Do your feet hurt?

This may seem an odd subject on which to offer any suggestions; but, while there are several treatises on shoeing a horse, I have never met with any rational observations on the best method of shoeing a man.

S.B.H., Chelsea, June 23, 1858. Mechanics' Magazine.

Shoes. Some people collect them. Others wear their trainers till they fall apart. Fashion crazes make our toes hurt. But was it ever thus?

Answer these questions about some little-known shoe history facts.

1. What did shoemakers in 1850 have in common with those in Egypt in the 14th Century BCE?
2. What was odd about shoes in the early 19th Century?
3. Dressmakers used a dress form or tailor's dummy; shoemakers used a ________.
4. Authorities in 17th-century Virginia placed a tariff on foreign (English) shoes. What did the money go for?
5. What union would a shoemaker belong to?
6. Why is it an insult to call a shoemaker a cobbler?
7. Who is the patron saint of shoemakers? (Kenneth Branagh should know.)
8. What Welsh shoe saint had his bones made into shoemaking tools?
9. In the 18th Century, what did it mean if a man wore high heels?
10. Why do shoe fans owe Gordon McKay of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a vote of thanks?

Wow. Did you find this tough going? Click the picture for answers.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

15.02.16 Front Page

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