Amazing Shoe Facts

Here are some of the amazing and interesting facts about shoes.

• Until the year 1818, there was no distinction that left and right shoe.  People were wearing either shoe on either leg with equal discomfort!    The shoes were identical all over the world until 1818.   The left- and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia.
• Wooden shoes mounted on thin blocks of 3 to 4 inches high were worn for centuries in Japan.  Shoes were selected traditionally with an ear for the sound made by the wooden blocks when walking.
• Shoes were indispensable like wedding rings of today in Anglo-Saxon ceremonies. Instead of exchanging wedding rings, the bride passed her shoes to the groom and the groom would tap her on the head with a shoe.
• Your feet can swell upto one full shoe size when hot.
• The heels on shoes were always colored red in Europe during 16th and 17th centuries.
• In Europe, there was no difference between women's  shoes and men's shoes until 18th century.
• The upper class people in Europe were wearing shoes of six inch high heels during 17th century. Two servants were needed to hold up the person wearing the high heels.
• The first lady's boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840.
• Heels were invented in the Middle East to help lift the foot from the burning sand