Elizabeth Semmelhack, director of the Bata Shoe Museum, shares her expertise on the fascinating history of footwear. Discover how shoes evolved over 4,500 years, from King Tut's gold sandals to the rugged origins of high heels. She examines the impact of war on footwear, the cultural significance of cowboy boots, and the chaos of shoe sizing. The discussion also highlights the evolution of styles like Crocs and the shift towards sustainable designs. Join Elizabeth for a journey through humanity's relationship with shoes!
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Otzi Iceman's Shoes
The Otzi Iceman's shoes, dating back 5,300 years, were made of bearskin, deerskin, and grass.
This suggests potential specialized craft and trade networks even in ancient times.
insights INSIGHT
Footwear in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptians included footwear in burials for the afterlife, as seen with Tutankhamun's gold sandals.
These sandals even depicted enemies underfoot, reflecting symbolic power.
insights INSIGHT
Early Shoe Styles and Heels
Basic shoe styles like flip-flops and sandals emerged independently across cultures due to their simple elegance.
Heels, however, likely originated in 10th-century Persia for horseback riding.
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William Dalrymple's "Anarchy" delves into the history of the East India Company, a powerful British trading company that significantly impacted India. The book explores the company's rise to dominance, its complex relationship with Indian rulers and society, and its eventual role in shaping British colonial rule. Dalrymple masterfully weaves together political intrigue, economic exploitation, and cultural clashes to paint a vivid picture of a pivotal period in history. The narrative highlights the often-overlooked contributions of Indian resistance fighters and the lasting consequences of the company's actions. The book challenges conventional narratives and offers a nuanced perspective on the complexities of empire and its impact on both Britain and India.
Shoes
Shoes
The Meaning of Style
Elizabeth Semmelhack
In one of our favorite—and certainly the most sprawling—Shoecast episodes to date, Ben chats with Elizabeth Semmelhack, director and curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. Which I believe is safe to say—thanks to more than 15,000 shoes, boots, and related artifacts covering 4,500 years of human history—is the world’s preeminent dedicated shoe archive and museum.
We follow Bata's mission of telling the history of humanity through shoes, starting with how and where shoes even emerged, then covering everything from King Tut's gold sandals, to how high heels were originally designed for THE MOST RUGGED OF MEN, to why sizing is such a mess from a historical perspective, and how the world's most momentous wars have been won and lost because of...boots.
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