made and that they last through the apocalypse and will serve as the gas pedal.

[Paul Lucas]

Exactly. The, the indestructible hebronic device. The thing that's going to, as you say, survive the apocalypse.

[Roman Mars]

Many thanks to Paul Lucas for knowing absolutely everything there is to know about the Brannock device. You can find more of Paul's [e-mail] his logo is of course a Brannock device. A History of the United States in 100 Objects is a production of 99% Invisible and BBC Studios. It's hosted and curated by me, Roman Mars. This episode was produced by Isabel Angel. Our series producers are Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorf and Ellie Lightfoot. Our associate producer is Isaac Fisher. This series was edited by Annie Brown and Courtney Harrell, mixing by Charlie, Brandon King, Fact checking by Amy Bracken. Our theme song is by Swan Real from 99 Invisible Our executive producer is Kathy Tu from BB at BBC Studios. Our executive producers are Annie Brown and Courtney Harrell. Our Production coordinator is Shan Pillay and the Production manager is Mabel Finnegan Wright. Artwork by Stephan Lawrence. 99% Invisible is part of the SiriusXM podcast family headquartered in beautiful uptown Oakland, California and BBC Studios is headquartered in beautiful white city West London. If you want to get in touch or have an object for us to consider, email us at 100objects99pi.org.

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[Paul Lucas]

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[Roman Mars]

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