Ajay Sanan, age 7, of Tucson, Ariz., for his question:
WHO INVENTED THE SHOE?
It is said that 80 percent of all leather made today is used to make shoes for the world's population. There are certainly a lot of feet to be kept covered. Leather permits the skin of the feet to breathe, and shoes made of leather are the best and most popular used today. Synthetic materials, rubber, wood and fiber are also used to make today's shoes.
Lost in history is the story of the man who invented and put on the world's first pair of shoes. But we know the practice of covering the feet has been going on since the dawn of civilization.
The first foot cover was probably a sandal made from woven, water softened strands of reed.
Next, most likely, was a sandal made of a piece of hide with thongs fastened on its sides. And following this came the primitive shoe made from a square of soft leather held at the ankle with straps.
Egyptians, Greeks and Romans of early civilizations knew the art of tanning leather, and all used the product for footwear. In fact, it is almost impossible to find any nation, either civilized or uncivilized, where leather was not known and used.
In the early days, shoes were made by hand. Hammers, needles, knives and awls were the tools used first by the Egyptians about 1400 B.C. In almost any shoe shop today, centuries later, the same tools are still employed.
Machines came into use in the 19th century. A rolling machine, used to make the leather tougher, was first used in 1845. In a half hour work could be done that took a full day by the old method of pounding. And a bit later a sewing machine was made that further trimmed the time it took to turn out a pair of shoes.
First shoemaking in the United States was done by Thomas Beard. He opened a factory in Salem, Mass., in 1629. Other factories came soon, and the area around Boston became the hub of the North American shoe industry.
In 1846 Elias Howe Jr. revolutionized the shoe industry by putting the eye of the needle in its point. His invention was perfected in 1851 by John Brooks Nichols.
A welt shoe with an insole and outsole was known as early as 1475, but it did not come into wide use until 1874 when Charles Goodyear Jr. perfected the Goodyear welt stitcher. The important McKay process came in 1858 with a machine that made a chain stitch that fastened the insole, upper and outsole firmly together.
The United States leads the world in shoe production today. And what type of shoes do you think head the list? You're right: women's shoes. Following on the list are shoes for men, children, athletic footwear and slippers.
Shoes today are made in 26 different sizes. One third of an inch is a size, so a size 7 would be one third inch longer than a size 8, and one sixth of an inch longer than a size 7 1/2. Widths range from A, AA, AAA and AAAA up through E with one twelfth of an inch between A and B.